| My dog is having the same problem. He has gotten taller, but has not put on any weight since about 8-9 months. He eats everyday, although the weight just doesn't seem to stick. I hope it is not a thyroid issue people seem to believe it may be. I did not pay almost $2000 for a dog just to have to give him thyroid medication every day for the rest of his days. I guess I will have no choice but to have blood work done on him, as I am tired of fixing all of this good food for him with ground beef, eggs, bil jack, and carrots only to not see it stick to his bones. I pick up the bag of dog food and feel how heavy it is. After it is all gone, I weigh him again, and he is still the same weight.
Does anyone here know perhaps the cost of a blood work exam to test all of this stuff?
Also, to Lexxsmom, it may be a good idea to read through your contract to see if you can get another dog and keep the one you have now. If you are like me, giving up your boy for another is totally out of the question. So, I guess we are screwed in many scenarios except one: 1) Our dogs have thyroid or some other problem and the breeder will not give us a new dog unless we give up the ones we have, 2) Our dogs are full grown, which sucks because I did not want an undersized dog <70lbs, 3) our dogs are undersized because they simply are picky eaters (at least this can possibly be changed), and 4) the best of choices, they will continue growing at a slow rate and will eventually hit a final growth spurt.
In particular, I would be happy if Merrick reached 80-85lbs. The bottom line is, I got Merrick knowing that his job would be to mind the house and protect my wife from any intruder. Being undersized and well below standard for a Dobe (which is small anyway for guard dog standards) limits him in this capacity. It is for this reason that my next Dobe will definitely be of Euro Standard or somewhat oversized. I know this will piss people off here, but I don't like the look of small and scrawny looking dogs- I didn't say I couldn't love one which I do, but I got a Doberman because I love dogs and because I wanted a guard dog.
Running out of steam now, sorry for the long post, but as you can tell I have been thinking about this a lot. |