Hi, everyone! I have a puppy named Bloo. She is a 14 week old labrador/aussie/GSD mix. I feed her 2.5 cups of Eukanuba Puppy Food for Large Breeds per day and one horse scalp chew stick. She gets at least a 15-20 minute walk per day and about half an hour of off-leash playing in the fields, often with other dogs. She is currently 11kg and she was only 10.5kg 2 days ago. The week before, she gained 0.7kg. All measured before eating and after pooping. I'm worried if this is normal or not? Her mom is around 30kg and her dad is little heavier. From our vet visit last week, the vet stated that she is healthy. I am happy that she is growing, but I'm just worried if she is growing a bit too fast because a man who owns a really big swiss mountain dog told me his pup was smaller at that age. Also, I'm worried about hip dysplasia because I noticed that my puppy often does 'bunny hops' when excited. When she walks, her hips also wiggles. She would also sit in a way where she leans on one side of her leg. But on the other hand, she can also do the normal sit as well. She also doesn't appear to be in pain and is hyper as ever, doing zoomies, etc. I'm not really sure if I'm doing things right or not. Any advice would be appreciated!
@joyousli I have heard that in some cases of puppies with mixed breeds, the offspring ends up bigger than both parents. It's really hard to predict the size of your puppy from her parents because she's got mixed parentage. But don't worry too much-- she's growing fast and is probably going through a spurt. Ours does a little less than 1 kg per week, but he's a medium breed.
The guy with the big Swiss Mountain dog probably doesn't remember how big his puppy was at 14 weeks, unless he's like me and records measurements every week. People like to remember their dogs as sweet little things and not the bitey poopy monsters they actually were
@vf6cruiser Thank you for the reply! I have another question.
The measuring scale I ordered just arrived and I measured the food I'm giving her...and it's half the amount recommended in the back of the bag. For her age and weight, she should have 4 cups of food, not 2 cups. D: Should I be worried? I've been feeding her less than the recommended amount since she was 9 weeks!
@joyousli The guidelines on the back of the bag are not always applicable to pur puppies because they are meant for an adult weight. You can't predict how big she is going to get. Plus, it's a really general blanket guideline-- usually not very relevant. Since the vet has said she is at a healthy weight and she acts healthy, don't worry too much about it! Just go by eye-- if she starts looking thick, cut down a bit, and vice versa. We add 10-15 grams every few weeks and feed 3x day.
@joyousli To add to your concern about the food, I was worried we were under feeding our pup but read some advice on here that you should feel their ribs to see if they are getting enough. There should be a small layer of fat over the ribs, but a defined waist line when you’re looking at them from above and the side. My vet said this was a good practice to follow as they continue to grow.
@tonylevire Thank you. My puppy would be considered just right under this criteria. Although her 'fat' is really thick skin. She has quite a small waist before she eats and she looks fat after she eats
@joyousli I personally go off of how many calories they're supposed to have for their weight. To calculate it, you take their resting energy requirement and double it.
The formula:
Resting Energy Requirement: 70(weight in kg)[sup]3/4[/sup]
Total calorie needs= RER x 2
I then look at the bag of food to see how many calories it has per cup, and do the math as to how many cups of food would reach her calorie requirement. Keep in mind that you should "leave room" in her calorie count for treats. Some dogs like huskies have extremely efficient metabolisms and only need about 60% of what most other dogs would eat. But for puppies, I'd say just go ahead and give them their full calorie requirement. Hope this helps!
@theonewhojesusloves Thanks for the advice! I don't think the bag says how many calories but I'll look again. Everything is in German (we live in Germany) so I might have missed it!
@joyousli My lab pup was the same. She’s still got a wiggly bottom when she sits but it’s down to pure excitement. She’s now 10 months and vet has said she’s healthy - just excitable
@joyousli Just took an 8 week old Bordeaux pup to the vets for his shots and he weighed 9.6kg. I'm taking my 12 week old great dane in today for her second round of shots, I'll let you know how much she weighs but the weight you stated doesn't sound out of the ordinary for that age and that mix. I have a gsd/doberman/collie mix who's 2 and she ended up a lot smaller than I expected, peaking at 22kg. It's very hard to estimate how big a mixed breed dog will be.
Regarding the hip dysplasia, only a vet can really assess that but if it puts your mind to rest, my dog does bunny hop like movements sometimes but it's not her only movement style, she has full range of motion in her hips. If your dog only does it sometimes but for the most part walks normal, I wouldn't stress but monitor it for any changes and definitely mention it to your vet next time you see them for peace of mind.
@maikwilliams Thank you! I'll ask the vet about it the next time we visit. I think she runs normally but I haven't looked closely yet since I only read about the bunny hop symptom today.
@joyousli When our boy was between 3 and 4 months old, you could visibly see a difference in either height or weight each day. My husband would go to work and come home 11 hours later and would be shocked and concerned about how much he was growing. The vet laughed when asked, he was like oh no this is completely normal it's like watching bamboo grow, you can tell a daily difference. At 4 months it slowed down but every couple of days some dimension would be different. He turns 7 months in 3 days, and his growth while consistent on a weekly basis isn't as visually noticeable unless you haven't seen him during that week.
@matthewzenz Wow, that's incredible! I have also noticed a daily difference even without weighing my pup. Her tail is getting floofier and her paws are getting bigger too!
@joyousli It is rare for puppies before the 4 month mark to show signs of hip dysplasia. Bunny-hop, weird sitting, etc, are all relatively normal in puppies. Early signs of hip-dysplasia are pain while getting up or putting effort into their hips, lameness, limping. If you really want to check if she is in pain, you can try to see if she can climb stairs. If she can, then she should be fine - bare in mind though that you should avoid making your puppy climb stairs too often, given that strains their still weak hips. Also, my vet suggested checking if the puppy can extend the leg without pain (for instance, they usually do it when they stretch after waking up). If you can make them stretch their legs - using your hands - and they don't complain, then they should be fine. X-rays though are the definitive answer, although I'm not sure they will be useful in your puppy, given her age.
@yangum Thanks for the advice! The only times we are near stairs are when we go into the train station and she seems very enthusiastic about climbing them so that's a good sign. I haven't noticed her stretch at all when she wakes up, but I keep a close watch on her.
