Hey Gang,

Macy, my 7 and 1/2 month old GSD, recently had a bout of vomiting and food refusal (documented in a thread from a few weeks ago). Since then she's been doing very well, accepting food (I'd say "scarfing") with no hesitation. But...

My very unscientific weighing (I weigh myself, then myself holding her, and subtract) shows that she has lost 1 pound in the last month. She weighs 49 pounds, she was at 50. I can see rib when she's in motion, not when she's still, and I can certainly (easily) feel all of her ribs.

1. Is this weight low for this age?
2. Should I be concerned that she hasn't gained in the last 3 weeks?

I'm currently feeding about 1.6lbs/day of food. 65(ish)% RMB, 20% Muscle, organ and veg. She gets 4 eggs a week, and of course salmon oil and vitamin E.

3. Should I up her daily intake?

And, at this weight at this age, what final weight would you estimate? Her father is 95 pounds, her mother is about 75.

Thanks, in advance.

For one pound, I would not raise it. Just keep an eye on it. If she starts to drop more, then I would raise it, so long as you know she is healthy and everything is normal.

I am terrible at math, so I will just ask....what percentage are you feeding her per bodyweight?

A little over 2% of expected FINAL body weight (75 pounds. This is, of course, an estimate.)

That's the formula I read...somewhere. Let me find the book. Raw Dog Food, by Carina MacDonald.

If you are uncomfortable with her losing weight, then you could add a bit more to every other meal. But then watch for gain......I would still give her a few more days to a week and just monitor her weight.

2% is what I feed most of mine, and I don't worry if they drop a pound or two, I usually just add a bit more like I stated above.
In the winter, I let them gain a few to help against the cold weather.

I'm not worried about weight fluctuation per se, rather I'm worried about providing her the nutrition she needs to reach her optimal size.

To me, 7 mos and roughly 50 lbs sounds about right. My GSD is 11 mos now ad is at 52 lbs. She is small to me. But she is healthy, raw fed and no vaccines.

http://www.mygermanshepherdpuppy.com/

Do you guys think this growth/weight chart is an appropriate estimate, for a middle-of-the-road raw few dog?

Hey David,

Some dogs are simply genetically programmed to be smaller.
I have to say, a 50-lb shepherd would be the smallest one I've ever seen. Moka has been 59 lbs her whole life and she's probably the smallest one I've seen to date

It's true that raw-fed pups grow a lot slower and more steadily than their grain-fed counterparts. Raw-raised pups are therefore far, far, far more likely to end up with healthy joints and skeletons. Even their risk of pano is greatly reduced.

If your pup eats enough and receives all the nutrients she needs, then she'll reach her full potential size - she'll just reach it at a later age than if you'd fed her cereals her whole life

Do you feed her red meats too?

Bony chicken parts (like backs), especially with the skin and fat removed, are pretty light in calories. That's the way I feed my 11-year-old to keep her weight down.

Growing pups need MEAT too... feeding too many bones and veggies can fill them up pretty quickly without providing them with the calories they need to grow. They also need a good supply of red meats and organ meats that are richer in nutrients and calories than white meats. Maybe you could convince Macy to eat more if you offered her more variety... some dogs are really picky and get bored if they're fed nothing but chicken forever


As far as growth rates and charts, I found that my raw-fed pups averaged a growth rate of about 2 lbs a week till 7-9 months of age.

It does depend on the dog's genetics though. Taro was an extremely slow-growing pup and was wayyy behind on the chart you linked to as a baby. As a 4-month-old pup he was far behind other shepherd pups his age and looked so tiny.
At 6 months, when pups usually slow down in their growth, Taro started exploding in size and gained and gained and gained, despite me keeping him SKINNY (with half his ribcage visible).
Even after cutting down on his portions, he managed to reach 97 lbs by 12 months of age and outgrew all his sibblings (his dam is 75 lbs. and his sire is 95 lbs.)
He followed the exact same growth pattern as his sire. I knew what to expect because I'd talked to his breeder.

So... the chart ended up being completely innacurate for him... he is a bit of an anomaly though

As for Aja, she grew steadily at about 2 lbs a week. She's 8 months old now and is about 80 lbs, I think.

She followed the growth chart till about 4 months of age, but she kept up her growth rate this whole time and didn't slow down as is indicated on the chart.

It looks like she'll reach about the same size as her dam (also around 80 lbs; sire is 95 lbs).

So the point is (yes, I have one ) the most reliable way to get an estimate of your pup's final size would probably be to check with the breeder and find out the parent's growth rates. Maybe even compare sibblings if you have that option.

Otherwise, don't worry about it. If she's free of worms and is receiving all the meats she needs, she'll reach her full size, no matter what that is.

My advice would be to cut out most of the veggies, cut down on the bones and focus on feeding her richer meats (red meats and organs)

Does she look good? Only a rib or two showing? If not, then I too would add meat with its fat.

Also, if you are giving filling produce, I would swap it out for leafy greens.

Again, I'm no puppy expert. Are 7-month-olds old enough to go from the growth percentage (5% and up) to the adult average of 2%?

BTW, that is a good book, IMO.

I am keeping Koda (11 mos) on 6% until she starts gaining fast, then I will back her off. Being this is my first pup, on all raw, I want to make sure I can safely back off and not cause any problems.