weight

Hi everybody
I wanted to see if anyone out there has a pup around 4 mos old and what they weigh. I had Harley to the vet last Saturday and he weighed 6.35 lbs. Is this underweight? The vet didn't seem concerned but it's that he looks so tiny. I actually forgot to ask her about it. I figured you guys would be more useful. LOL Also, if this is underweight, is there anything I can feed him in the US to help him put some lbs on????? TTYL Thanks

Harley's mom

It is different with different breeds but there is a rule of thumb that girls will typically weigh twice what they weighed at four months when fully grown and boys will weigh twice what they weighed at closer to five months. This is just a rule of thumb but it would suggest that he will be on the small side of the size range.

If you have a good breeder, I would call or e-mail them and ask.

There's an article in the Library that goes into this in more detail. He sounds a pretty normal size, maybe on the lower end of the average, but he isn't really small. He could well end up a 20lb adult depending on how he gains weight in coming months -- a lot of factors go into the end result, including size of parents AND all four grandparents (size tends to be a family average, not the size of mum or dad), how many puppies were in the litter (larger litters will tend to have smaller puppies initially who catch up to their normal size by adulthood), whether the puppy fed well initially, etc. Breed standard in the UK/Ireland starts at 12 lbs and in the US at 13lbs so if he is a bit under half his adult weight right now, I'd say you will end up with an adult anywhere between 15-18 lbs -- at your pup's age, Jaspar was gaining about a pound every two weeks, maybe a bit more, so you'd expect him to be probably 8-9 lbs in another 4 weeks, at his half adult weight. But that is only a very rough guide! he could stay down around 13-ish lbs, or could gain a lot.

If your vet feels he is fine you never should try to fatten up a puppy. That can have the same serious long-term health consequences as obesity on children.

I think Truman was about 10 lbs at 4 months, and he's only about 12-13 now, and he's almost 7 months old. I wouldn't worry about putting weight on him unless he looks too thin. If you want to get him to eat more you could always try feeding canned tripe...mine never turn that down!

cy1266 said:

I think Truman was about 10 lbs at 4 months, and he's only about 12-13 now, and he's almost 7 months old. I wouldn't worry about putting weight on him unless he looks too thin. If you want to get him to eat more you could always try feeding canned tripe...mine never turn that down!

Click to expand...

I don't want to be stupid here, but what is tripe??? LOL

I have a 3.5 month old that just saw the vet this week. Surprisingly, she weighed in at 6.5 lbs. Honestly, I thought she'd be 4 lbs max as she seems so tiny. I've had her for 2 weeks and she did lose weight during the first week, probably due to the stress of such a big move. Now she seems to be eating much more and filling out nicely. How long have you had your pup?

Hi, Harley is now 14 wks now and I have had him since May 26th, so around 3 wks. He had a rough week the first week with us, he had pnemonia. On the 30th, when I picked him up after a 3 night stay with them he weighed 5.1 lbs. I had to take him back for a 2 wk checkup and he is now 6.35. He just seems really small to me. Do you feed yours dry or canned dog food?

Petcrazyme
I sent you a PM....

Christy, you might want to double check that you are definitely sending PMs (they will be listed in your Sent folder in your UserCP) rather than publicly viewable visitor messages on profiles. I think you meant to send me a question in a PM but it is actually posted on my user profile (though I know in this case, it doesn't matter -- I was going to note if you go and look at the index page for the site -- the main page when you come her -- you will see the Library is the section at the bottom ).

Dogs should not be fed entirely on canned food -- very bad for their teeth. Better to have them solely on dry than solely on a wet food. Generally go for a good quality dry -- eg NOT anything you can buy in the supermarket.

Harley's weight is completely normal for his size, not overly small. He will probably start to pick up some additonal weight as well since he lost some earlier. This isn't a big breed and they will be growing for the first 12 months so plenty of time to fill out. No one wants a dog to grow too quickly. Puppies tend to eat all they want and need.

Mia was quite "scrawny" when I brought her home at six months. Her head seemed out of proportion with her skinny little body. But then, I don't think she was eating much at her breeders. She weighed about 12 lbs. at six months and weighs about 15-16 lbs. now at 2 years.

Here's a picture on the day I brought her home:



And here's a more recent picture:



She still a little thing, but they do a lot of filling out in the first year.

Mia loves tripe, too--I think almost all dogs do. It smells horrible, so they naturally love it!

Karlin- thanks for your reply. Sorry, I am still trying to learn. I was actually thinking feeding both canned and dry to help him eat the dry better. He's just not crazy bout just plain dry food. I am very limited at where I can by dog food as I live in a small rural area. I have a large bag from Petland that is supposed to be excellent for him that I am still feeding him with, he will have that for some time. Any suggestions? Thanks again

Denise- You're dogs are so cute! That is exactly what Harley looks like now in your first pic. I guess I am just being an over-cautious mom with his weight.....Thanks for your reply

Dottie was 14 lbs when we got her at 6 1/2 mos. She is now 11 months old and 15.1 lbs. I guess she got her growth early. She has a just right build and a defined waist. I think all of these dogs are unique based on genetics and feeding habits.

Christy--Mia wouldn't/couldn't eat kibble either. Before I switched her over to raw, I mixed wet food with her kibble and it helped somewhat. She still had colitis issues until I switched, but she seemed to eat a little better with the wet food mixed in.

You can definitely mix them -- I just would never recommend feeding only wet food and know vets do not either -- they see a lot of gum disease and bad teeth on dogs and cats fed only wet food.

A lot of online sites deliver pet food. I order from a place in Germany that doesn't even charge for shipping once I order over €49, which means most large bags of food. I am sure a lot of places in the US must ship too for minimal cost? Maybe some others know.

Denise, Mia sure is cute in that picture on the lawn!