# Puppy Growing Too Quickly - Food Recs?



## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

38 pounds for a 6 month female sound fine to me. Here is a weight chart. Even compared to the Hovan Slow Growth Plan, your dog is about right. That plan calls for 30 pounds at 20 weeks.

http://www.genuinegoldens.com/files/Female_Puppy_Weight_JAN.pdf

38 pounds is below average compared to the chart. Did your pup gain a large amount of weight recently? Is she overweight? Can you feel her ribs?

We fed Max Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food until he was about 15 months. It is a quality food plus it is reasonably priced. What makes your vet think that your pup is at risk for joint problems? Sounds to me that your pup is doing fine. However, I am not vet and have not met your dog. (Disclaimer.  )

BTW, our Max weighed 30 pounds at 11 weeks. He is well over 100 pounds now and quite healthy.


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## ktbug87 (Jun 7, 2014)

Max's Dad said:


> 38 pounds for a 6 month female sound fine to me. Here is a weight chart. Even compared to the Hovan Slow Growth Plan, your dog is about right. That plan calls for 30 pounds at 20 weeks.
> 
> http://www.genuinegoldens.com/files/Female_Puppy_Weight_JAN.pdf
> 
> ...


Thanks for this info!

She has gained roughly 26 pounds in 13 weeks. I don't know if there were other reasons for his concern, but he said based on her weight and how she looked (height, etc) that he was worried about rate of growth and joints. My husband was there, so I'm not sure exactly what was said.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

It depends on the size of your dog. How "big" she is and where/how she carries that weight. 

38lbs for a regular male golden (meaning one who will be 23-24" at full growth) is probably within 10 pounds. My Bertie was 49 pounds. Grabbing the memo I took (and posted here on GRF these were his dimensions) -



> 20" long (shoulder to hip)
> 21" tall (to the shoulders)
> His chest around is 26"
> His waist around is 20"
> ...


 Currently as a 25 month old adult -

23.5" height
21" waist
28" chest
24" length
21" head
68lbs


^ Now take those measurements that he has as a 6 month old puppy and let's assume your dog will be standard size when adult. 

Females are 21-22" tall and should be around 55-65 pounds as adults. 

Not all golden retrievers as bred will be standard size though and/or they end up on the lower end of the standard. That is why you need to know what is a good weight for your dog, know what is too heavy for your dog, etc. 

Generally speaking, it is best to keep these dogs lean as puppies - especially if they are fast growing.


*** w/respect to the brand of food and economics.... it really depends on what your dog does well on. A lot of the more premium foods get really kinda expensive and there isn't a huge difference between the "results" of feeding those foods vs feeding something else. And it pretty much comes down to people should buy what they can afford and what their dogs do well on.


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## ktbug87 (Jun 7, 2014)

Megora said:


> It depends on the size of your dog. How "big" she is and where/how she carries that weight.
> 
> 38lbs for a regular male golden (meaning one who will be 23-24" at full growth) is probably within 10 pounds. My Bertie was 49 pounds. Grabbing the memo I took (and posted here on GRF these were his dimensions) -
> 
> ...



My husband did mention something about her frame. It's difficult to know exactly what was said because he isn't the best at telling me. Haha.

She looks thin to me, but I'm definitely not a vet. Her parents were both big dogs, and they think she will probable be roughly 60-70lbs when she is full grown.


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## Chritty (Aug 17, 2014)

From what you're saying her weight isn't the issue, just her bone growth. I'd get a second opinion personally. Our breeder told us to get Millie off of puppy food at 20 weeks to start stepping down protein levels. This seems to be an old way of thinking from my own investigations into the subject. 

Your vet maybe correct but I'd talk to a different vet who does believe a puppy should eat puppy food till atleast 12 months of age. Once you've found that vet get them to examine her and see if the reaffirm what your regular vet has said. 

I know it may not be to your financial benefit to seek out another opinion but it is what I would do.


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## Aleksandrina (May 27, 2014)

I like Chritty's idea about getting a second opinion.  

Do you have any pictures of her? What are her measurements? 

Theo is exactly 19 weeks old today and he weighs 39 lbs. I could only imagine how much more weight he's going to put on during the next 7 weeks (until he turns 6 months old.)


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## cazzy (Jan 7, 2014)

normally at 6 months old puppies can look all legs or all body depending on the dog if the legs are long it does make the body look wrong as well. I think it is one of the worse stages for a golden. I had a vet say something the same to one of the owners of a pup from my last litter.When she contacted me about what the vet said because it sounded weird to her and she wanted to check I told her the same as i do with my own. I never take my pups of puppy food until 15 months which is when we swap to adult. Normally at about 7 months we change the dog from 3 meals to 2 meals day and feed about 8-10dl (800ml-1000ml) in total a day depending on the dog. She followed our advice and the golden is a normal size adult male that passed his health checks. I agree with chritty it is an old way of thinking and I would see about getting a second opinion just in case your vet is right and make sure you are there as well to hear everything that was said because my hubby is the same never tells me it all and he won't question the vet either,or ask you husband to write it down or see if the vet will which is what we do if i can't be there. 

Maybe you could post some pictures as well it always helps to see if you can't feel


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

I have a tiny golden girl. At 4 years old, she is barely 50 lbs. She would have been a bit smaller than your girl at 6 months. 

If she has done well on Eukanuba, you could switch her to the adult brand of that food. Others choices are Nutro Natural Choice and ProPlan. If you live in the US or Canada you could also try the Simply Nourish line available at Petsmart.


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## ktbug87 (Jun 7, 2014)

cazzy said:


> normally at 6 months old puppies can look all legs or all body depending on the dog if the legs are long it does make the body look wrong as well. I think it is one of the worse stages for a golden. I had a vet say something the same to one of the owners of a pup from my last litter.When she contacted me about what the vet said because it sounded weird to her and she wanted to check I told her the same as i do with my own. I never take my pups of puppy food until 15 months which is when we swap to adult. Normally at about 7 months we change the dog from 3 meals to 2 meals day and feed about 8-10dl (800ml-1000ml) in total a day depending on the dog. She followed our advice and the golden is a normal size adult male that passed his health checks. I agree with chritty it is an old way of thinking and I would see about getting a second opinion just in case your vet is right and make sure you are there as well to hear everything that was said because my hubby is the same never tells me it all and he won't question the vet either,or ask you husband to write it down or see if the vet will which is what we do if i can't be there.
> 
> Maybe you could post some pictures as well it always helps to see if you can't feel


So I pulled some more information out of my husband this morning. Haha. I definitely need to take her next time. Anyway...he said the vet specifically talked about her growth plates. So I'm guessing it is more to do with how she's growing. 

I'm adding some pics in case that helps. Getting her to listen this morning was like an act of congress, so excuse the lack of quality. 

I'm going to take her to another vet this week just to see what they think.


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## ktbug87 (Jun 7, 2014)

Oops. Let me try again.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Well, weight wise she looks good to me, she is not fat at all. She is really leggy but a lot of goldens are at that age - mine wasn't though. It just depends on the golden and what mom and dad look like. Not all goldens are built the same especially as pups. 

Did the vet take any kind of x-rays to determine if she was showing signs of growing too fast in the joints? Has she been lame ? Maybe she is going to be a tall girl. 

Maybe the vet is baffled by her leggy look. But she looks fine to me.


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## ktbug87 (Jun 7, 2014)

cgriffin said:


> Well, weight wise she looks good to me, she is not fat at all. She is really leggy but a lot of goldens are at that age - mine wasn't though. It just depends on the golden and what mom and dad look like. Not all goldens are built the same especially as pups.
> 
> Did the vet take any kind of x-rays to determine if she was showing signs of growing too fast in the joints? Has she been lame ? Maybe she is going to be a tall girl.
> 
> Maybe the vet is baffled by her leggy look. But she looks fine to me.


We are so new to the big dog arena, so we just have no clue what to expect and want to make sure we are doing what is best for her. She definitely looks thin to me. Her mom was a big Golden, but not leggy at all. 

I'm going to ask the vet we see this week all of these questions,because I don't want to do the wrong thing. She's never had issues with her joints that we've seen.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Yep, I would definitely ask the vet why he/she thinks she is growing too fast. The vet should not just throw it out there without any recommendations on feeding etc.


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## cazzy (Jan 7, 2014)

i dont think you have to worry about her being under weight. If you want to check yourself have her stand and run your hands over her ribs if you feel them with no pressure needs a little weight slight pressure should be good weight and more pressure over weight. I had to change her weight to Kg for me to get a better idea but she is about the same weight 2 of my pups have been about that age 

I would not be shocked if another vet said something different. Everyone has their own idea of what a golden should look like after all. leggy is normal like i said before and it could be that stage for her


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

Maybe he said her growth plates have been damaged. That happens when a puppy jumps before the growth plates are closed, after 1 year at least. The pup needs to avoid jumping until the vet tells you the growth plates are closed.


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## jenlaur (Jun 24, 2009)

Well I am no expert but I think she looks perfect!


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## Bosn'sMom (Feb 11, 2013)

i too think she looks perfect. Bo is a "big" golden (95 lbs and not overweight a bit, just larger boned than other goldens) and our vet always said go by feel around the ribs for weight and make sure they are full... dont starve them! every puppy grows differently.

i do know the idea of slow growth but i have always personally felt that every dog is different.

your pup is beautiful!


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

It's easy to be uncertain if you go by looks. You can be sure if you go by feel. You should be able to feel the ribs easily under the skin, not under a pad of fat.


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## Wenderwoman (Jan 7, 2013)

My girl was 40 pounds at 5.5 months but it was a healthy weight for her. As an adult she is 75 pounds. She's a big girl but not fat. How big are the parents? If they were bigger, she will most likely be as well.

I've also given my girl fish oil since she was a puppy.


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