German Shep Puppy - Too Skinny?

[KismetKat]

I occasionally see a GS pup in the park - and I am not alone in being concerned about it. The owner has quite specific ideas about its raising - but when I see the pup I wonder how well thought out they are.

But perhaps they are not so radical, just something I am not familiar with? I would certainly like input from people who know the breed well.

The pup is about 6 months old now - and to quote Mr Cresote from Monty Python, he is "wafer thin". I am talking positively skeletal! The owner has told another doggy person from the park that he is keeping the pup that way to "stop it growing too quickly". But isn't "growing" what pups are meant to do? To add to my conern about the pups welfare is that its coat seems quite course and spikey - not soft at all. Also its back is a funny shape, with a kind of higher hump type area just before it's back legs, then a steep slope DOWN to its tail. The shape looks weird to me.

I know on the one hand it is not my business, but I am concerned long term damage is being done to this pup while it is being essentially (in my opinion) starved in its puppy months. It's one thing to have a rake thin adult show dog - surely it is another in a puppy?

But perhaps this is all a legitimate way of raising a pup? (albeit different from my own notions).

Please advise.

[Vehs]

My Shepherd was lean pup, but never as lean as the show ones where you could feel all their ribs clearly and their "hip pins" and we were always told D was too fat ;)

From what I understand *disclaimer* it is best to grow pups slowly and not to supplement them with calcium etc (if they are healthy) which can negatively affect their joints. Also in large breeds it is better to keep them lean rather than fat again to help with joint growth. Keep in mind that the dog is also a puppy and is probably burning up lots of energy and growing nicely, once it starts to slow down it may gain some weight.

As for the back... sometimes pups have roach back which straightens itself out.. I know my boy had a very ugly stage when he was as squib, that I didn't actually notice until you looked back on the photos he was in strange proportions

Maybe some Shepherd breeders will comment :rolleyes:

[Dogsfevr]

Keeping a pup lean in early puppy life doesnt mean skinny.

What you want is weight appropriate for the pup just ever so slightly under but no condition means when it does grow it has no weight to utilize.

In my large breed pups we feed a good diet & each dog has it own unique growth spurts & weight ratio but i never keep them skinny

[Belle]

I am also concerned about my german Shepherd puppy. I was told by a vet/puppy trainer that in german shepherds you are meant to be able to see their ribs? I feel like feeding him all day when i can see his ribs.=/

Mine is growing very fast and getting stronger, i notice this when we walk him, he's a lot harder on the lead. I feed him lamb briskets, chicken necks, pet mince and puppy dryfood. is there anything else i should be adding to his diet, i recently took tin food out after many peoples advice against using it. i don t mean to crash the thread..

[KismetKat]

I also feed my dog vegies Belle - tho I don't do the raw thing of the BARF diet which many follow here.

And showdog, I would call the dog 'skinny' rather than merely 'lean'. You can just about see every bone it its body.

[Guest magnum]

As a breeder of GSD for 20 years, we don't keep our babies paper thin however many do

Sure the puppy should not be FAT but with our kids you can feel the ribs but not see them that's just too thin for my liking.

A good quality dry food such as Advance Puppy Growth will help the puppy grow in a correct manner, we also give brisket bones & a little fresh meat while the puppy is growing.

Each to their own, but we have had no real problems in all those years & have had excellent hip/elbows results

[CK9]

I like a little help from those chart:

Adult dog

http://www.purina.com/dogs/health/AdultBodyCondChart.pdf

Puppy dog

http://www.purina.com/dogs/health/PuppyBodyCondChart.pdf

there is also this onehttp://www.purina.com/dogs/health/BodyCondition.aspx

I don't like Purina dog food but I like their charts

[sandyl]

When we got Maddy people often said she was skinny. She wasn't skinny she was lean. You couldn't see the ribs but could feel them. She's gained a bit more weight now and is looking great. She gets Supercoat puppy food with the occasional bone or two. And Some Pal tin food.

[Belle]

I thought the best way to get an accurate or some what accurate opinion would be to show him?

Does he look healthy, i honestly don't know what to look for in german shepherds, we've owned one before but he was an adult when we got him..

[KismetKat]

well he looks positively fat compared with the dog I am posting about.

But no, he's not fat. Looks like a regular pup to me - but I am not an expert on the breed.

Hopefully one will come along soon.

[Dogsfevr]

The sad part is the owner is probably following the advice qiven by the breeder & taken it to the extreme in the hopes of the pup getting no issues latter life.

Maybe they had a previous GSD with issues & this time are trying to be more.

What these people obviously dont realize is proper nutrition & weight is just as important as not letting it get fat,that it needs to be a realistic weight to grow steadily not fast.

Its a hard one especially when they think there doing right we get them all the time as clients going off on there own tangnet but having idea about the consequences until too late.

If it was me i,d bring it up if talking in a very mild manner but not pushy maybe even say what does the breder think of the prgress ??

[KitKat]

Is there the chance that the pup has had a growth spurt and he hasn't caught up on the condition yet?

I know when my Bronx was growing i kept him lean but occasionally he would have a sudden growth spurt and look all scrawny. In fact even at 16months he still does it to me...at one point i was feeding him 1kg or more of food a day just to get the condition back on to him and it wasn't like he wasn't getting enough food to start with.

Also this guy could be under a vets instruction, one vet i went to got up me for Bronx being to heavy since at the age he was he should have been 15kg's less and not as tall

[Alibear]

Belle - Not that I am an expert by any stretch of the imagination and it is hard to tell from your pic, but he looks like my boy did when he was younger.

How old is he?

[Mel 45]

My Dane was always super thin when he was growing - didn't help that he was neglected up till he was 11 months old, but when he had growth spurts he looked skeletal.

I liked him lean, yes, but not skeletal...

Owner of GSD is probably a bit too conscientious about not having any weight on the dog but taking it a bit too far.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

A G.S. Puppy should be on a Large Breed Puppy formula such as NUTRO, to ensure that it gets all the correct nutrition required for puppies that will weigh more than 20 kilos as an adult, and no it should not be paper thin.

Two things spring to mind- one it is not getting the required amount of food with the correct balance and two has it been wormed?.

www.specialfriendsdogcare.com.au

[KismetKat]

I think showdog might have the answer - as he has mentioned the breeder and issues to do with larger dogs quite a number of times. I might ask him casually next time I see him if he ever takes the dog back to the breeder for a visit.

He seems to conchy for the dog to have worms.