German Shepherd Pup Under Weight

[maf101]

She had her first vaccination last Tuesday. I'll hold off going to public places until she's 8 weeks.

If she gets worse, I'll find an after hours vet. I just checked on her. She's breathing normal again.

Here's some pictures from last week. She has a new collar now, one that fits. You can see from the 3rd picture how much smaller she is compared to her brother.

Riley (left), Boss (Right).

[Andisa]

Oh they are very cute - but can't help but think they should be with their mum still. Hope she is much better in the morning.

[chichihuahua]

There's an elephant in the room which no one has addressed yet....

you bought a puppy home at 5 WEEKS??? and you wonder why it's under nourished and sick???

That's beyond irresponsible. I'm just speechless.

[joelle]

The deed is done, the pup is home, and needs extra nourishment and that post helps the OP exactly how...????

[chichihuahua]

Perhaps it would let her know how irresponsible the "deed" was, and also educate her and other lurkers NOT to do it in future.

Are you saying we should all just turn a blind eye to this fact? Perhaps in future she should think more before bringing home a puppy at 5 WEEKS OLD.

The deed is done, the pup is home, and needs extra nourishment and that post helps the OP exactly how...????

[Dogs4Fun]

She had her first vaccination last Tuesday. I'll hold off going to public places until she's 8 weeks.

If she gets worse, I'll find an after hours vet. I just checked on her. She's breathing normal again.

Here's some pictures from last week. She has a new collar now, one that fits. You can see from the 3rd picture how much smaller she is compared to her brother.

Riley (left), Boss (Right).

Big white feet and big white chests on those pups. May not be purebred - if crossed with say, kepie, the weights are not as bad as you first think.

[persephone]

Big white feet and big white chests on those pups. May not be purebred - if crossed with say, kepie, the weights are not as bad as you first think.

I wondered the same thing...........

maf.. I know you saw "the father"... however, more than one dog can mate a bitch when she's in season.. and the pups in a litter can have different fathers!

[lovemesideways]

Perhaps it would let her know how irresponsible the "deed" was, and also educate her and other lurkers NOT to do it in future.

Are you saying we should all just turn a blind eye to this fact? Perhaps in future she should think more before bringing home a puppy at 5 WEEKS OLD.

I have to agree with this. I'm surprised nobody has addressed the issue of a 5 week old "purebred" puppy. No papers.

The deed may be done, and of course what we want is to get the weight on this puppy.

However I also think the OP should be educated on what she has done and why its wrong. The same as any person who has bought a designer dog.

Anybody care to comment? Or will I also be getting told off for going OT.

Flame me now... *pulls on suit*

[trifecta]

Perhaps it would let her know how irresponsible the "deed" was, and also educate her and other lurkers NOT to do it in future.

Are you saying we should all just turn a blind eye to this fact? Perhaps in future she should think more before bringing home a puppy at 5 WEEKS OLD.

I have to agree with this. I'm surprised nobody has addressed the issue of a 5 week old "purebred" puppy. No papers.

The deed may be done, and of course what we want is to get the weight on this puppy.

However I also think the OP should be educated on what she has done and why its wrong. The same as any person who has bought a designer dog.

Anybody care to comment? Or will I also be getting told off for going OT.

Flame me now... *pulls on suit*

In the first post the OP tells how they were told the puppy was SIX weeks old. Many people (I am not condoning this) feel that pups are ready to leave for new homes at this age. It was the vet who put the puppy's age at five weeks. The OP has done nothing wrong & is trying to do everything right. The OP has come to the right place in DOL for advice on guidance on raising the puppy &, as an aside, ethical breeding; what good is it to castigate that person & frighten them away?

[WoofnHoof]

Perhaps it would let her know how irresponsible the "deed" was, and also educate her and other lurkers NOT to do it in future.

Are you saying we should all just turn a blind eye to this fact? Perhaps in future she should think more before bringing home a puppy at 5 WEEKS OLD.

I have to agree with this. I'm surprised nobody has addressed the issue of a 5 week old "purebred" puppy. No papers.

The deed may be done, and of course what we want is to get the weight on this puppy.

However I also think the OP should be educated on what she has done and why its wrong. The same as any person who has bought a designer dog.

Anybody care to comment? Or will I also be getting told off for going OT.

Flame me now... *pulls on suit*

I just read this whole thread and a number of people have pointed out that these pups were too young and should still be with their mum, a lot of people have pointed out that they were extremely small, one post (can't remember who it was sorry) addressed the fact that the pups are probably from byb/puppy farmer and the mum probably bred too young and fed innappropriately hence the low weight of the pups. All in all I think it has been pointed out that this was not the ideal purchase but an awful lot of pups are purchased in this way by people who don't know what age is appropriate or what the ideal weight for their breed/age should be.

I'm glad you've got your flame suit on but the OP probably doesn't own one and I think the extra care this pup needs is going to be painful enough without the typical dol "omg how could you buy a pup from a BYB/puppy farmer - shame on you!"

[chichihuahua]

I'm sorry but I don't know ANYONE who would advise that a six week old puppy is fine to leave its mother. And I've also read through the tread and I didn't see anyone address the five week thing aside from a passing comment like: "oh, he's underweight", "oh BYB". I think under this circumstance it is important to address the issue directly and advise that taking home ANY puppy before 8 weeks is just plain irresponsible.

Obviously the important thing is maintaining the health of this pup but I still feel that the OP should know the ramifications of her actions. 5 or 6 weeks is just way too young and if she in future is planning on getting more puppies it is important for her to realize this.

In the first post the OP tells how they were told the puppy was SIX weeks old. Many people (I am not condoning this) feel that pups are ready to leave for new homes at this age. It was the vet who put the puppy's age at five weeks. The OP has done nothing wrong & is trying to do everything right. The OP has come to the right place in DOL for advice on guidance on raising the puppy &, as an aside, ethical breeding; what good is it to castigate that person & frighten them away?

Edited April 4, 2009 by reality_22

[WoofnHoof]

maf are the puppies skinny or just small for their age? There is a big difference.

Your dogs have obviously come from a BYB or PF so it is very very likely that they have been badly bred. It is quite possible that the mother was bred on her first heat at to young of an age and apart from not being finished growing herself she was not fed the appropriate food whilst pregnant so her pups were malnourished whilst in the womb and then whilst feeding from her. It is also more thne likely that the person who bred the pups fed them totally inappropriate food once there were weaned. All of this resulting in puppies small for their age.

I would get rid of the tinned food and pet roll and feed minced chicken carcuss. If your puppies continue to eat and gain weight every week then I wouldn't worry about them being small.

In case people missed puggy puggy's post from page 1 (my highlights)

[WoofnHoof]

a silly question but what is goats milk?

Milk which comes from goats

it is MUCH easier digested than other milk... and great for babies/convalescents.

Your poor little pup should still be with its mother

At present....I would be feeding 4 small meals a day... of good quality chicken mince, some bonnie puppy, some goats milk, or plain yogurt... amd some chicken wings to chew

From page 1 (my highlight)

You may also wish to read the Puppy Development Calendar which can be found at the top of the thread to learn about how important the first few months of a dogs life really is, being that the puppies are so young, they really should not have been allowed to leave their mother for another 3 weeks. Puppy to puppy interaction is very important at this stage as they learn about how to interact with eachother, what is acceptable behaviour and so on. I would suggest you allow your dog to play with his litter mate your uncle's pup as much as possible in the near term so that they learn these behaviours. All the best.

From page 2 (my highlight)

I think everyone in this thread was doing a great job of educating and assisting this new puppy owner

ETA selling pups at 6 weeks is legal and not everyone knows why this is not necessarily the best age to let them go, the OP hasn't done anything 'wrong', there have been a number of posts indicating why many believe it's not ideal and I am sure the OP will be more careful choosing pups in the future.

Edited April 4, 2009 by tkay

[Just Midol]

Just a comment on the previous page with growing fast.

Sometimes you have no choice with feeding large quantities. Montu was growing stupidly quickly and I had to feed him enough to sustain his growth. If I had attempted to slow it down by feeding less he would be skin and bones.

I know you weren't suggesting that she stops feeding her dog when it grows but I just thought I should point out that if your dog starts growing faster then you MUST feed him more whilst he is in that growth spurt.

[lea]

Just a comment on the previous page with growing fast.

Sometimes you have no choice with feeding large quantities. Montu was growing stupidly quickly and I had to feed him enough to sustain his growth. If I had attempted to slow it down by feeding less he would be skin and bones.

I know you weren't suggesting that she stops feeding her dog when it grows but I just thought I should point out that if your dog starts growing faster then you MUST feed him more whilst he is in that growth spurt.

You always have a choice, its irresponsible to tell new puppy buyers its ok to feed large quantities of food.

Pups should only be feed the appropriate amount of food, especially in large breeds.

[lea]

gremlins

Edited April 4, 2009 by lea

[maf101]

Big white feet and big white chests on those pups. May not be purebred - if crossed with say, kepie, the weights are not as bad as you first think.

I wondered the same thing...........

maf.. I know you saw "the father"... however, more than one dog can mate a bitch when she's in season.. and the pups in a litter can have different fathers!

I didn't know this. The male dog was pure black. There was no other colours on him. The female looked like the traditional golden tan german shepherd.

If he's lied about her been purebred I'll just have to live with it. Like others have pointed out, I bought her from a backyard breeder without papers. She is my responsibility and I will look after her regardless.

I'm not going to buy another dog. She is a family pet not show dog. I am having her desexed as soon as she's old enough. I want to do the right thing and be a responsible owner. I guess some people here think that's not possible but I don't mind what people think. If in 15-20 years from now I do buy another dog, I will have learned from this and I'll buy one from a known breeder.

I honestly did not know she was only 5 weeks old. I've only seen german shepherd adult dogs not pups. I did not know what size she should be.

She is growing. You can feel her tummy when you pick her up instead of her bones. She has a lot of energy and is a loving dog.

I'm thankful people here have helped me and my pup.

I expect I'll need advice in the future. I hope people don't mind if I stick and around these forums and ask for advice.

Thank you,

Michelle.

[Flaves]

Big white feet and big white chests on those pups. May not be purebred - if crossed with say, kepie, the weights are not as bad as you first think.

I wondered the same thing...........

maf.. I know you saw "the father"... however, more than one dog can mate a bitch when she's in season.. and the pups in a litter can have different fathers!

GSD pup CAN have white feet

And they look PB to me

Please take your pup to the vet and get some advice from the vet.

[chichihuahua]

I'm glad you want to be a responsible dog owner. I guess we all have to start somewhere, and it's very commendable that you are taking the time to ask questions regarding your dog's health.

I have to admit, I got my dog from a BYB too - not a purebreed, just a mutt from a litter... but still, a BYB all the same. Mind you, I waited till he was 10 weeks old before bringing him home and at the time I certainly didn't know what I know now about dogs. All I knew was that I didn't want to get one from a pet shop and never push their noses into their mess when toilet training. The rest I learned over time though what you're doing now, researching and asking lots of questions both here and other places.

Anyway, I didn't mean to attack you for the 5 weeks thing. I was just a little bit shocked, but I understand you generally didn't know and I'm sure in future you'd be more wary about it if you ever get another dog.

Good luck to your puppy! She's gorg

I didn't know this. The male dog was pure black. There was no other colours on him. The female looked like the traditional golden tan german shepherd.

If he's lied about her been purebred I'll just have to live with it. Like others have pointed out, I bought her from a backyard breeder without papers. She is my responsibility and I will look after her regardless.

I'm not going to buy another dog. She is a family pet not show dog. I am having her desexed as soon as she's old enough. I want to do the right thing and be a responsible owner. I guess some people here think that's not possible but I don't mind what people think. If in 15-20 years from now I do buy another dog, I will have learned from this and I'll buy one from a known breeder.

I honestly did not know she was only 5 weeks old. I've only seen german shepherd adult dogs not pups. I did not know what size she should be.

She is growing. You can feel her tummy when you pick her up instead of her bones. She has a lot of energy and is a loving dog.

I'm thankful people here have helped me and my pup.

I expect I'll need advice in the future. I hope people don't mind if I stick and around these forums and ask for advice.

Thank you,

Michelle.

[Just Midol]

Just a comment on the previous page with growing fast.

Sometimes you have no choice with feeding large quantities. Montu was growing stupidly quickly and I had to feed him enough to sustain his growth. If I had attempted to slow it down by feeding less he would be skin and bones.

I know you weren't suggesting that she stops feeding her dog when it grows but I just thought I should point out that if your dog starts growing faster then you MUST feed him more whilst he is in that growth spurt.

You always have a choice, its irresponsible to tell new puppy buyers its ok to feed large quantities of food.

Pups should only be feed the appropriate amount of food, especially in large breeds.

It can be irresponsible NOT to.

If the dog is growing at a fast rate then you MUST give them enough food to SUSTAIN the growth. Sure, you can let your dog turn to skin and bones if you want but I prefer to give my dogs their nutritional requirements even if that means I have to feed them 1.5-2kg a day.

Telling new owners never to feed large quantities of food is stupid advice.