# Is my puppy's weight normal ?



## sanwijay (Jul 6, 2005)

Hi all, just recently join this wonderful community ... currently live in Jakarta ... I would like to ask you guys about the normal weight of 3-month puppy [named Duke] ? My puppy weigh about 10 kgs or approx 20 lbs [???] ... does it has the right weight since its "brother" weigh about 12 kgs, with larger appearance ???

How do I increase Duke's weight since it only eats small portion of dog food [I give Duke Eukanuba for Large Breed Puppies, 2 times a day] ? FYI, I also give Duke milk 1 time; v-sorbit, calcidee and nutragel plus 2 times a day ... need advice on this.

Thanks for your kind attention and help.


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## Tracy (May 15, 2005)

At 10 weeks Rocky was 21 pounds. We met his brother last week and he was a lot smaller, he only weigh 14 pounds and was like a size smaller... I'm worried Rocky might be growing too fast. 

Here's a site I was given in regards to how much an average golden should weigh and how many weeks: 
http://www.goldenretriever.lv/rhonda_slow_grow.htm


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## sanwijay (Jul 6, 2005)

Tracy said:


> At 10 weeks Rocky was 21 pounds. We met his brother last week and he was a lot smaller, he only weigh 14 pounds and was like a size smaller... I'm worried Rocky might be growing too fast.
> 
> Here's a site I was given in regards to how much an average golden should weigh and how many weeks:
> http://www.goldenretriever.lv/rhonda_slow_grow.htm


Thanks for the info  ... Now I'm no longer worried that Duke will become Mini Golden Retriever ...  ... Thanks again


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## Shinecatcher (May 8, 2005)

20 wks. = 28-30 lbs Oops! Romeo was born March 8th and he's 40 lbs. of wonder! All his brothers and sisters are over 35 lbs. He looks lean and muscular, but he's a bit clumsy; i.e., falls out of the van instead of gracefully descending.


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## Allie and the Gang =) (Apr 21, 2005)

I also think this sounds a little underwieght, because Aspen is well over 20lbs at 15 weeks. He is long a leggy too already and sometimes i find it hard to keep him from nibbling! The best way though, is to put either some kind of raw food (if you are familiar) or some Wet puppy food (like Nutro or Pro plan, or something...) and they will scarf it right down. It has helped Aspen a great deal....He is a field line all the way, which i think makes a big difference. Show lines are going to be heavier and less leggy. Hope this helps. You might be careful with your large breed puppy formula if thats what you are on, sometimes that will drive them to grow too fast!:doh:

TRACY- that is a fine looking puppy you have in your avatar! Where ever did you get him? Hes Gorgeous!


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

sanwijay said:


> ...I would like to ask you guys about the normal weight of 3-month puppy...
> ...How do I increase Duke's weight...


sanwijay... I personally would not be concerned about your puppy's low weight. If the vet says he's healthy and doesn't have worms and you are feeding him a 'complete' dog food then there is nothing to worry about. Your puppy will grow to whatever his genes have programmed him for... your only concern should be that he not become over-weight and place undue stresses upon his young growing joints. And along those lines, your added info quoted below, gives me cause for some real concern...



sanwijay said:


> ...I also give Duke milk 1 time; v-sorbit, calcidee and nutragel plus 2 times a day... need advice on this...


The Golden Retriever breed is known to have a large percentage of dogs with genetic pre-dispositions for hip dysplasia (some estimates based upon OFA submissions suggest 40% of the breed and others suggest the incidence may actually be much higher because some X-rays are so obvious that they are never submitted to the OFA at all)... in any case, there are 2 aggravating factors that have been proved beyond any doubt to cause the expression of those genes... and they are excess calories (i.e. an over-weight puppy) and excess calcium in the diet. This is actually what distinguishes a Large Breed Puppy food from Regular puppy food... the LBP puppy food has much lower energy content per kg (less fat) and very limited amount of calcium. The idea is to have a slower growing puppy that is also slightly underweight. Your puppy will still grow to whatever height the genes have programmed him to be, he will just do it at a slower rate (this is much safer). Also, the growing joints of his long bones (legs) are still soft and the end-plates (called "growth plates") are only attached to the long-bones by cartilage. They can very easily be damaged, permanently bent, or fractured by repeated jarring at the joint. That is why prolonged forced exercise that is jarring is often not recommended (i.e. jumping... agility or Frisbee catching, etc) until the dog is at least 18months old. At that age the growth plates finally fuse to the long bones... unless your male dog was neutered at an early age... in that case it will take a few months longer. The detrimental effects of jarring the bone joints can also occur from being over-weight and just doing normal activities like running, playing, and even walking. That is why keeping your young pup's weight down is so important. The rule of thumb for determining a good weight for any dog is... if you can *EASILY* feel your dog's ribs and vertebrae of the spine then your dog is NOT too fat, however if you can SEE his ribs and spine then he is way too lean. And by all means stop giving him any extra calcium... no milk, no calcium suppliments. Please do an Internet search/research on "canine hip dysplasia" for a better understanding of this crippling disease of the joints. My aim is not to scare but rather to enlighten... I hope I've helped.


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## Boogity (Apr 23, 2005)

I, too, have always heard that it's much more important to keep your pup lean (thin) than to encourage any excess weight. Skinny is good. Plump is bad.


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## sea-monkey (Jun 24, 2005)

My golden retriever pup is 24 wks old and he is currently 51lbs, but 2 weeks ago he was only 40 lbs he was 10 lbs under weight, I had him checked for any parasites and everything was normal, I changed his food to a perscription diet from the vets office. He was on Eukanuba large breed also. maybe you should consider changing his diet, and I would absolutey discontinue giving your pup milk.


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## goldenspirits (Jun 3, 2005)

Cooper was born Nov. 11, 2004. On Feb. 4th, 2005, he was 18lbs. So almost 3 months old. He was perfect, not skinny, not fat. One of his littermates weighed 30lbs. at that age, and was a little chubby. So it all depends on the individual dog. He is 8 months old now and 58lbs. 

So don't worry about it, as long as he doesn't look too skinny and is eating normal, it's perfectly fine!


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## sanwijay (Jul 6, 2005)

monomer said:


> sanwijay... I personally would not be concerned about your puppy's low weight. If the vet says he's healthy and doesn't have worms and you are feeding him a 'complete' dog food then there is nothing to worry about. Your puppy will grow to whatever his genes have programmed him for... your only concern should be that he not become over-weight and place undue stresses upon his young growing joints. And along those lines, your added info quoted below, gives me cause for some real concern...
> 
> 
> 
> The Golden Retriever breed is known to have a large percentage of dogs with genetic pre-dispositions for hip dysplasia (some estimates based upon OFA submissions suggest 40% of the breed and others suggest the incidence may actually be much higher because some X-rays are so obvious that they are never submitted to the OFA at all)... in any case, there are 2 aggravating factors that have been proved beyond any doubt to cause the expression of those genes... and they are excess calories (i.e. an over-weight puppy) and excess calcium in the diet. This is actually what distinguishes a Large Breed Puppy food from Regular puppy food... the LBP puppy food has much lower energy content per kg (less fat) and very limited amount of calcium. The idea is to have a slower growing puppy that is also slightly underweight. Your puppy will still grow to whatever height the genes have programmed him to be, he will just do it at a slower rate (this is much safer). Also, the growing joints of his long bones (legs) are still soft and the end-plates (called "growth plates") are only attached to the long-bones by cartilage. They can very easily be damaged, permanently bent, or fractured by repeated jarring at the joint. That is why prolonged forced exercise that is jarring is often not recommended (i.e. jumping... agility or Frisbee catching, etc) until the dog is at least 18months old. At that age the growth plates finally fuse to the long bones... unless your male dog was neutered at an early age... in that case it will take a few months longer. The detrimental effects of jarring the bone joints can also occur from being over-weight and just doing normal activities like running, playing, and even walking. That is why keeping your young pup's weight down is so important. The rule of thumb for determining a good weight for any dog is... if you can *EASILY* feel your dog's ribs and vertebrae of the spine then your dog is NOT too fat, however if you can SEE his ribs and spine then he is way too lean. And by all means stop giving him any extra calcium... no milk, no calcium suppliments. Please do an Internet search/research on "canine hip dysplasia" for a better understanding of this crippling disease of the joints. My aim is not to scare but rather to enlighten... I hope I've helped.


Thank you very much for your explanation ... it's really open up my mind and increase my knowledge. So I guess I shouldn't be too concerned about the weight problem. Should I reduce the milk intake and also the vitamins ? What's your suggestion ? TIA.


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## sanwijay (Jul 6, 2005)

sea-monkey said:


> My golden retriever pup is 24 wks old and he is currently 51lbs, but 2 weeks ago he was only 40 lbs he was 10 lbs under weight, I had him checked for any parasites and everything was normal, I changed his food to a perscription diet from the vets office. He was on Eukanuba large breed also. maybe you should consider changing his diet, and I would absolutey discontinue giving your pup milk.


Would you mind explaining to me the reason behind your advice about discontinuing giving my pup milk ? TIA


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## sanwijay (Jul 6, 2005)

goldenspirits said:


> Cooper was born Nov. 11, 2004. On Feb. 4th, 2005, he was 18lbs. So almost 3 months old. He was perfect, not skinny, not fat. One of his littermates weighed 30lbs. at that age, and was a little chubby. So it all depends on the individual dog. He is 8 months old now and 58lbs.
> 
> So don't worry about it, as long as he doesn't look too skinny and is eating normal, it's perfectly fine!


OK, I Won't. Thanks for your words of encouragement.


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## shaneamber (Apr 20, 2005)

sanwijay ,So how big is your puppy now? What ever happened,did he get much bigger?
Shane


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

Hey Shane... this is my favorite thread... and judging by the number views it gets everyday, its a lot of other people's favorite as well. But a quick check reveals that Sanwijay has not visited the forum since 7-20-2005... think he'll show back up? I'm hoping he gets the e-mails of these replies and pays this thread a visit. The huge success of his little thread should make him proud.


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## kjburgstede (Jul 13, 2005)

*Small Golden?*

Hi, It's been a while since I have been on the site. (I help care for my grandson with disabilities and diabetes, work, and baby my golden, Penny) You all helped me last time I had a question and I am hoping for more help again. Nine months ago my Penny had a litter of 10 puppies. Of course there was one "runt" He was beautiful dark golden and perfect, but smaller than the rest. We always made sure he ate as much as he wanted and was never "bumped out" by the others. He is in a home now where he is loved very much, but is only 41 pounds! The vet says all blood work is normal but he should gain weight. I am going to see him, his name is Blue, on Wednesday. I don't know of any smaller goldens. My Penny and his father, Copper are both between 65-70 pounds. Another of our "babies" just visited Saturday and she is 57 pounds. Any information would be greatly appreciated.


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