I purchased a puppy from a reputable breeder in Indianapolis and he was the largest in the litter. The dad is 135lbs, and the mom is 80 lbs. The pup was about 8 lbs when I picked him up at 8 weeks old. He's now 12 weeks old and weighs about 16.5 lbs.. Is this not enough? I read everywhere that a 3 month old rottweiler should be 33-38lbs! I'm not worried for his health because I know he's healthy, I'm just wondering if I'm going to have a tiny rottweiler. I'll love him the same, but I was just under the impression I was buying a big dog. Is his current weight any indication of his final adult size? I currently feed Fromms Family Gold Large Puppy Formula kibble. He loves it. Am I not feeding nearly enough? I believe this food is lower in protein. I feed 2/3 cup (3) times per day.
Thanks for any insight,
Ryan

IMO I don't think the dogs weight when they are a pup is going to determine size when they are older.

Here is my personal experience:

I have a 3 year old Leonberger. She was 21 lbs at 8 weeks and 65 lbs at 5 months. Her current adult weight is 105 lbs. Her sire was 175 lbs and her mom 145 lbs, so she is on the smaller end, but within the standard. She was not the smallest pup or the smallest female in the litter. Her brother, who was smaller than her at 8 weeks, was 120 lbs at 8 months.

I used to have a Bouvier when I was a teenager. He was 10 lbs at 8 weeks. His Sire was 75 lbs and his dam was 65 lbs. They were both smaller Bouvs. At 2 years old, my Bouv was 120 lbs.

I would enjoy the pup no matter what size he gets. A good dog never comes in a bad color or size

Ryan, there's really no way to tell exactly how a pup will grow up, and how large it'll be as an adult - you just have to wait and see. The parent's weights are a good guide, and a lot of times the largest pups in any given litter will grow up to be larger than their siblings, but this isn't always the case. Have you discussed your pup's current weight with his breeder? Do you know how the other pups from the litter are growing? Have you discussed your pup's particular bloodlines with the breeder? Even within breeds, some lines mature much more slowly and don't reach their final adult weight/conformation until they are up to 4 years old...

In terms of feeding, the puppy should be getting whatever amount of food keeps him at a nice healthy body composition - not too thin (ribs protruding) but definitely not too fat (he should still have a "waist" when viewed from above). Use the feeding instructions on his food bag as a guide, and if he looks about right now, don't try to feed him more - adjust in accordance to your pup as he grows, there are no hard fast rules. Remember also, puppies go through growth spurts, so what is enough food today may not keep weight on him next week - you'll need to just watch him. It sounds like he's healthy and happy though, and that's the most important thing.

~Natalya

*Niomi - what a story about your Bouv!! A similar thing happened to one of our old Pom's littermates - he grew twice as large as both of his parents! Nature does like to throw curve balls every once in a while...

He did come from a COE breeder out of Indianapolis.
His Sire was:
CH. MARSIO Ri Mobby Dick (he's 135 lbs)
and Dam was:
CH. LEDA Se Ungo-Rot (She's 80 lbs)
since I doubt we're allowed to point out breeders directly on here.

Do you think it's possible that the food I feed is just not high enough in protein? It says on the package that it's lower in protein.
Here's the food. I give (3) servings of 2/3 cup
http://www.frommfamily.com/products-g-d-largepuppy.php

Looks like good food to me. I wouldn't be in any hurry for fast growth of a large-breed puppy. Slow growth is better. Unless a puppy is being literally starved, I don't think that diet is a significant factor in the ultimate size the dog will be--that is determined by his genetics. He will eventually grow to whatever size he is intended to be, no less, no more. (And when I say size, I mean bone length. Body fat is a different matter.)

Ryan,
I wouldn't get wound about it.

My newest GSD was one of the lightest within his litter by a couple of pounds (if I remember right (not a given)), at last check (a little over a month ago) he was one of the heaviest. I haven't weighted him of late but at 11 months I suspect he must be at least 85#, no fat and packed within a 25 inch frame. But I don't really know, his weight always surprises me.

I've always found that all things being equal, health etc, ALL the pups will grow to be within 10 pounds of each other. That means take a average weight and give or take 5 pounds.
The largest will be 10 pounds heavier than the lightest when grown, the rest will fall in between.

Don't worry about it. He'll grow to the perfect size.

M&M Enterprises

Edited by randy allen (05/03/2010 01:46 PM)
Edit reason: English is my first language, still trying at it