Dutch Shepherd Forum

I'm not sure if I put this in the right topic. Feel free to move it if I did.

I took Xander for a fun vet visit today. He had been holding weight around 75 pounds give or take a pound. When we weighed him he was 67 pounds. However, he had been acting more hungry lately. So while I was there I had him checked for worms and an over all check up. Everything was fine. No worms. I'm wondering what could have caused a slight drop in weight. A growth spurt maybe? He just turned a year in June. I haven't been exercising him any more than usual. His height is still about 26" or a hair over. Could it be heat related? I haven't changed his food. Should I up his food since he dropped weight and seems more hungry? I can feel his ribs but not see them and he doesn't look fat or overly skinny. He eats merricks kibble and usually gets a little boiled chicken and veggies in the evening.

PS: for those familiar with our vet problem he actually did not try to bite the vet today. I was very happy.

Also I forgot to mention the vet was not concerned and said he was still not underweight. I was just curious if anyone might have any ideas as to a reason. My vet is excellent and overly experienced and knowledgeable. But, does not have a lot of experience with ds. Other than one or two police dogs my ds,s are the only ones he has treated. He actually loves talking to me about them to learn more about them.

It could be heat, not sure what else other than growing and using the energy. If he is healthy and all is okay, maybe up his food. Sadie fluctuates too.

Thanks dutchringgirl. I was thinking heat or growth, even though it seems losing weight would be the opposite of growth. That's what I was saying about the vet not being extremely familiar with these guys. He felt he should be about done growing at a year to 14 months. But I knew I had read these guys continue to grow for as much as two years. And the heat and humidity heat is unbelievable. I'm going to slowly up his food and see if I can get him back to around 75 pounds. He looked really good at that weight.

Can you tell if Xander is getting broader across the chest? When you live with them, such things can be hard to tell. And probably moreso when he's a fluff ball.

Ditto on them growing into second year, bulking up.

Sadie is almost 4 and I am still waiting for her to bulk

I can't really tell on his chest getting wider. My dad who doesn't see him on a daily or weekly basis sayes wow he's getting bigger. But I don't see it. I guess I should take a picture and compare it to an older picture.

Raven wrote:And probably moreso when he's a fluff ball.

My fluff ball.

my Xander had a huge growth spurt AFTER turning 12 months [ like 12 til 14 or 15 months ] whereas he was growing at a slower rate in the months prior to that - like nothing was happening 9 or 10 to 12 months. i would up his food a little, see what happens, and maybe up it a bit more.

but 7 lb. is a lot for a growing puppy to drop. could it have been a weighing fluke - either this time or when he weighed in at 75? or could it be he was not getting enough water recently or even just in the 1/2 day before going to vet - because of heat, etc??

I feel like he gets plenty of water. His bowl inside and outside stay filled up and he drinks alot of water, especially when he gets hot. It could be a weighing fluke. But the scale is pretty accurate, it has a button to zero it before they get on. I thought 6 or 7 pounds was alot as well. I upped his food a little which he gladly gobbled down. I'm leaNing towards a growth spurt because he seems so hungry lately. He will go over to his food bowl 2 or 3 times a day sniffing at it like he is hungry again. I may also split his meals into 3 a day instead of 2 so he doesn't have to go so long until the next meal.

One thing to consider, too, is that if the vet's scale has been calibrated between this visit and the last, that can account for a difference of a few pounds.

assuming the weighings were accurate, i would pay even more attention to his attention to his empty food bowl if that is something new. these guys are so smart; they often know what is best for them and they are great at giving signals.

if 75 was a perfect weight for him before, 67 must feel like an emergency to him, as i can attest from my own bad experience this past winter when i went from 2.4 lb per inch of height to 1.8 lb per inch. going from where i am now - which is DS-slim - back down to that low weight where i had stayed for a couple months would equal the decline your Xander has experienced and would make me want to eat everything in sight.

i guess your puppy is telling you he's becoming a real dog. he is so great looking.