# 4 month old golden looks very skinny



## Pudden (Dec 28, 2008)

you should feel his ribs! If you can no longer feel ribs, he'd be way too fat. He looks fine in the pic. Most people's dogs are too fat. There should be just skin and muscle covering the ribs, little or no fat. The spine should be palpable but not sticking out. You should also feel the hip bones, but between the hip bones a little bit of flesh around the spine.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

Welcome to the forum! He is so cute!  Puppies that age do go through a gangly stage where they're growing so quickly they seem too skinny but feeling his ribs is good, seeing them would indicate he's too thin. I'm sorry he had worms and giardia. Has he had a negative fecal test since? Are his stools firm and normal? If yes to both and he is eating well and active he's probably just fine. Enjoy him!


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## texasx96 (Mar 13, 2013)

If he's like mine he'll be even worse in about a month.......Then he'll start bulking up.


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## swhome247 (Oct 22, 2013)

I should show you a picture of Chase when he went through that stage. He's six months now, and he looks great but, I did have to up his food. His waist was way too thin along with his tuck underneath. Now, he eats four cups a day and looks perfect. His coat is better too. His coat, during that "thin time" became really dull. You will know when he gets too thin. If you're worried, you can up his food by 1/4 cup and see if it helps. Then, if there comes a time you start seeing him fill out a bit too much, you can cut back. I had to up it by 1/2 cup and then a full cup. It depends on the food you're feeding and calories per cup. That was another reason we upped his food. His new food had a lot less calories, protein and fat. . You're doing great and your pup is beautiful!! 


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## cris (Jan 24, 2014)

Doesn't look to skinny to me  I was concerned about our 3 month old puppy being too skinny until I asked our vet and she confirmed he wasnt but we could feed him a smidge more. Ever since he has bulked up to the point of going back to his old food portions, maybe even less. 

In my mind, better skinny than overweight, it'd be much easier on your buddy's growing bones. 

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## eleni (Oct 10, 2013)

Worms and giardia at an early age can really help to make a puppy skinny. He does not look that thin to me, but it is hard to tell when he is lying down. Also, what type of homemade food do you give him and why is that? Good quality puppy food is more nutritional than most homemade food. Have you asked your vet about that? Also, it would be helpful to tell us how much your puppy weights at 4 months.


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## Ritugosain (Mar 7, 2014)

Thanks for all ur response!


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## swhome247 (Oct 22, 2013)

eleni said:


> Worms and giardia at an early age can really help to make a puppy skinny. He does not look that thin to me, but it is hard to tell when he is lying down. Also, what type of homemade food do you give him and why is that? Good quality puppy food is more nutritional than most homemade food. Have you asked your vet about that? Also, it would be helpful to tell us how much your puppy weights at 4 months.



Oh, yes, and I should add that Chase found giardia for awhile too. His gut is still not the same and his itching is ugh......bad.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

He doesn't look skinny, to me, either. Here is Ziva at 4 months:


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