# My 10 week puppy underweight



## Nahtangnouv (Jun 21, 2016)

So my 10 week puppy, whom was the runt of a litter of 13 was taken to the vet yesterday for his second shots and deworming. I got scolded on about his weight, he's 8.1lb. I feed him canidae chicken meal and rice 2 cups a day over 3 meals, and recently 1 1/2 cups of candiae with 1/2 cup of evengers wet dog food as the vet reccomended some wet food in his diet. The vet told me he should be around 15 pounds and it worries me that somethings wrong as he's about half the weight he should be, are the worms affecting his growth? 
I tried taking some pictures but he kept trying to play with the camera  or squirming away


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

The issue is you aren't feeding enough! 2 cups per day? That's it?

The daily feeding recommendations for Canidae All Life Stages chicken and rice, for a dog that will be from 75-100lbs as an adult is 5-6 cups per day for a puppy under 6 months old.

You are feeding him 1/3 the food that he needs.


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## Nahtangnouv (Jun 21, 2016)

I'm pretty sure thats for feeding a puppy under 6 months whom weighs 60-75....


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## Nahtangnouv (Jun 21, 2016)

Oops sorry I mean 75-100


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

No, it is not. It's the adult weight of the puppy. That's how you read that chart. You feed based on the adult weight.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

It's a little vague. It doesn't say "puppies whose adult weight will be xxx" ... it gives puppies, adults, seniors/lite feeding guides on the site I looked at (their website). Saying your puppy's weight should be about double is a LOT. Is he basing it off what the average GSD puppy would be? or your pup in particular? You can always up the amount per meal you give a bit, but you don't want an overweight puppy.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

I feed him canidae chicken meal and rice 2 cups a day over 3 meals, and recently 1 1/2 cups of candiae with 1/2 cup of evengers wet dog food as the vet reccomended some wet food in his diet.

ingredients of that chicken meal and rice formula are

"Chicken meal, brown rice, white rice, rice bran, cracked pearled barley, peas, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), millet, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed meal, potassium chloride, choline chloride, suncured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta-carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid), minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite), papaya, pineapple."

Woah -- that is one heck of a lot of rice . Brown and white and rice bran -- really? that is splitting an ingedient --and then you have FLAX

I am sure you can find better food .

Question . Is the dog gaining weight and growing?
You don't have to accelerate growth . Your concern should be is the dog healthy.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

It isn't specific but it reads like most other charts. It lists the "dog" weight in a column and then recommended feeding across the chart for puppies, seniors. active dogs, etc and plainly states below the chart

"*During Lactation and Puppies* up to six months old, _*require twice the amount of food as an adult dog *_and they should be fed 3 to 4 times a day. Puppies, six months to a year, twice daily."

CANIDAE® All Life Stages Dog Food Chicken Meal & Rice Recipe | CANIDAE®

According to the chart, the puppy's food should be 2x-3x what he's getting right now. I would split the difference and say 4-5 cups per day but increase over a couple weeks so the puppy doesn't get sick from eating much more than he's used to.

I suggest the OP contact the company directly and ask if he thinks I'm wrong on this.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Estimated adult weight should be based on the size of the parents, not what one thinks it should be or would like it to be. Many adult German Shepherds weigh 50-60 pounds and it is nothing to be worried about.

The puppy in your pictures does not look underweight or too thin. Some German Shepherds are smaller as adults and some puppies are smaller than others yet grow to a normal size. Your pup is the runt of a large litter and smaller size now is to be expected. It may or may not be a reflection of what his adult size will be.

Most of the puppies I had weren't much bigger than yours at that age and most of them have grown to be oversized. As long as he is healthy and fed a quality food, I would not worry about it.


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## Julian G (Apr 4, 2016)

Go to the store, get Large Breed Puppy dry food (royal canin, blue buffalo are good). Give him 3 cups a day of those, and add a table spoon of yogurt 2 times a day. Try to get goat yogurt. Runts get pushed away during feeding and don't get enough food.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Royal Canin is a poor quality , grain and fiber loaded product.


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## Aralango (Sep 12, 2012)

Try free feeding


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

All of my dogs have done really good on Fromm. i recommend this.https://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy I also add https://freshpet.com/products/vitalbeefandbisonrecipe/ to their afternoon feeding. Other than switching to a higher quality food and making sure she is getting enough food the best thing I can tell you is don't fret over size. She is going to get to the size she is genetically encoded to get as long as you feed properly.


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## Honeybee1999 (Mar 2, 2006)

How is the pup's body condition when you put your hands on him? Does he feel very boney, like you can feel every part of every bone? Are parts of him covered in muscle/fat that should be covered? How prominent are the ribs and spaces between them? If you can feel spaces between ribs and feel every knob on his bones, especially over shoulders and hips and spine, he is too thin and needs to eat more. If he has a good covering of muscle and fat in places he should have those, but you can still feel ribs but not spaces between ribs, he is pretty close to ideal. If he feels round and squishy all over and can't feel ribs, he is too fat. I go by what my animals feel like, not by what the bag says I should be feeding. That is only a guideline for an average dog.

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