Can Eveyone Please Check Out My Golden Retriever

[Emmajin]

I have a Golden Retriever he just turned 5 month yesterday. Everyone says he looks very skinny, i try to feed him more but just can't change the way he looks.

He was on Artemis med & large breed puppy before and i feed him 4 cups of 250ML eveyday for 3 times, on the dog food pakage it says 3-4 cup per day, then he got really bad diarrhoea for more then 2 weeks, after stoped him on Artemis he got better with the stool(i was feeding cooked beef mince with rice), then the vet said i can try the dog food again, so i did what he said, but he keep on getting diarrhoea.

So i decide to feed him RAW food ONLY!! after feeding raw for 2 weeks his stool is looking so good, they are hard and small.

But he still looks so skinny!!

Is this what a 5 month golden should look like?

He's coat is short, and his legs are so long.....

or is he really underweight, should i feed him more?

BTW he walks about 1 hur eveyday, and run free in the park for half hurs.

here are some photos i took today!

Edited February 18, 2010 by Emmajin

[poodlefan]

He doesn't look skinny to me. He looks like a leggy puppy.

Can you feel his backbone really easily?

Where did you buy him? Does he have pedigree papers?

Is he desexed and if so, at what age was he done?

Edited February 18, 2010 by poodlefan

[Emmajin]

He doesn't look skinny to me. He looks like a leggy puppy.

Can you feel his backbone really easily?

Where did you buy him? Does he have pedigree papers?

Is he desexed and if so, at what age was he done?

yeah, the long legs make him looking skinny. and he is 18KG

i can feel his backbone easily also can feel the ribs

i just bought him from a breeder, he don't have pedigree paper.

i'll desex him when he's 6 month old ( vet told me that)

[poodlefan]

He doesn't look skinny to me. He looks like a leggy puppy.

Can you feel his backbone really easily?

Where did you buy him? Does he have pedigree papers?

Is he desexed and if so, at what age was he done?

yeah, the long legs make him looking skinny. and he is 18KG

i can feel his backbone easily also can feel the ribs

i just bought him from a breeder, he don't have pedigree paper.

i'll desex him when he's 6 month old ( vet told me that)

Then it's possible he's not purebred.

You should be able to feel his ribs but feeling his backbone easily suggests he is underweight. Better that than fat though.

Do you worm him regularly?

I'd be waiting another 6 months before desexing him.

Edited February 18, 2010 by poodlefan

[Diva]

I'm sure the first thing you'll get in response is that 1 hr is too long for an on lead walk with a 5 month old pup. I'd cut that back, or split into several much smaller walks across the day, or increase the opportunity to free run - where he will stop if tired - instead of on-lead time.

Apart from that, I don't think he looks too skinny in the photo, but photos are hard to judge by. I prefer a pup not to be too heavy. What does he feel like? You should be able to feel ribs but under a light layer of flesh. If his bones are too prominent, he may be too skinny.

Edited February 18, 2010 by Diva

[Sandra777]

Doesn't look skinny to me - but he doesn't have much hair for a Golden Retriever

Can you easily feel his ribs all the way up to his shoulders, but not see them? If so, he's as fat as he needs to be. IMO the amount of exercise you say he gets seems a bit much for a larger puppy so perhaps concentrate more on training and fun games to make him mentally tired which is as good as physically tired in a puppy.

If he is a little on the thin side up his food slightly and slowly.

[sas]

Then it's possible he's not purebred.

I'd be waiting another 6 months before desexing him.

He very well could be purebred but not pedgree and there's nothing wrong with desexing pet puppies at 6 months.

Some young dogs really struggle with their weight, it's seen a lot in Danes, they start to mature and then they start to fill out a bit.

You can up the food a bit if you want but there is nothing wrong with a breed like yours growing on the light side, less strain on joints.

An hour a day exercise might be a bit too much for your breed, hopefully a Breeder will come on and let you know their opinion.

If your dog is healthy, wormed and healthy then don't worry too much unless your dog is actually refusing its' food.

Edited February 18, 2010 by sas

[persephone]

In those photos he does not look skinny to me.he just looks cute

A balanced raw diet is good What is he getting each day ?

I agree with 1 hour walking being a lot for a young puppy....

[Emmajin]

I'm sure the first thing you'll get in response is that 1 hr is too long for an on lead walk with a 5 month old pup. I'd cut that back, or split into several much smaller walks across the day, or increase the opportunity to free run - where he will stop if tired - instead of on-lead time.

Apart from that, I don't think he looks too skinny in the photo, but photos are hard to judge by. I prefer a pup not to be too heavy. What does he feel like? You should be able to feel ribs but under a light layer of flesh. If his bones are too prominent, he may be too skinny.

I did try to walk him less but eveytime he didn't get the normal 1 hur walk, he came him like crazy.... run around the house without a stop, until he gets tried.

i just feel his ribs again, what i think is a layer of skin, then ribs, but can't see the ribs with eyes.

[poodlefan]

Then it's possible he's not purebred.

I'd be waiting another 6 months before desexing him.

He very well could be purebred but not pedgree and there's nothing wrong with desexing pet puppies at 6 months.

He could very well be purebred... I said its possible he aint. I've never seen a coat that short on a Goldie. If you told me he was a Lab/GR cross I'd believe you.

Nothing "wrong" desexing at 6 months SAS but if I wanted a larger boy to mature a bit more, I'd delay it. The earlier you desex em, the leggier they get.

Edited February 18, 2010 by poodlefan

[dee lee]

he doesn't have much hair for a Golden Retriever

Many GRs have shorter hair when they are pups. My 3 year old has fairly short hair for an adult, but still is well within the normal range of the breed. Its a big range .

(just to clarify- mine is a rescue dog so is quite possibly not wellbred, but even so...)

Edited February 18, 2010 by ✽deelee

[Emmajin]

In those photos he does not look skinny to me.he just looks cute

A balanced raw diet is good What is he getting each day ?

I agree with 1 hour walking being a lot for a young puppy....

This is what i want to ask too.

some people say i should give a puppy 10% of they body weight, and some say 2% of adult weight, so i choose the 10% one.

i feed him 3 times a day, 70%meat 20%bone, and 10%other

Is this ok??

[poodlefan]

Do you worm him regularly?

[Golden Rules]

Oooh, you are a bad bad mummy, you better send that puppy to me to look after!!!!

Seriously, he looks fine and dandy and I think he looks purebred.

My young golden had very little hair at 6 months old and when he passed at 22 months, he still had a very thin coat (I loved it because he hardly ever dropped any hair!)

Why don;t you pop into the Goldie thread here and ask all the breeders in there?

[mrs tornsocks]

Hi Emmajin

We had exactly the same 'worry' with our labrador retriever at this age. He looked like a skinny gangly fella and was all legs. We upped his food just a little bit (about 3 cups of Royal Canin, twice a day) and he is now filling out nicely, still nice and slim though, but not so gangly. He is now 10 months old.

I would not be too concerned as long as he's had all the health checks (worming etc as others have mentioned).

Have you tried maybe walking for 30 minutes and then doing some additional training/supervised play sessions at home ? I would not be walking him this long as they are still growing bones and joints etc. Even some hide and seek type exercises (ie sniff out food etc) are good because they also tire him out using his mind and senses. He doesn't need to be constantly exerting himself physically to get stimulation and ultimately, to calm him down a bit.

edited to add -- it was about 5-6 months that we cut our boys feeds down to 2 per day. You can obviously adjust the amount.

Edited February 18, 2010 by mrs tornsocks

[Diva]

I did try to walk him less but eveytime he didn't get the normal 1 hur walk, he came him like crazy.... run around the house without a stop, until he gets tried.

i just feel his ribs again, what i think is a layer of skin, then ribs, but can't see the ribs with eyes.

Maybe spend some of the time you cut out of the walk doing some simple training exercises with him, so he tires his brain out as well as his body. Teach him some tricks, or retrieving.

The cautions about walking too far at once with a youngster are mostly about not putting too much strain on young, still growing, joints. If he really needs an hour, could you do a 1/2 hour in the morning and a second in the evening? Even that is probably safer than a straight hour.

I feel your dilemma though, one of mine was very full on energetic at that age as well.

Edited February 18, 2010 by Diva

[Emmajin]

Then it's possible he's not purebred.

I'd be waiting another 6 months before desexing him.

He very well could be purebred but not pedgree and there's nothing wrong with desexing pet puppies at 6 months.

He could very well be purebred... I said its possible he aint. I've never seen a coat that short on a Goldie. If you told me he was a Lab/GR cross I'd believe you.

Nothing "wrong" desexing at 6 months SAS but if I wanted a larger boy to mature a bit more, I'd delay it. The earlier you desex em, the leggier they get.

I saw his parent, they all got long coat, and looks like golden to me, his parent are not a champion or anything. but at that time i have no knowledge about pure breed or papers, i just want a puppy.

[poodlefan]

Then it's possible he's not purebred.

I'd be waiting another 6 months before desexing him.

He very well could be purebred but not pedgree and there's nothing wrong with desexing pet puppies at 6 months.

He could very well be purebred... I said its possible he aint. I've never seen a coat that short on a Goldie. If you told me he was a Lab/GR cross I'd believe you.

Nothing "wrong" desexing at 6 months SAS but if I wanted a larger boy to mature a bit more, I'd delay it. The earlier you desex em, the leggier they get.

I saw his parent, they all got long coat, and looks like golden to me, his parent are not a champion or anything. but at that time i have no knowledge about pure breed or papers, i just want a puppy.

Ok, moving on then. Do you worm him regularly?

[Emmajin]

I did try to walk him less but eveytime he didn't get the normal 1 hur walk, he came him like crazy.... run around the house without a stop, until he gets tried.

i just feel his ribs again, what i think is a layer of skin, then ribs, but can't see the ribs with eyes.

Maybe spend some of the time you cut out of the walk doing some simple training exercises with him, so he tires his brain out as well as his body. Teach him some tricks, or retrieving.

The cautions about walking too far at once with a youngster are mostly about not putting too much strain on young, still growing, joints. If he really needs an hour, could you do a 1/2 hour in the morning and a second in the evening? Even that is probably safer than a straight hour.

I feel your dilemma though, one of mine was very full energetic on at that age as well.

Thank you for this, i'll try what you said, maybe i'll drive to the dog park and just let him play free for short time.

[Emmajin]

Then it's possible he's not purebred.

I'd be waiting another 6 months before desexing him.

He very well could be purebred but not pedgree and there's nothing wrong with desexing pet puppies at 6 months.

He could very well be purebred... I said its possible he aint. I've never seen a coat that short on a Goldie. If you told me he was a Lab/GR cross I'd believe you.

Nothing "wrong" desexing at 6 months SAS but if I wanted a larger boy to mature a bit more, I'd delay it. The earlier you desex em, the leggier they get.

I saw his parent, they all got long coat, and looks like golden to me, his parent are not a champion or anything. but at that time i have no knowledge about pure breed or papers, i just want a puppy.

Ok, moving on then. Do you worm him regularly?

oh, yes, i worm him on time, and last time he had them was in the VET.