Hey again. When I took Chaos to the vet for his hot spots on around the 5th of this month, I believe it was, he weighed in at 73.1 lbs. Back in June when I showed him at a BIG dog show, one of the judges said he needed to put on weight and get a chest! Said he was a chest man, lol. Any way, he weighed 64 lbs. then. I started adding canned food every day to his kibble and within a month or so, he had put on almost 10 lbs. He has stayed at the 73.1 since then. When I took him in today for a recheck and to get his yearly shots, he weighed in at 75.4 lbs. He has put on 2 lbs. since his last visit a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if it's because I am putting all of the extra stuff in his food or because I changed his food, or what! I am happy that he is putting on weight only because I do want him to be a little heavier for the shows and he will look a little more grown up if he fills out a bit more. How fast is too fast? That is my question. I would like him around 85 lbs. but I am hoping to stretch that out in the next 6 months or so. He will be 2 years old in May. Any advice on weight would be appreciated.

I don't have a german shepherd, but if I have one. I prefer to keep it around 50 to 79 pounds and it depends on the sex too. I think it depends on the size of german shepherd and how tall it is. In my opinion, I am not so crazy about a dog weight around 80 pounds full of fats, but it might be ok if it is full of muscle. Everyone has its own opinion, but I don't like overweight dogs. They can put a lot of stress on joints and seem not so agile.

For a male GSD, you usually want them between 65 and 85 from what I am told. He really is skinny and needs to fill out more. His chest is still developing too. He will be fully grown I believe between 2 and 3 years of age. I know my one female filled out nicely at around 2.5 years old. I will be happy with him at 85 lbs. though.

I wouldn't worry about the exact number so much, rather just look at the build of the dog. Is he showing too much rib? Is his back bone protruding?

My girl is about 80 lbs at 22 months, but she is pretty thick looking structure wise so she can hold that weight, she may be down to 77 lbs after I switched her food and daily intake.

If you can weigh the dog at home that may be better. I usually step on the scale and pick the dog up while I'm on it to get a reading, then minus my weight alone to get a better idea of my dogs weight (doing this is not very easy for me but the dog seems to like the attention :crazy.

Either way, don't just try to shoot for a number for the dogs weight. It's best to see what is healthiest for his structure to carry.

Kimberly

How tall is he?

Can we see a pic from the front and one over the waist (from the top down)?

BTW, he looks like he is at a perfect weight from the pic.

I believe I measured him at 26 in. I can't remember right off hand. Here are a couple of pictures of him from the front and top. You can also see how great his hot spots are doing. They are near the tail part of his back. Hair is growing back etc. Looking good!

Anna,
Chaos is not a cow going to market. What I'm trying to say is don't be so obsessed with weight. You can have two dogs the same weight and stature, bone structure etc. and one may look much skinnier but be alot stronger and fit than the more 'filled out dog'. Muscle weighs more then fat, remember that. We all know what it takes to build muscle, exercise. If you want to know how to fatten the calf, I don't know, and can't help.
Randy

He looks great to me...and he's young yet so he will still fill out a bit.

For comparison in response to Randy's post - my female GSD is 27 inches tall and weighs 69 lbs. She is at a perfect weight and is pretty narrow. On the other hand, my 18 month GSD is 24 inches tall and weighs only 4 lb less than Grace...she's pretty wide...also at a great weight.

I definitely do not think he needs another 10 lbs on him...I like my dogs thin, not skinny...not fat either...as for the judge's comments on his chest....gaining weight won't widen him out...

I ageree with the cheast thing, if anything anymore weight will make him look narrower unless you are adding muscle. Sorry, my spelling is way off today

He doesn't at all look skinny to me, and a GOOD judge isn't going for the weight to be as high as it can get. A GOOD judge will also be able to tell if the added weight is fat or muscle. As far as the guy saying "he needs to get a chest", is he talking about bone structure (which you can do nothing about) or is he wanting to see a fatty chest, just to pretend the dog has a chest? Yes, his chest will get fat if that's what is wanted, but are you showing your dog for breeding purposes? If so, the fat will hide the bone structure. I don't see any reason for that. Remember it's about improving the breed.

I'd dismiss what the judge said. Doesn't sound like he knows what he's talking about...not all of them do.

Don't mean to sound harsh, but we need to do what's best for the breed, and for our personal dogs. If getting your dog to weigh more will be detrimental to his joints, stamina, overall health, well then you have your answer.