What Is A Healthy Expected Weight Gain

[alyjam]

My hubbys mum works at a vet clinic and brought around a 15kg bag of advance for large breed pups too. Now that he's wormed im hoping he does beef up a little. I dont like fattys but like you german shep i like a little round tum on a pup :)

[Alyosha]

Our pups are usually over 8kg at 6 week or so, and grow to a max of about 45kg.

So he may need some more weight on.

[alyjam]

Thanks alyosha i think he could use the extra weight ecspecially considering his height. I dont want to make him overweight but dont want to under feed him either

[german_shep_fan]

My hubbys mum works at a vet clinic and brought around a 15kg bag of advance for large breed pups too. Now that he's wormed im hoping he does beef up a little. I dont like fattys but like you german shep i like a little round tum on a pup :)

lol yep, i don't like seeing thin pups or thin dogs, but overweight is probably also just as bad, you just need to find the right medium :) My girl is def not overweight but she is going to be much bigger then the standard height/weight for female gsd, expecting to go abt 40kgs at maturity, maybe a little more, not 100% sure yet.

Yep if think he is a tad underweight add some extra food here and there, they grow so quickly at that age so they use so much energy just to grow. If the breeder isn't able to suggest what to give him to beef him up i would just give your vet a quick call :)

[TheCheekyMonster]

Just watch his protein intake, make sure you don't over do it, let his body grow as slow as it can... other than that sounds good :)... how does he play and has any training begun?

Im sure you are going to have your hands very full, by boy just turned 6 months and i need the doggy lord to help me keep sane!! hahah :) pups are amazing little things and they just show you a little bit more of themselves every day, if you have any questions the forum is more than not a great way to start, you will have people bite your head but ignore them, they are poorly socialised

Edited January 31, 2012 by GussysMum

[Erny]

My hubbys mum works at a vet clinic and brought around a 15kg bag of advance for large breed pups too. Now that he's wormed im hoping he does beef up a little. I dont like fattys but like you german shep i like a little round tum on a pup :)

I agree with Persephone - about a kilogram to a kilogram and a half per week is about the right rate of weight increase. Of course it is a matter of how the pup is looking as well - that will tell you if you're on the money.

But don't try to rush the weight on - that can cause a fast growth spurt and in turn that can lead to issues such as carpal laxity syndrome. Steady as she goes :).

ETA: I got waylaid in hitting the submit button for this post and GussysMum beat me to it. Yes - watch the protein levels.

Edited January 31, 2012 by Erny

[LizT]

Just watch his protein intake, make sure you don't over do it, let his body grow as slow as it can... other than that sounds good :)... how does he play and has any training begun?

Im sure you are going to have your hands very full, by boy just turned 6 months and i need the doggy lord to help me keep sane!! hahah :) pups are amazing little things and they just show you a little bit more of themselves every day, if you have any questions the forum is more than not a great way to start, you will have people bite your head but ignore them, they are poorly socialised

It's funny 'cos it's true!

Yeah, he is a tad gangly, I like to see most 8 weeks old puppy (all breeds) looking a bit roly poly, they soon 'play' it off, but you can't wind back the clock so now you just need to find the balance and keep up with him. There is some great feeding advice to be had from the experienced humungeous breed dogs people here. :D The main thing is not to 'push' it as he will grow fast but he will mature slowly.

Edited January 31, 2012 by LizT

[alyjam]

He plays pretty well and we started training straight away. Hes picking up the house training quickly and is learning basic training. He seems to have grasped sit and he'll be doing puppy obedience classes in a couple of weeks

[TheCheekyMonster]

He plays pretty well and we started training straight away. Hes picking up the house training quickly and is learning basic training. He seems to have grasped sit and he'll be doing puppy obedience classes in a couple of weeks

Excellent, I think joining a club, or taking him to classes of any sort is great major component for me is socialisation for you and the pup ,you want pup to be comfortable about every dog he meets, especially the small fragile ones, I wouldn’t be to wrapped up with obedience at this stage, basic sit, drop, and maybe a little stay later down the track will be enough to tackle for now, but for the next 5 weeks make sure he knows his name and he knows to respond to it, im having issues now where Gus refuses to respond to his name when distracted and I regret not concentrating more on that element of training in the first few weeks.

Also make him use his brain with problem solving toys... i was told it was better than any form of exercise at these puppy stages and that person was right!, nothing tires Gus out more than trying to get food out of a empty water bottle or what have you.... throw their breakfast kibble in there and watch him go for gold :).

[LizT]

He plays pretty well and we started training straight away. Hes picking up the house training quickly and is learning basic training. He seems to have grasped sit and he'll be doing puppy obedience classes in a couple of weeks

Excellent, I think joining a club, or taking him to classes of any sort is great major component for me is socialisation for you and the pup ,you want pup to be comfortable about every dog he meets, especially the small fragile ones, I wouldn’t be to wrapped up with obedience at this stage, basic sit, drop, and maybe a little stay later down the track will be enough to tackle for now, but for the next 5 weeks make sure he knows his name and he knows to respond to it, im having issues now where Gus refuses to respond to his name when distracted and I regret not concentrating more on that element of training in the first few weeks.

Also make him use his brain with problem solving toys... i was told it was better than any form of exercise at these puppy stages and that person was right!, nothing tires Gus out more than trying to get food out of a empty water bottle or what have you.... throw their breakfast kibble in there and watch him go for gold :).

I used to do the plastic bottle thing with my old GSD 20 years ago.

So when I bought this lovely 'ball' that you can put kibble in for the young fellow what did he do with it?

Buries it somewhere in the garden??? It turns up now and again, I've given up washing it and trying again as it keeps getting buried, turns up full of mud, that's then rolled around and emptied all over the patio and disappears into the garden beds again. :laugh:

[TheCheekyMonster]

He plays pretty well and we started training straight away. Hes picking up the house training quickly and is learning basic training. He seems to have grasped sit and he'll be doing puppy obedience classes in a couple of weeks

Excellent, I think joining a club, or taking him to classes of any sort is great major component for me is socialisation for you and the pup ,you want pup to be comfortable about every dog he meets, especially the small fragile ones, I wouldn’t be to wrapped up with obedience at this stage, basic sit, drop, and maybe a little stay later down the track will be enough to tackle for now, but for the next 5 weeks make sure he knows his name and he knows to respond to it, im having issues now where Gus refuses to respond to his name when distracted and I regret not concentrating more on that element of training in the first few weeks.

Also make him use his brain with problem solving toys... i was told it was better than any form of exercise at these puppy stages and that person was right!, nothing tires Gus out more than trying to get food out of a empty water bottle or what have you.... throw their breakfast kibble in there and watch him go for gold :).

I used to do the plastic bottle thing with my old GSD 20 years ago.

So when I bought this lovely 'ball' that you can put kibble in for the young fellow what did he do with it?

Buries it somewhere in the garden??? It turns up now and again, I've given up washing it and trying again as it keeps getting buried, turns up full of mud, that's then rolled around and emptied all over the patio and disappears into the garden beds again. :laugh:

Yea I gave up with balls and food, the plastic bottle is alot more appealing to him hahah... (also cheaper for me)

[alyjam]

Well hes 8 weeks 2 days and obeys sit ( he does this cute thing where he puts his paw on your hand. He knows his name its just a matter of whether he WANTS/NEEDS you. And today is our first day completely accident free WHOOP WHOOP! He currently sleeps in our bathroom at night with food water newspaper and his bed in there ( almost like hessian look cushion ) and my goodnes the carry on from him youd think he was being attacked!! So tonight i put in my boys little foam chair for our boy to sleep on and not one single peep has been made! He is starting to get some weight on. Even though hes on science diet softened its not his favourite so ive given him a variety of minced chicken carcass with vegies and rice mixed with his biccies and heds howing in. Im keeping an eye on his weight to height and his back ribs. Hes not fat when hes standing but gets a slight roundness when he sits. He is an absolute joy :0)

[TheCheekyMonster]

Well hes 8 weeks 2 days and obeys sit ( he does this cute thing where he puts his paw on your hand. He knows his name its just a matter of whether he WANTS/NEEDS you. And today is our first day completely accident free WHOOP WHOOP! He currently sleeps in our bathroom at night with food water newspaper and his bed in there ( almost like hessian look cushion ) and my goodnes the carry on from him youd think he was being attacked!! So tonight i put in my boys little foam chair for our boy to sleep on and not one single peep has been made! He is starting to get some weight on. Even though hes on science diet softened its not his favourite so ive given him a variety of minced chicken carcass with vegies and rice mixed with his biccies and heds howing in. Im keeping an eye on his weight to height and his back ribs. Hes not fat when hes standing but gets a slight roundness when he sits. He is an absolute joy :0)

Dont be to wrapped up in his weight, honestly his a massive baby, his going to have a belly and it should be a very cute one, :) the paw thing ayee... it will be easy for you to teach him shake from that :)

[raineth]

when growing a giant puppy, diet is very important to reduce the likelihood of developing bone disease.

Your easist bet would be to put him on a dry food designed for growing giant puppies; and not to add extras to it.

my understanding is:

Protein levels do not have a direct cause on skeletal development, but they do affect energy content and high energy content leads to extra weight gain, which is associated with developing skeletal problems because it can cause rapid growth.

Calcium needs to be at a low level; generally around 0.8 - 1.6%. So I would be a bit wary of feeding him chicken frames that have a fair amount of calium in them.

good luck with him, he's a cutie :)

[alyjam]

Here is a pic of one of our boys brothers, our little one was the one that seemed the rogue in the aspects of looks.

The lack of wrinkles is what attracted my other half to pick him out of the litter... :D