# Normal Puppy Growth?



## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Our 11 week old boy Haeden has not had any trouble with food since we have brought him home at 8 weeks. From 8 weeks until yesterday we were giving him a little over 1/2 cup a meal, 2x day. Over the last week or two he has been growing and his little legs have gotten a lot longer but yesterday both my boyfriend and I both notice that he looks REALLY skinny suddenly. At the beginning of the week he looked healthy and he had a nice little covering over his ribs, although he does have a nice little waistline. Yesterday we noticed that you can easily see his ribs and the two bones above his booty are very visible. After referring to the puppy feeding guide on his dog food and reading a few threads on here I decided he will be getting 3/4 cup 2x day. We'll see how this feeding goes and maybe will up it again after a few days. He does go on 2 walks (one long and one fairly short) per day so he is getting exercise and is moving around.

This is my first larger dog (had a dachshund and a basset previously) so I'm not used to the growth spurts. It it normal for them to look skinnier at times as they grow? Him looking so boney suddenly really caught me off guard so I want to be sure his is 'normal' in the growth of vizslas before I have an overly worried mom moment


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## pippa31 (Aug 2, 2011)

It is absolutely normal for Vs to look skinny as they go through growth spurts, but I would up the feeding anyway to get Haeden to get back to a heavier weight. One of the biggest mistakes I made when Pippa was super young was being concerned about portioning out her meals and I now realize I could have/should have fed her more. As long as Headen's stool stays normal, I would up the amount of food and treats for now.


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## veifera (Apr 25, 2012)

The second post today where I had exactly the same questions!! 

I keep asking everyone who sees my puppy if she is too skinny. When she's out playing and especially sniffing, the rib cage expands and she looks like an escapee from a concentration camp!

Of course, everyone tells me she looks healthy and gorgeous and just the right proportion. And that I'm obsessed and out of my mind! LOL.

I think what throws me off is that her legs are growing faster than the rest of her. Isn't the stereotype that leggy girls look skinnier?? ;-)


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

When my puppy was very thin we were advised to up the quantity but to put him back on four meals a day as he would process smaller quantities of food better. He is now 21 weeks and on three meals a day and looks great. We won't cut his meals down to two meals a day until he is 6 months old as the first six month is the maximum growing period for a pup. After 6 months their tummies can handle larger quantities of food. Also please be aware that feeding large quantities of food in one go can cause BLOAT!!

One other thing - the feeding quide on your feed is just that a guide. Go by how your puppy looks.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback, all. I was hoping his little ribs showing was a sign he's growing and not that mom is horrible at giving him enough food! I swear if I gave him the entire bag he would eat all of it!

hotmischief, thanks for the information regarding bloat. Unfortunately due to our schedules 4 meals isn't possible, but we have started to do 3 meals at 1/2 cup each which seems to be working well. On the weekends we will try to do 4 meals though. I have also started adding chicken to one of his meals which is in addition to what the bag recommends since he's a skinny mini right now! He has not offered any complaints about the chicken yet!


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## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

Too cute!

Remember, Vizslas are normally pretty lean dogs.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

He has been lean since we got him (the picture is a good indication of how he usually looks) but last week he suddenly looked super skinny. We're working our way back up to lean and healthy looking!

Based on the feeding suggestion from his food he was right at the cusp of needing to increase his daily feeding amount so I think that was our sign that we needed to do it. Already he is starting to look better and his ribs aren't quite as visible so I think we're on the right track.


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## Gingernutter (Dec 4, 2011)

He looks mega! Lovely lovely looking Boy.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

KB - Your boy looks very healthy - he has probably just had a growth spurt. probably just needs a little extra. Three meals is fine - don't change it to four at weekends - keep the routine the same.


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

I would just add a little more to the daily food intake. Our 5 month-old V too shows her ribs a lot but we feed her three times a day 1 cup of kibble each meal-time + bones and treats. No worries, your little guy looks healthy to me!


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

We were getting flack from all sides that Odin was too thin around 3 months old. Even the Vet wanted us to feed special canned food along with his dry. She made me feel like I was starving him. They looked up the reccomended caloric intake for him, and I was already feeding over double the amount of calories without treats. We gave in and upped his food. Odin proceeded to have dirreah and vomiting, so I put his food back down and just let his body catch up. He was looking like he had a bit of meat on his bones a few weeks later. They grow so fast!


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