OMG! He gained 11 lbs.!!!!

[gritsar]

I'm raising a monster puppy!
We weighed our GS pup on the 3rd and he was 26 lbs. Weighed him again today and he is now 37 lbs. That's 11 lbs. in 9 days.
I swear we're not overfeeding him!

 

[Redyre Rotties]

Be seriously careful that you are not. Puppies this age should be lean. I want to be able to feel the bones on my puppies, but not see them. That is huge growth, for any breed. Concerns with growth this fast are that the ligaments and muscles can't keep up, and that it may contribute to joint issues later.

GSDs also are prone to Panosteitis, a painful temporary inflammation of the lining of the long bones.

If you are feeding this puppy puppy food I would discontinue that and put him on a good quality adult ration immediately. Higher protein diets can aggravate a puppy's tendencies towards Pano.

How old is he? Are you feeding any supplements?

 

[Redyre Rotties]

And let me give you a clue in on GSDs. They are never called German Shepherd. For whatever reason they are always called German Shepherd Dogs, and abbreviated GSD.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Gristar what are you feeding him? Asking because there are some puppy foods out there now that are just for big breed puppies. They need nutients in amounts than little dogs. Check with your vet maybe they can suggest one.

 

[gritsar]

He will be 4 months old on the 22nd.
We are feeding him Iams dry puppy food for large breeds and Pedigree lamb and rice for puppies, canned. He gets a total of 4 cups of dry and a 1/2 can of wet a day, divided into two meals.
He looks lean thru the loins (flanks?) and as you said, you can feel his bones but not see them.
He experienced a growth spurt in height this past week. He looks tall and lanky.
I am not able to walk him fast, but he and I go for two long slow walks a day around the farm. My DH plays ball with him a couple times a day.
No supplements other than one "cookie" a day. It's a Pedigree marrobone treat.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I know, but since he is still a pup I didn't wasn't sure to abbreviate to GSP or GSD pup.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

GSD pup tells the story.

 

[gritsar]

So what do you think of the amounts we're feeding him?
I don't think it's excessive. If he were leaving some in the bowl every time I might cut back, but he cleans his bowl each time.
He's not a gobbler. He takes his time.

 

[sgtmom52]

Quote:
How old is your GSD pup? The amount of food you feed also depends on the quality of food you are feeding. Iams is not a really high quality food and has a lot of grains in it. If you feed a higher quality food with less grain such as Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo, Orijen, Solid Gold, etc you will have to feed less food (which helps to even out the higher cost) and the you will have smaller poops to clean up.

Also as another poster stated ~ large breed puppies should grow slowly to avoid the possibility of future joint problems. Don't worry about your GSD growing too slowly ~ if properly fed it will reach the full size as it is destined to as determined by genetics. GSD's do not reach full size/weight until about 2 years old.

Also some GSDs have a tendency to have food related allergies and a better quality food will help with this.

For more information on being the human of a GSD check out this website ~ www.germanshepherds.com

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Solid Gold is a great food. My Aussie has food allergies--wheat. We feed her the holistic formula that is made with fish