Am I Growing Ok :updated After Chiro

[Esky the husky]

Just hoping my pup is growing ok.

What do you guys think

8 months old. 40.5 kg

Over 25 inches ( not sure on exact figure as he hates the tape measure! )

Edited June 21, 2014 by Esky the husky

[Diva]

He doesnt look as heavy as you say, 40 kg is a lot for 25 inches. But he seems to have tuck up and doesn't look too fat in the photo, I like my adolescents a little leaner and if he were mine I would take a bit off him but I am used to racier builds and he looks ok. Nice looking boy :) nice balance, looks to be turning a back foot out which would concern me if it were normal and I wanted to do athletic things with him, but in one photo it can just be chance.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Diva

[Esky the husky]

Thanks Diva.

According to my scales he's 40+ kg range, they seem to be fairly accurate when I compare to the ones at the petshop and / or vet :) He's quite muscular. That's a waist shot. Not very good but it gives you an idea. A bit less food maybe? I can feel ribs, but happy to cut back food if hed be better off.

Also thanks for the comment regarding the foot, I hadn't noticed that in the photo. I'll bring it up with the chiro next week if I notice it happening again :)

[Scottsmum]

(I'm about to make a totally pointless post but... ) He's very handsome.

[Bjelkier]

I thought the same as Diva.

Only thing that really stood out to me was the rear and from the over head photo it doesn't look like just one foot it turned out but both of them.

When you look at him standing from the back are his feet straight?

[kelpiecuddles]

Might have just been that he was standing on muddy ground in the first shot :)

[Esky the husky]

This is the rear. It does look like that same foot is turned out slightly. Will bring that up at the chiro visit and see if he's concerned. :/

[RiverStar-Aura]

He really is a lovely looking boy Esky; very handsome. If you're unsure, maybe just reduce his food a little and see how he goes with that. If he looses condition or starts looking too lean, then increase it again. Being a giant (?) breed, I'd also be inclined to keep him a little more on the lighter side whilst he's growing -- it's so hard to get that perfect balance right. He doesn't look overweight or pudgy though and I think you're doing an awesome job!!!

His foot from the above shot does turn out quite a bit doesn't it? Hopefully it's nothing serious that could impede his growth and development.

[Simply Grand]

Excellent butt shot posing Fritz

[dididog]

I know how you feel Esky. Didi is only a lil taller than Fritz and 36kg at 8 months (though finer boned and bit more leggy than your boy) and I'm always debating whether she should be just a little bit leaner. In the end I figure if she looks fit and in good condition with an obvious waist and tuck and I can feel/partially see her ribs then I don't feel too inclined to lessen her food.

Also take into account he is a sturdy, heavy boned fella so he's going to weigh more for his height than other body types.

Obviously I'm no expert but I definitely understand the not being sure if they're growing the right amount at the right rate, although for me it's a bit worst because I have literally no idea how she's supposed to turn out!

At the end of the day you know him best... at least you can be certain that he is a very handsome boy :laugh:

Edited June 15, 2014 by Terri S.

[Diva]

I would definitely check with the chiro about his back end, from the rear photo he looks to have more muscle development on his left thigh than the right and that can indicate he is protecting an injury by shifting the load. Although tbh it could just be the black marking is deceptive on his right.

For the food you know best from being hands on but maybe keep an eye on it. He is lucky to have an owner who cares so much.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Diva

[dotdashdot]

I thought that too Diva, that he's slightly lifting his right leg and putting weight on the left. Yes could be the patch creating an illusion...hard to tell!

[Esky the husky]

Thanks Diva. It's so hard to have no benchmark to go off. No hunters seem to care this much so its hard to find information about raising arab pups

That patch always throws me.. :laugh: I sometimes think he looks really lopsided. But the black tablecloth doesn't help :laugh:

Been keeping more of an eye on him tonight, he doesn't really seem to stand like this when I'm looking. It doesn't help that all my photos have to be taken on burst mode, because he's not still long enough otherwise :laugh:

I'll def see what the chiro has to say. Esky my sibe's conformation isn't perfect either but he's given us excercises to work with what we've got.

And I'll reduce food a little bit too

[Kirislin]

I dont think the above shot shows him turing just that foot, you're not completely over the top of him. We can see his shoulder, ribs and front foot too, you're slightly over to his left side.

It might be that both are a little turned out but it also might just be a stage he's going through and that they'll straighten up, or perhaps it's his conformation and not anything actually wrong with him. I've got one foot turned out a bit more than the other, and I've got through life just fine. I suppose I might not have won a beauty contest because of it. :laugh:

Recently I've become obsessed with Nekos (Italian Greyhound) conformation being so different from my whippets and so it affects the way she runs, which is nothing like the exact running machine style of the whippet. She's got turned out front feet and to a whippet persons eye she's cow hocked. If she was scaled up to whippet size, I wouldn't take her out in public!! (kidding) Her running style is cute and comical when I compare it to a whippet, and for a while I thought there was something wrong with her, but now I've realised I have to chill and just accept that she's got very different conformation and that is how she runs.

As long as your boy is sound, not sore or limping, try not to obsess, like I do :laugh:

Edited June 15, 2014 by Kirislin

[Kirislin]

I meant to add, it's incredible isn't it, that much growth in such a short time. To the untrained eye he probably looks like a big strong dog, but he's really still only at the goofy gangly puppy stage. It must take careful monitoring of his nutrition.

[Diva]

I've got one foot turned out a bit more than the other, and I've got through life just fine. I suppose I might not have won a beauty contest because of it. :laugh:

So do I, mine is from an injury to my lower back as a child and has caused me huge amounts of pain over the years.

Esky, I do want to emphasise that I didn't comment from an aesthetic or 'beauty contest' point of view, but only because an uneven stance and uneven muscle development in a young dog is worth checking out to me. But my standards of care and awareness of these things are probably higher than most and I certainly didn't mean to be a source of stress for you. I hope it is nothing.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Diva

[Kirislin]

I've got one foot turned out a bit more than the other, and I've got through life just fine. I suppose I might not have won a beauty contest because of it. :laugh:

So do I, mine is from an injury to my lower back as a child and has caused me huge amounts of pain over the years.

Esky, I do want to emphasise that I didn't comment from an aesthetic or 'beauty contest' point of view, but only because an uneven stance and uneven muscle development in a young dog is worth checking out to me. But my standards of care and awareness of these things are probably higher than most and I certainly didn't mean to be a source of stress for you. I hope it is nothing.

I think mine's conformation, although I do now have a back injury that's caused all sorts of other problems I think I had the "funny foot" before that.

[Esky the husky]

Thanks Diva.. its really good to get an outside perspective. It's difficult to be objective when you see the same dog all the time .. well i find it difficult haha.

If he ends up with legs as bad as Esky I'll shoot myself :laugh:

[Kirislin]

I've got one foot turned out a bit more than the other, and I've got through life just fine. I suppose I might not have won a beauty contest because of it. :laugh:

So do I, mine is from an injury to my lower back as a child and has caused me huge amounts of pain over the years.

Esky, I do want to emphasise that I didn't comment from an aesthetic or 'beauty contest' point of view, but only because an uneven stance and uneven muscle development in a young dog is worth checking out to me. But my standards of care and awareness of these things are probably higher than most and I certainly didn't mean to be a source of stress for you. I hope it is nothing.

I completely agree with this, which is why I've already spent a small fortune taking Neko to a vet/chiro, thinking she had something wrong with her, when it turns out apart from some tenderness in her lower back which will probably right itself, it's all just her conformation, which is so different to a whippet.

The last thing you want is an injury that happens in puppyhood that will affect him for the rest of his life.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Kirislin

[Chris the Rebel Wolf]

To me, he looks a good weight, very important to keep the large breeds lean, I would not consider him overweight. Love his markings!