Ideal Weight?

[chloebear]

Puppy 4 months old, breed unknown but is predicted to be a large dog. At present I can see her rib cage does this mean she is under weight? How do you now?

[deltron]

Puppy 4 months old, breed unknown but is predicted to be a large dog. At present I can see her rib cage does this mean she is under weight? How do you now?

This might help you:

It also depends on the breed - some are naturally more lean than others. With Charlie, at 4 months, some days you could occasionally see his ribs if you looked at him a ceratain way. He was growing so fast that his fat wasn't catching up. :rolleyes:

Edited October 4, 2007 by deltron

[chloebear]

Thanks heaps, my dog looks like a three, time to put on a little more weight. Minced lamb?

[Cazz]

I'd think more lamb bones...Puppies need calcium, it'll keep her occupied and the bits of lamb are yummy for dogs!

Mishka's probably varying between 3 and 7...he's a growing boy!

[Kobayashi]

Sometimes it can just be the way they are sitting.

Sometimes i can see willow's ribs, othertimes not. Mainly when she decides she isnt going to eat her dry food, because she wants what we are having. Which was hard for me to keep putting in up, wether she ate it or not, and some days it still doesn't work

Going to try feeding her after we eat, i was just worried it was a little late by then.

[Kingsleychi]

That chart is awesome, i was just looking on the net to find pictures like that

thanks

[Poodle wrangler]

Purina were doing a promo. for Purina One (supermarket dog food) where you sign up online and get a DVD + refund for your first 1.5kg (puppy) or 4kg (adult) bag of food. DVD wasn't bad at all, actually for new dog and puppy owners.

Can you feed an extra meal to pup e.g. morning, late afternoon, late evening (if you work)?

You shouldn't have to do anything drastic- increase the portion sizes and DON'T feed very fatty foods/ offcuts- predisposes a dog to pancreatitis which can kill them.

I accidently had my pup underweight because I was feeding strictly from the packet instructions and he also had a lot of fur to hide under. Fortunately breeder set me straight. I also clipped a lot of his coat off, so I wasn't inclined to make the same mistake.

[Mushaka]

how can we get weight charts for "as they grow"?

I had a Dane that for obvious reasons i had to keep track of,..but would love to know exactly where Im at with Indie an Lewis,and cant seem to find week to week or month to mont for AMstaffs or SBTs

[Mushaka]

PS..

large breeds u will find will be underwieght during growth spurts,

Wat kind of dog r u referring to?

[chloebear]

PS..

large breeds u will find will be underwieght during growth spurts,

Wat kind of dog r u referring to?

She was a pound puppy due to be put down, when I got her she was listed as a rottyxmastif but both my vet and husband have said obvious cattle markings. Most people that have seen her doubt any rotty at all, they think maybe Ridgebach, staffyxcattle.

[sandgrubber]

With pups ribs, I generally figure "now you see them now you don't". Overweight tends to be worse than under (ok, I've got Labs, but I think it fits with most breeds). But if a pup gets a bit of fat on, come a growth spurt, you'll see the ribs again and maybe even be able to count them. It's ok to bounce between two and four when aiming for three. Just try to avoid one or five.

[Kobayashi]

Yeah, willows are definately in the *now you see it, now you dont* category.

I am starting to think we might have made a mistake in giving her a taste of raw foods a little too early. She pretty much refuses to eat dry food only now. the OH left the bowl on the floor this morning, and it was still half full in the arvo.

Will just give her dry for another day, then see how she goes. She definately loves her bones though!

[Poodle wrangler]

Yeah, willows are definately in the *now you see it, now you dont* category.

I am starting to think we might have made a mistake in giving her a taste of raw foods a little too early. She pretty much refuses to eat dry food only now. the OH left the bowl on the floor this morning, and it was still half full in the arvo.

Will just give her dry for another day, then see how she goes. She definately loves her bones though!

My large breed pup tried this one on me, too .

She will eat the dry food, however it will be food of last resort. She's not silly- the raw is much tastier. If she's hungry, she will eat.

With my pup, I started to give raw only in the morning and he soon got the idea that no more was forthcoming. What dry he didn't eat, I just gave back to him later on. No healthy pup will starve itself, though they will prefer the raw.

[WinGus]

I was told that a puppy's weight will go up and down as they grow. Also some advice I was given was that if you feel the back of your hand when in a relaxed position, that should be what the puppy's ribs should feel like. Personally I thought that was a little on the skinny side, but then my breeder told me it is better for the pup in the long run to keep them a little underweight.

My pup is on a BARF diet and I just adjust the amounts accordingly. Like Kobayashi said, sometimes it is just the way they are sitting. When Pepper is sitting or lying on the ground I think, wow she is fat !! But then when she is walking around or playing outside, I think, she's so skinny !!!

[BenjiMom]

I must be lucky, lucky...cause Benji eats bicuits, bones and raw food also........lucky me wooohoooo lol He's 5 months old now.

omg yet another ed...for typos

Edited October 5, 2007 by Bloss