# My HUGE German Shepherd Puppy!



## Tarik (Jul 7, 2015)

Hey guys, brand new to these forums.. although i have been creepin on here since I got my shepherd puppy, Rocky, about 1 month and a couple of weeks ago.

He's my first dog, and first ever pet..


I love this little guy, he's been growing so unbelievably fast, and his paws are just jaw-dropping. Vet estimates ROCKY to be over 110 pounds!

Very smart dog, just want his ears to go up!!! When do you think that will happen? Poor pup is teething bad still but his nipping got way better since we got him.

I have taken some pretty updated pictures, and he is now 3 months and 6 days old now 

April First baby!

This is him when we first got him:










This is a week after:










These photos within the past week and a half:


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## Yggdrasil (May 13, 2014)

He is so adorable!! For my teething pup I give frozen large carrots. I also give him large ice cubes and frozen towels tied in a knot. It seems to have a soothing effect on him.


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## Tarik (Jul 7, 2015)

Yggdrasil said:


> He is so adorable!! For my teething pup I give frozen large carrots. I also give him large ice cubes and frozen towels tied in a knot. It seems to have a soothing effect on him.


I will try the frozen carrots and ice cubes!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Good looking pup!The ears should go up shortly after teething is complete.There is an entire section on this site about ears,don't worry about them quite yet.


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## brandydan (May 7, 2015)

I thought that ice cubes could crack teeth? But when we fostered a dobie puppy, I used the frozen towels bit and it worked like a charm. Also any leftover large socks. They did double duty in that it distracted that guy from chomping on the sofa leg (and I can't wait to have to deal with this again...."

Your puppy looks happy and so so cute!


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## Ojklins (Jul 7, 2015)

Tarik, Hi! I also just signed up.
You know, up to this point I doubt if I would like to have a dog.
But when I saw the second photo of your puppy, all doubts were gone. Just a cutie! Incredibly kind and expressive eyes. You are very lucky to have him!


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

Ojklins said:


> Tarik, Hi! I also just signed up.
> You know, up to this point I doubt if I would like to have a dog.
> But when I saw the second photo of your puppy, all doubts were gone. Just a cutie! Incredibly kind and expressive eyes. You are very lucky to have him!


GSDs are very unique, and require lots of hard work, consistency, attention, love, and money. I wouldn't get one if you're having doubts.  However, I must say that as a first time owner of a GS puppy myself, I love her more than anything! She is the sweetest dog I've ever owned.


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## RZZNSTR (Jan 24, 2015)

Cool pics!


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## RachelK1 (Jul 26, 2013)

WOW! Look at the size of those paws. You are right he is going to be a big boy.

And everyone is right, don't worry about the ears, they will go up and down for while but should remain completely upright after teething. This can take till they are up to 7 months of age, every puppy is a little different in the time frame.


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

My what big paws you have cutie pie


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Rocky had feet like that! 116 lbs OS WL GSD, big feet are a give away!


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Chip I thought you might like this one 
To put this in perspective I am 5'8", in this photo Bear was about 9 weeks. Just little feet.


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## Ruger Monster (Jan 29, 2015)

What a cutie


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## SLPLSWON (May 25, 2015)

How much does he currently weigh? My boy is going to be huge the vet said as well. He currently weighs just under 32lbs at 13 weeks old. massive paws. Hoping for 130-140lb range. His Uncle weighs 140. His dad weighs 130 and his momma weighed 80lbs.


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## Tarik (Jul 7, 2015)

Hey guys, i appericate all your comments they were so nice.

Rocky's dad was over 120 pounds, and his mom was 102 pounds to be exact. His dad wasn't around when i picked him up, breeder told me the father was in germany for a show.

Vet estimated over 115 pounds though, but we'll see.
i seriously love my lil guy love him to death. got him a bunch of hard chewing toys and he's starting to distinguish whats okay to bite on and what's not. 

my lil puppy is so spoiled my mom cooks him the same foood we eat. he's been eating like a king since we got him!

love him so much. owning a german shepherd was probably one of the best decisons i ever made in my life.

He currently weighs a whopping 42 pounds and now is 3 months and 15 days old!

Update:










law school next


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## Tarik (Jul 7, 2015)

sorry for the double post, but it wouldn't let me edit!


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Sabis mom said:


> Chip I thought you might like thi. He got up to s one
> To put this in perspective I am 5'8", in this photo Bear was about 9 weeks. Just little feet.


When we got Rocky at 7 months I had no idea how big he was going to be. But I do remember at that age he was a "difficult" lift!

I think at that point it was more his length than his weight?? GSD people have seen and I don't need to tell them he's OS. 

We try and stay at 116 that's what he weighted 8 years ago. He got up to 123!! I freaked out diet time and back to 116. 

Good looking doggie!


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

He is adorable! . Congrats on the puppy class too!

Don't think daddy is showing in Germany at that weight though.....too big.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

But try to keep him lean for health purposes. Many love their pups to grow like crazy but it can backfire. Read up on Pano so you can stay ahead of that one. He looks lovely with a kind expression. How did his sire end up in Germany?


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

^ Good advice.

Breed Standard males should top out at 40 kg (approx. 88 pounds at the most) page 8, link below. There is some wiggle room, but 30 + pounds over is a lot. As I learned at the show this past weekend the SV is getting more strict on size. Too small or too big. For this reason I find it very unlikely it would be worthwhile to send a dog to show in Germany as big as 120 pounds. Way too big, little chance of placing well. 

http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/166g01-en.pdf


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Having said that, he looks like a great dog and will be a wonderful companion. Enjoy him!!


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## slg52266 (Jul 18, 2015)

Adorable!


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## Fun (Jul 16, 2015)

The paws was the first thing that caught my eye, he's going to be majestic!



Yggdrasil said:


> He is so adorable!! For my teething pup I give frozen large carrots. I also give him large ice cubes and frozen towels tied in a knot. It seems to have a soothing effect on him.


By frozen towel, you mean wet it in water first? Or just throw dry towel into the freezer?


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## Tarik (Jul 7, 2015)

Maybe I was lied to about his dad being a compeittion dog? But jesus, i saw photos of his dad and they were out of the world. never seen a bigger german shepherd.

sorry for not having my facts straight, this is my first puppy so i was gullable to the sales pitch


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

No need to apologize. I too used to believe the sales pitch about "large old fashioned" GSDs.

It was only because of this site and me being a nerd about researching that I too did not go down that path.

In the U.S. it is a common misperception that GSDs are a very large breed.

They are not, never were and still aren't. Police do not use St. Bernards for a reason...you know?

Take the advice about keeping him lean, love him and enjoy him...and stick around, lots of great information here. . 




Tarik said:


> Maybe I was lied to about his dad being a compeittion dog? But jesus, i saw photos of his dad and they were out of the world. never seen a bigger german shepherd.
> 
> sorry for not having my facts straight, this is my first puppy so i was gullable to the sales pitch


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

I remember when Nara was a pup, everyone would comment on how she's going to be SO HUGE because of her large paws. She's at the higher end of the standard, but she is still within the standard at 24". I bought into the fact that bigger is better, and at one point Nara was 90 lbs, but I was in denial because she would run/bike with me for 5-10 miles a day, 6 days a week. No way she could be overweight. Well, thanks to the kind folks on this forum, I came back to reality and realized GSDs are medium-sized dogs (per the breed standard), they're working dogs, bigger isn't better, and yes, my NarNar was FAT. For some reason the heavier she was, the "bigger" she was, and that made me proud and was a bragging point. Now I'm embarrassed that I allowed her to balloon up to that weight, and I've put her on a diet. It was a lot easier for her to gain the weight than to lose it. She's down to 77-78 lbs, and she could still stand to lose 5-7 more lbs.


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## Black Kali (Aug 31, 2013)

I've heard stories ( form one FCI judge ) about over sized GSDs on sieger shows. They don't stand a chance in ring but if they bite sleeve, they have buyers willing to pay 5-6 figures for them. 

Nice puppy Tarik  I like his smiley face


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Yup....Let me be really clear about something here because I don't want this to go down a confusing path.

* If Tarik loves his puppy and his puppy is healthy and happy I am happy for him.*

I wasn't going to say anything about OS dogs, except when he made the comment about the sire going to Germany to show. 

In Germany under the SV a 120 pound dog is very unlikely to do well at all.

As for biting a sleeve and the dog being worth hundreds of thousands that's a different conversation. 

The only reason I jumped in is because many people read these threads and in the spirit of education I didn't want the idea to stand that huge GSDs are going to do well and be shown in Germany under the SV. They won't do well in Germany nor the AKC in the U.S. For that matter.

120 pounds is very much out of the standard.



Black Kali said:


> I've heard stories ( form one FCI judge ) about over sized GSDs on sieger shows. They don't stand a chance in ring but if they bite sleeve, they have buyers willing to pay 5-6 figures for them.
> 
> Nice puppy Tarik  I like his smiley face


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Also, it's no surprise that this info. is going to sting a bit for the OP. I knew this and tried to word my comments carefully. 

That's life. We live and learn and it was only because I found this site *before* I got my dogs that I didn't go the "old fashioned huge straight back" GSD path myself, so I do come from a place of humility as well.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

Great looking puppy!


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## Black Kali (Aug 31, 2013)

Gwenhwyfair said:


> In Germany under the SV a 120 pound dog is very unlikely to do well at all.


Yes, that's exactly what the judge said, they have no chance inside ring... but outside of ring there will be buyers.


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Ya...I know but I think that's going off topic. I don't want to derail this picture thread too much that's why I stayed very focused only on the comment the OP made about 'showing in Germany'. Also don't want to turn this into yet another OS dog debate...  



Black Kali said:


> Yes, that's exactly what the judge said, they have no chance inside ring... but outside of ring there will be buyers.


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## amburger16 (May 22, 2015)

Bear was what you would consider poorly bred, BYB. His father is 135, mother 80 lbs. There is no doubt in my mind Bear will be a big boy.. I don't usually buy into the paw thing.. but jeeez.. there is no way a 70 lb dog could be proportionate with those paws.. We'll see, hes pretty lanky right now. I haven't weighed him in over a month so I'll probably stop in the vet this saturday and see.. I don't care how much he weighs as long as he is lean and healthy. Hes very lean now, and you can see the muscle when hes just standing there.. Makes me a proud parent


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## RLRKAPLAN (Jun 23, 2014)

*Large German Shepherd(s)*

When we brought Maximus home, he only weighed 6.6 pounds at 8 weeks, and his feet were HUGE. I knew he was going to be a big boy, as his Sire weighed 120 and Dam weighed 90. He steadily gained 10-15 pounds per month. 

He just turned a year old on July 9th, and weighs between 80-90 pounds (I need to take him to the vet for his weigh-in). His muscles are defined and he is very lean. The vet estimates his final weight to be close to 120.


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## SiegersMom (Apr 19, 2011)

My dog had huge paws and everyone just went on about how big he would be. He is a big dog but not crazy big. Last winter he weighed at the vet and was 85 lbs. I figured he would be 90-95 but I was off. I think he has been heavier but I try to keep him on the lean side. He has very nice thick bone. So he looks good at his size.
You pup is very nice looking with good bone.


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## kayleeshpd (Jul 20, 2015)

I also just signed up and just got my first shepherd puppy 4 weeks ago. Your little boy is quite the looker! This is my Kaylee girl she also has the same big paws and floppy ears


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

My girl seems to have stopped growth at 75lbs/26"atw. She had clubs for front feet & paws too. I was told she would be around 90lbs. Glad she's not. Anyway, it is really interesting to watch the growth changes in their front legs/paws. When they start a (height) growth spurt, it's really noticeable. The part between the paw and knee? lengthens and gets a bit wider (depth wise) so the paw size is not as ridiculous looking. The upper arm does too. The paw itself gets longer also, so the whole leg/foot takes on a more streamlined look.


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## Longfisher (Feb 28, 2013)

lexiz said:


> GSDs are very unique, and require lots of hard work, consistency, attention, love, and money. I wouldn't get one if you're having doubts.  However, I must say that as a first time owner of a GS puppy myself, I love her more than anything! She is the sweetest dog I've ever owned.


Just got my Zeus out of the vets after surgery for some benign cysts and $1,300 later. 

Zeus is the most loving animal in the world towards us, his family. He's a complete terror at the vet and towards any stranger who rings the doorbell.

I want to write a book called "So, You Say You Want a High-Drive German Shepherd Puppy".

Like this poster, we put a lot of hard work into him. And, we love him to pieces.

But this breed is not for the faint of heart.

Longfisher


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## Tarik (Jul 7, 2015)

Hey guys,

so apparently the guy wasn't lying about his dad being a show dog, but he certainly wasnt 100 pounds plus

but;;

His dad:

his dad in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kltRn9wr_zc
skip to 1:37


Paolo von Modithor





















His MOM:
kirah von osangute-land










updated rocky on Wednesday:


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

these two links for the dad aren't of the same dog?

His dad:

his dad in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kltRn9wr_zc
skip to 1:37


Paolo von Modithor


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

This is why I love this site! This is how closely things are looked at here....


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

I believe this is your dogs sire? If the name is correct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ann5VZ3UeI


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## Tarik (Jul 7, 2015)

His name is Paolo von Modithor .


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

That's what I thought. The link in my post should be correct.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

Great looking pup!


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## WirelessG (Jan 22, 2013)

Your GSD is what he is, so if he grows up to be a big fella, then that's what he will be.

Some people get too worried about their GSD not being big. My GSD is around 85lbs and that's a good size in my books. I was originally worried about him because he looked terribly skinny for so long. For what it's worth, Military Working Dogs tend to be on the smaller size for endurance reasons and for athleticism. 

All that being said, he's a sweet looking little fella and let him be him, but don't overfeed him. He'll be a great companion for years to come!


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