Is my OES too skinny?
 ) . Does anyone have any good advice … or I don’t have anything to worry about? |
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| What does your vet think about his weight?? |
| Year old boys still haven't filled out, they aren't exactly babies, but they have some "beefing up" to do. Is he neutered?
All dogs (well most) go thru various feeding stages, can't fill them up to won't touch a thing and everything in between. Like babies they may be teething and it hurts to eat. One thing you don't want to do is force feed them! If you boy is active, even super active, then he's probably going thru a "phase." Feel him. Does his backbone stick out to where you can easily feel under it a bit. This would be serious starvation. Also the ribs would be clearly visible when he's wet. You always want to be able to feel the ribs, not a thick fat pad between the your hands and his ribs, but they should be protected a bit with a little fat. How about his back legs......upper legs. Does he have athletic muscles or are they just there? By all means if you suspect there's something wrong, take him to the vet. I'd hesitate to start giving him fattening foods least he expect it constantly........the Satin Ball recipe for example......which I believe is in our files. A prime quality dog food is enough. You can supplement with pro-biotics if you wish. A year and 66 lbs is a bit light, he may be a delicate boy much like my delicate MO who at nearly 12 years old has finally made it to 65 lbs. Then again, he may just be a slow developer and will top out around 70 lbs when he's 18 months. Don't worry, even the smaller sheepies a filled with vim and vinegar (maybe more so as they can scoot around so much faster). |
| Go by feel of your dog, feeding charts are not accurate on the bags, some dogs require more then suggested others less.
Hard to also go by weight some dogs are more thick set in their bones or more muscled or more active, then others so comparing weights of two dogs the same age can vary a lot. What might be good for one is not the same for the other. 
Feel with your hands, along the backbone, run your hands lightly either side of the dogs rib cage, feel the withers and the hip bones, not pressing just gliding your hands over those areas. Sticking out - too thin Can just feel them with a light covering - Correct weight Cant feel them at all - Too Fat. For instance I have two the same age brother and sister and the difference is 10Kg's between the two, so going by age and weight is inappropriate, and so is the feeding guide, the lighter one eats more then the heavier one as she burns it off quicker and needs more then the other, I always say you get a better idea by feeling the dog as to wether you need to up or down the amount of food they eat. |
| Yesterday Darwin’s groomer checks him a little and said that he isn’t too thin and that it is just a growing faze. But still, I can feel the hip bones sticking out and this made me worry in the first place. He isn’t neutered and he has finished teething some time ago so I don’t think that is the reason. I didn’t mean to force fed him (even if I tried he is too stubborn . I will take him to the vet just to make sure that it isn’t something wrong and then we will se from that point on. I think that maybe he is too active for the amount of food he is getting. Obviously it was a mistake to stick with a table on the back of dog food but I was afraid not to overfed him.
“he may be a delicate boy” …… ahahahahaha …. Yes he is so delicate that everybody thinks he is she (he is a real lady |
| Chopin is 2 1/2 and only 70 pounds. Your baby may just be a lighterweight boy, it's a blessing in disguise when they pull on the leash as more pounds would be much harder to control:) |
| You should be able to feel his hip bones, especially on a young dog.
They put on weight in the chest 1st, then over the ribs and the hips are last. By the time you feel padded hips, the rest of the dog is already chubby....  |
| How big were the parents? it will have a big bearing on the size of your pup! |
| My female will be 1 in two weeks and she just weighed in at the vet at 70 pounds. We have her half brother too and at 2 and a half he is just under 100! I'll take the 70 pounder anytime!!!
If the vet isn't concerned, I wouldn't be. Better to have a leaner dog. And as far as amount to feed, ask the vet how many calories he thinks your boy should be. Knowing the amount of calories is better than using the amount of cups as per the bag. And if your boy is like my female, no amount of food is enough! |
| I agree that it has a lot to do with the size of your pups parents. My Asterisk is a very tall, lanky girl. Her dad was a big guy at 95lbs, but her mother was only 60lbs. Asterisk, herself, at 15 months is 68.5lbs.
Wendel, on the other hand is stockier than my girl. He isn't as tall, but he is a solid 70lbs. Both babies are good, healthy weights. |
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