New Puppy in the house

[JPuckett1989]

We just rescued a puppy from a local animal shelter a few days ago. It would have been his last day.

He's 16 weeks old and from what we can gather, he's a German Shepherd/Yellow Lab mix. He's very smart,energetic,great on a leash and rather dominant towards our 3 year old black lab, Sadie. He also has a strong prey drive as he chases after our cat, and notices every bird flying,every squirrel running. We've also learned he quite vocal, and expresses himself.

The biggest problem right now is his weight. He's only 24 pounds which from what we were told by his former foster parents, he's gained quite a bit of weight since then. From research it seems he should be about 10-15 pounds heavier. We've got him on Diamond Naturals puppy formula, and we give him a raw egg yolk at every meal. Does anybody else have some suggestions on how to get some meat back on him? Seems a lot of people recommend satin balls for gaining weight.

[Maxy24]

He's adorable! Looks like a fun dog. What makes you think he should be heavier? Always go by body condition, even dogs of the same breed can vary greatly in weight depending on sex and breeder. Does he LOOK underweight? Are bones sticking out? Spine, ribs, hips? A little bit of rib is fine, especially with his coat type, but there shouldn't be pointy hips or noticeable vertebrae. If his bones are all covered then chances are he's not underweight at all!

But wasn't Diamond Naturals recalled? Or are they stocking it again?

[JPuckett1989]

I haven't been on here in a while so not sure about the diamond naturals recall. His ribs are showing, his hip bones aren't showing visually but you can feel every point vertebrae. His coat and skin are also in bad shape.

[Maxy24]

Pictures don't work for me

[Teal]

Can you post a picture of him from the side at his level, and from the top? That will let us see his condition and if he's actually thin or not. Many, many people think a dog is at an ideal weight when it is actually too heavy

Also, there is no need to separate the yolk and give him only that.. plunk in the entire egg, shell included! You can break it up, or you can out it in whole and watch him figure out how to eat it.. my dogs LOVE whole eggs!

[JPuckett1989]

I will try and get some pictures tomorrow. very difficult to get a picture of a constantly moving puppy!

And you may be right, I'm just thinking in my head what lab puppies, and what german shepherd puppies look like, and then I look at him and he's so much skinnier. Also, comparing to how sadie(lab/pit mix) looked at his age.

[Maxy24]

And if he is underweight I'd just give him some time. He's new, so give him some time for him to gain weight just by eating a regular diet.

[JPuckett1989]

Here are pictures

[JPuckett1989]

lets try this again





We weighed him today and he's gained 2 pounds since we got him.

[Dizzy]

Doesnt look to bad at all to me!!! Trim, but not thin. For a puppy maybe a little more, but if he was adult I'd be saying how good he looks.