# Worried about weight of puppy



## Emmyboo (Feb 15, 2016)

My puppy Renegade is 17 weeks old and I'm slightly worried about his weight. I've grown up with my mom's views on feeding puppies and dogs, which is just to free feed them and let them eat as much as they want. This has resulted in multiple overweight dogs. I love Renegade more than any dog I've ever had and I just want the best for him. Now that I'm old enough to be aware and do research I've learned that a dog is supposed to be lean to where ribs can be felt but not seen and with a visible waist. I've been feeding Renegade according to his body condition and not the reccomendations on the bag of food. My mom keeps making comments that are making me very uncertain. She says he's too skinny and I must be starving him because he always eats like he hasn't eaten for a week. 
He's also small for his age according to GSD weight charts. He's around 30-35 lbs. I was best confident in how he looked and his body condition but now I'm doubting myself and worried that I've stunted his growth or something. I want him to have his best shot in life and not be overweight and more prone to health problems. 

So I decided to come on here and post some pics I just took(bad quality but hopefully sufficient) so I could get some opinions from you guys who have experience with this type of thing.


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## Emmyboo (Feb 15, 2016)

If you all need better pictures, I can take some later.
And excuse the messy room.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Puppies need nutrition to grown. 

I free fed all my puppies/ dogs. I always have a hard time getting them to gain weight.


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## Emmyboo (Feb 15, 2016)

The couple days I tried to free feed him, there were a couple instances where he ate until he made himself sick. And like I said in my first post, I've seen many of our dogs become very overweight because of it. I understand the benefits with dogs where it's hard to keep weight on like my sister's chihuahua puppy. I just feel like Renegade would eat way too much on it. I don't mind him having a little bit extra fluff as a buffer. I just upped his feed again. I just don't want him to become very overweight. If I thought he would stop eating when he became full, I would probably free feed him, but he's the type who wants to eat absolutely everything. Even if it's not edible. I just went to the vet with him a week or so ago and they didn't mention him being underweight or anything. I guess I'm just doubting myself.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Just curious, are the overweight dogs you speak of spayed or neutered?


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## Emmyboo (Feb 15, 2016)

They are spayed and neutered. Does that affect it? They were overweight as puppies before being fixed as well though. Though could be a lab thing? I heard they often can have problems with excessive weight gain. Renegade isn't neutered. I want him to have a chance to grow before I decide whether not to have him fixed based on all the info about it. If there are plenty of people here who free feed with no issues of too much weight gain, I may try it again with him. I just want him to be as happy and healthy as possible.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Labs are bred to have a body composition suitable for swimming, hence a higher percentage of body fat.

Neutering and spaying lowers a dog's metabolism frequently necessitating a reduction of calories taken in to maintain a healthy weight.

Also, dog food is based on nutrients per calories. If you have to restrict calories due to a lower metabolism due to spaying / neutering, you could also be restricting the amount of nutrients the dog needs for its weight creating a hungrier dog, which eats more, which also results in weight gain.


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## Emmyboo (Feb 15, 2016)

That makes sense. Especially since most of our dogs have been spay/neutered pretty early. We never knew any of the pros/cons of early vs late vs never fixing them.


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## Besketball (Apr 27, 2016)

How much are you feeding him per day? (How many cups?) 

If you can see his ribs without having to feel for them, up his daily amount by half a cup or so and see where that leads. Puppies need to be fed three meals a day.

The guidelines on the bag are just that, guidelines. Every dog is different, so if you feel he's really skinny just put another half cup of food in with one of his meals. It's better to be on the skinnier side when they're growing, it puts less stress on their joints.


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## Segreto (Apr 9, 2016)

We free fed our Japanese Spitz puppy and he ended up so fat he now has issues later on in life. (He would eat the cat food too... And the cat poop). Every dog is different, and I appreciate that... But free feeding scares the bejeesus out of me now because of that.

For my GSD x puppy (14 weeks in a couple of days), I measure out his feed every morning and put it in a container on the bench- he gets a small breakfast and dinner, then some of it in puzzles throughout the day (Kong wobbler etc), and the rest is for training. I adjust the amounts as he grows / his weight changes.


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

I wouldn't free feed any puppy/dog if you want to control it's caloric intake and develop/maintain food drive which makes training much easier.


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## Strikker (Dec 2, 2015)

I really do not feel your puppy looks underfed. He looks healthy and has a body that looks trim. I have always tried to keep my puppies on the lighter side to keep pressure off joints while growing. I have had people make comments regarding how they look thin, but I have always had good luck with health.
I have never free fed, but do adjust food periodically based on the look and eating habits of me dogs. I guess this is a form of free feeding. If one starts to eat as if starving or does not finish, I adjust food accordingly. By watching the dogs eat you can normally tell if you are feeding enough or need to add or subtract. I use a scale, placing the dish on and add to a weight, then adjust the weight. I also feed twice a day.


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