[Matthew Criner]

I took my 5 month old pup to the vet the other day, and he weighed 35 lbs. The Vet said that since he was sick for so long and wouldn't eat on his own, he will be very small when he is full grown. Is this true? I was looking at this GSD chart, and it sais that he should weigh 50 lbs by now. http://www.nwk9.com/weight_height.htm

Should I be concerned?

 

[Kristen Cabe]

Jak was about that weight at 5 months. Don't worry about it. As long as his bones aren't sticking out, he's fine.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

I took my 5 month old pup to the vet the other day, and he weighed 35 lbs. The Vet said that since he was sick for so long and wouldn't eat on his own, he will be very small when he is full grown. Is this true? I was looking at this GSD chart, and it sais that he should weigh 50 lbs by now. http://www.nwk9.com/weight_height.htm

Should I be concerned?

I agree with Kristen.

As long as you can't easily see his ribs ...... and don't
forget that the vet isn't concerned!

IMO, small and lean is way better than oversized, for
many health reasons.

 

[Matthew Criner]

So what do you guys think he will weigh when he is full grown?

 

[Connie Sutherland]

So what do you guys think he will weigh when he is full grown?

Who knows?

A guess? 55 to 60?

Mine is only 64-66.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

So what do you guys think he will weigh when he is full grown?

Who knows?

A guess? 55 to 60?

Mine is only 64-66.

BTW, Matthew, how is he doing? Does he have his
appetite now? That little guy went through a lot; it's
great that he's coming along!

 

[Matthew Criner]

Yea, he eats a lot now. 55-60....that's rather small for a import male from sieger rated parents. Do you think I should complain to my breeder? He has a 5 year guarantee for all genetic problems, and I specifically told him I wanted to participate in shutzhund and possibly show him.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

Yea, he eats a lot now. 55-60....that's rather small for a import male from sieger rated parents. Do you think I should complain to my breeder? He has a 5 year guarantee for all genetic problems, and I specifically told him I wanted to participate in shutzhund and possibly show him.

I actually have no idea what size he will be, Matthew.

But it makes sense to me that after all he has been through,
he would probably be a small guy.

Since I'm pretty much a second-hand dog-owner, I know
very little about size as a function of conformation or SchH.

I'll bet others here will have better answers.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

My showline GSD is 24" at the shoulders and 65lbs.... my female dutch shepherd pup is 25lbs at 5 months old, 35lbs sounds about right for a GSD... maybe a teeny bit small, but I think that's what Cujo was, he's a smaller GSD but not small small, his appearance looks more than 65lbs but when you touch him then touch a heavier set GSD you feel the difference.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

My showline GSD is 24" at the shoulders and 65lbs.... my female dutch shepherd pup is 25lbs at 5 months old, 35lbs sounds about right for a GSD... maybe a teeny bit small, but I think that's what Cujo was, he's a smaller GSD but not small small, his appearance looks more than 65lbs but when you touch him then touch a heavier set GSD you feel the difference.

And Mike, you have no problems with a relatively
small GSD, right? I know I sure don't, since I see
it as a hedge against joint problems.

 

[Matthew Criner]

Mike, did he have eating problems when he was younger?

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

The first almost 2 years of his life were a struggle to get him to eat anything, he was so underfed, but he was always visually healthy... he wouldn't eat kibbles unless I mixed it with other crap, he's tried every kinda food there is, even The Honest Kitchen (which he LOVES now) was a slight struggle once the novelty of a new food wore off.... but for some reason having Lÿka around, he's turned into the cookie monster, he goes crazy when I bring his meal in, his food drive is thru the roof... I mean, he's the kinda dog that people told me "take away his food after 10 minutes n starve him till he eats right" n he would rather not eat for a week than give in to hunger... but now, if I walk into the room with his food bowl n make him do OB before he gets his food, he sits in heel position making whining noises begging for his food. I don't know if it's an age thing, or because he's watched a high food drive dog do backflips for her food n something clicked in his head or what.... but the thing I learnt thru all of this the most is "if he looks healthy, don't worry about how much he eats".

As for a smaller GSD... I will never go back to a larger GSD... I was a little disappointed at first when I realized Cujo would never be a big 85+lb GSD monster, but since then my attitude has changed alot, smaller GSD's have less structural problems, less bone problems, less health problems overall, longer lifespan on average, more agile etc.

If you really specifically wanted a 90lb dog n your breeder led you to believe that you would get a big 90lb dog, and by 12 months old the dog doesn't look like he's gonna fill out to that size (by 12 months the dog is about adult size minus the bulking up), then sure complain if you like --- I have 100 complaints to my breeder, but I never voiced any of them, because at the end of the day, I love the dog I have, he turned out to be a good dog regardless of my total ignorance to selection testing or lineage at the time, n if I were to get another GSD, I would look for the smaller sleeker breeding in hopes for another 65lb 24" tall male.

 

[Bob Scott]

Mathew, we have a couple of small (50-55lb) GSDs on our club. We call them sable Mals because their small size makes them extreamly fast. Both hit like a sledge hammer. Fun to watch! Don't worry, be happy! :wink:

 

[Matthew Criner]

Thanks for your kind words Mike and Bob. It just dissapointed me, because I was promise a large dog. His father is Flipp Von Arlett who is sieger rated and weighs 82 lbs. His mother is sieger rated as well and a larger female.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

Thanks for your kind words Mike and Bob. It just dissapointed me, because I was promise a large dog. His father is Flipp Von Arlett who is sieger rated and weighs 82 lbs. His mother is sieger rated as well and a larger female.

My dogs dad is Remus Zorro (look it up on Pedigree Database if you like) and he too is a large dog, his mother is Hemi von Kaykohl Land (Pedigree dB also) n both are larger dogs, n my boy was the big boy outta the litter, the breeder kept emphasizing "he might be the biggest now but they grow at different rates, you don't know if he's gonna be the biggest as an adult", I dunno if he was trying to tell me something with this, I doubt it, but just something to bare in mind, nobody knows how big their pup is gonna get, even if the parents are huge, there's always gonna be a few smaller pups here n there.

 

[Sarah Hall]

I bought Carbon KNOWING he wasn't going to be a 98lb monster like his dad. I saw my first small, sleek GSD about 3 years ago doing bitework, and loved it. It's just all dog, no fluff that was built up from years of show and egotistical breeders. Plus, they look to be a real throwback to the first GSDs that looked more like Mals than today's GSDs. Just remember that old saying:
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

 

[Kristen Cabe]

Jak will be 13 months old on the 4th, he's still lean, and around 60-65 pounds (haven't weighed him in about a month). As I said, he was about the size of your dog at 5 months, and he still has some filling out to do. He'll probably be around 70 pounds once he's filled out, but I'm in no hurry to bulk him up.

As for a smaller GSD... I will never go back to a larger GSD... I was a little disappointed at first when I realized Cujo would never be a big 85+lb GSD monster, but since then my attitude has changed alot, smaller GSD's have less structural problems, less bone problems, less health problems overall, longer lifespan on average, more agile etc.

Not to mention they eat less so you don't spend as much on food! :lol:

 

[Al Curbow]

Matthew, Anne Jones has a small female gsd (pocket rocket) and it will kick your ass in a heart beat, she's a lot of dog in a small package. If the dog is good (temperament etc.) who cares how big he is? I have a big male gsd and he couldn't do a sport if his life depended on it, the ONLY thing he can do good is chase a ball, LOL. So, enjoy your pup,
AL

 

[Elly Elsenaar]

Our GSD wasn't that big at all, but I tell you to do Schutzhund you better off with a size that you can handle, not so much injury's.

Here a picture of Valdo when he was 5 months. I don't know his weight in usa, but in dutch kilo's he was about 20kg.

and this is what he now almost 2 years.

So don't worry, he still can grow! We did a lot of swimming with him.

 

[Woody Taylor]

Well said, everybody!

Matt, you can look back in the threads...I posted that link myself a few months back. It is an FCI chart from 1991 or something. My mutt was undersized as well until six months or so and she ended following that chart within a pound or so...not that that should be your expectation...just saying that there is a lot more variability ( in my newb opinion) at that stage of puppyhood.

But yeah, don't sweat the fact that your dog might have a few less pounds of gut!