TL;DR: I adopted a Rottweiler puppy who has steadily grown muscular and bulked, while mostly following experts' feeding and exercise suggestions. The vet wants my puppy to lose weight despite AKC and expert opinions stating that this is expected weight gain. I just paid too much money to be questioning the vets' ability to care for my dog.
I have a Rottweiler, who is roughly 16 months old. My girlfriend and I rescued him from the shelter, who told us he was born around the beginning of Jan, 2022, based on his teeth. They had him twice before we adopted him. He was found with rocks in his stomach and underfed, then underfed by the staff because they though he was an adult (based on height) by admission of the shelter. He was 70 pounds and mistaken for a mixed breed. He was given an "ideal weight" classification by the vet even with his whole rib cage showing and no muscle, that was 4 months ago. They use numbers 1-10, and I didn't know the designation "5" meant ideal then, or I would have questioned it. Their picture of "ideal weight" looks like a Greyhound, and every healthy Rottweiler I have seen is barrel-chested. The vet told me to feed Iams, Iams says my large dog needs large puppy food til age 24 months so I followed the vet and bag's instructions. This vet clinic is nationwide, often found in a pet store chain, rhymes with Dracula's assistant's name.
Fast forward to now, I want to do a pet wellness plan, so I bring him to his appointment, get blood work, stool sample, urine test, ear swab (which all came back amazing besides an ear infection). Now that he is muscular from consistent weighted-walks and daily work, the vet says he is slightly overweight, what they call a "7". He does have a little fat, but when I press into his bulk, it is firm muscle. During a pinch test, I can only pinch a quarter of an inch of skin/fat in his fluffiest spots, no more than me who is an underweight human. My dog has a defined waist, I can feel his ribs under the muscle, he runs and loves working/playing for extended durations, and all signs of a healthy dog according to everything I have read online. He broke his backpack last week and we haven't been able to exercise the same while we wait for the replacement, plus I started muzzle training him which meant a lot of treats this past week. Additionally, he's still growing like a puppy, and I don't think puppy weight is a bad thing. We were just at the shelter yesterday, and the only two people who would interact with him before thought he looked super healthy and were shocked that he looked full-blooded rottie, they said they wouldn't have recognized him had I not told them it was the same dog.
The vet tech started telling me that no dog should ever receive puppy food after 12 months and no dogs gain weight after 12 months, unless its fat. This is when the warning bells started going off. I know from the AKC (I plan to show this graph to the tech at the next visit if necessary) and other sources, that dog breeds over 100 pounds fully grown will not stop growing until 18-24 months. Many Rottweiler experts claim they finish growing in height at one year, but grow their muscle until 2 or 3 years old. When I tried telling her this, she immediately shut me down; telling me about her 85 pound American Bully and how I need to think of my dogs' joints. She admittedly had limited experience with Rottweilers, but stayed headstrong. She wants him to lose eight pounds and be a "6", from 104, in three weeks before his boosters. He's still a growing puppy and I think that's like making a growing teenage human with a few extra pounds go on a diet, absurd.
I don't really feel like their knowledge is going to be pertinent to Rottweilers if they will not listen to Rottweiler and big dog experts nor the AKC nor Iams (who the vet told me the first visit "is the expert on dog food"). I just paid a big chunk of money to them and have to continue with monthly payments til I pay off the year plan. I am going to slightly cut back on his food since he receives greek yogurt every morning and I hadn't calculated that into his food allotment per the bag. Am I just stuck with this vet who will give questionable care to my dog for another year? What are ways I can avoid this in the future should I decide to find a new vet? Am I overreacting? What other issues could arise from their, what seems to be, lack of knowledge about big dogs? Am I a shitty handler if I don't consider a stricter diet until after he's supposed to stop growing, according to AKC and other large dog experts?
I have a Rottweiler, who is roughly 16 months old. My girlfriend and I rescued him from the shelter, who told us he was born around the beginning of Jan, 2022, based on his teeth. They had him twice before we adopted him. He was found with rocks in his stomach and underfed, then underfed by the staff because they though he was an adult (based on height) by admission of the shelter. He was 70 pounds and mistaken for a mixed breed. He was given an "ideal weight" classification by the vet even with his whole rib cage showing and no muscle, that was 4 months ago. They use numbers 1-10, and I didn't know the designation "5" meant ideal then, or I would have questioned it. Their picture of "ideal weight" looks like a Greyhound, and every healthy Rottweiler I have seen is barrel-chested. The vet told me to feed Iams, Iams says my large dog needs large puppy food til age 24 months so I followed the vet and bag's instructions. This vet clinic is nationwide, often found in a pet store chain, rhymes with Dracula's assistant's name.
Fast forward to now, I want to do a pet wellness plan, so I bring him to his appointment, get blood work, stool sample, urine test, ear swab (which all came back amazing besides an ear infection). Now that he is muscular from consistent weighted-walks and daily work, the vet says he is slightly overweight, what they call a "7". He does have a little fat, but when I press into his bulk, it is firm muscle. During a pinch test, I can only pinch a quarter of an inch of skin/fat in his fluffiest spots, no more than me who is an underweight human. My dog has a defined waist, I can feel his ribs under the muscle, he runs and loves working/playing for extended durations, and all signs of a healthy dog according to everything I have read online. He broke his backpack last week and we haven't been able to exercise the same while we wait for the replacement, plus I started muzzle training him which meant a lot of treats this past week. Additionally, he's still growing like a puppy, and I don't think puppy weight is a bad thing. We were just at the shelter yesterday, and the only two people who would interact with him before thought he looked super healthy and were shocked that he looked full-blooded rottie, they said they wouldn't have recognized him had I not told them it was the same dog.
The vet tech started telling me that no dog should ever receive puppy food after 12 months and no dogs gain weight after 12 months, unless its fat. This is when the warning bells started going off. I know from the AKC (I plan to show this graph to the tech at the next visit if necessary) and other sources, that dog breeds over 100 pounds fully grown will not stop growing until 18-24 months. Many Rottweiler experts claim they finish growing in height at one year, but grow their muscle until 2 or 3 years old. When I tried telling her this, she immediately shut me down; telling me about her 85 pound American Bully and how I need to think of my dogs' joints. She admittedly had limited experience with Rottweilers, but stayed headstrong. She wants him to lose eight pounds and be a "6", from 104, in three weeks before his boosters. He's still a growing puppy and I think that's like making a growing teenage human with a few extra pounds go on a diet, absurd.
I don't really feel like their knowledge is going to be pertinent to Rottweilers if they will not listen to Rottweiler and big dog experts nor the AKC nor Iams (who the vet told me the first visit "is the expert on dog food"). I just paid a big chunk of money to them and have to continue with monthly payments til I pay off the year plan. I am going to slightly cut back on his food since he receives greek yogurt every morning and I hadn't calculated that into his food allotment per the bag. Am I just stuck with this vet who will give questionable care to my dog for another year? What are ways I can avoid this in the future should I decide to find a new vet? Am I overreacting? What other issues could arise from their, what seems to be, lack of knowledge about big dogs? Am I a shitty handler if I don't consider a stricter diet until after he's supposed to stop growing, according to AKC and other large dog experts?