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Is my 8 week old doberman puppy underweight?

36K views 47 replies 29 participants last post by  CheyenneRoy 
#1 ·
Hi,
I just picked up my 8 week old female doberman puppy. She has had her first puppy shot and has had 1 deworming about a week ago. She is ribby and her hip bones stick out. She seems very small to me and only weighs 6.6lbs. Am I worrying too much or is she really small? Parents were both pretty large, dad being around 80-90 lbs. and mom being around 60-70 lbs.

Thanks for any input.
 
#29 ·
Diamond isn't terrible but there are much better foods. Check out this site - Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble - it's great for comparing foods. I also would recommend offering her a little more food. I don't remember exactly how much my boy was eating when I brought him home but a little more couldn't hurt. Don't do it all at once though as that may upset her stomach but increase the amount slowly.

Good on you for moving up your vet appointment and for finding a forum in the first place. Your girl is a cutie :]
 
#34 ·
Breeder actually told you she was wormy??? Did you know this before you purchased her?
I found this out as I was picking her up (2.5 hour drive from my home). I know that it is normal for not all parasites to be removed with just one deworming, but I think you are supposed to start deworming them at an earlier age. I will be bringing in a fecal sample to the vet tomorrow.

It is so hard to find a good food. Every food I buy, someone has something bad to say about it, even if its a 4 star food. I feed my other dogs Taste of the Wild with awesome results. My new puppy, her name is Lacy btw :), was being fed the Diamond puppy food so that's why she is still on it now. Eventually I would like to gradually switch her to the Taste of the Wild.
 
#30 ·
I think it is great you are going to the vet tomorrow to get her checked out. She's a little doll! When we got Coco she was 8 weeks old and weighed 12 pounds. She went to the vet the day after she came home for her check up and second set of shots. She had already been wormed. She grew fast once she was home but she was always so skinny. We tried lots of different kibble that did not seem to agree with her. It sometimes takes awhile to find the right food for them. Good luck! :butfly:
 
#39 ·
That is pretty small for an 8 week old puppy - especially if there are others even smaller than her! Most of my 8 week old puppies will weigh a minimum of 13 pounds at 8 weeks - with boys being a bit more.

the smallest girl in my last litter - at 7 weeks she was 10:14lbs (my 8 week weights were at the vets and I don't have the numbers) - this was a litter of 8 and the largest girl at 7 weeks was 12:14 lbs.

Make sure you are soaking her kibble so that she can easily eat it and try feeding her 4 times a day right now if you can - see if you can get closer to 3 cups into her. Diamond is ok kibble - but not great.
 
#40 · (Edited)
She is too skinny - you need to get some weight on her pronto.

She needs to see your vet with a stool sample pronto.

She should have a soft thick (with fat) coat and no bones showing at that age. She needs to have some extra weight (not a lot) to account for the ups and downs of puppyhood and her expected growth spurts - puppies need reserves.

If you feed her too much, she will get diarrhea - so don't over do it all at once - you have to add in 1/2 cup one day, then an extra 1/2 cup the next day until she is getting enough food and is not having loose stools.

My puppy Lana at weeks with her sister Dash - Lana could have used a bit more weight at that stage:

 
#41 ·
Really glad you are getting her into the vet. I would up her food a little bit, too, as vivienne mentioned, being careful not to feed so much she gets loose stools. I would probably offer four meals a day right now. Please let us know what your vet says.
 
#42 ·
She is very small for her age if she's really that age and very thin. Even my Vizsla puppy who was very lean at breeder's recommendation was 11 lbs at 8 weeks.
 
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#44 ·
Well the vet check went well today. Had X-rays done and everything looks good, apparently she is just small for her age. She weighed 7 lbs 12 oz today so that means she is gaining weight fast. Fecal test results will be in tomorrow morning.
I feel less worried about her now, her paws are pretty big so I suspect that she will catch up eventually.
Thanks to everyone 's advice!
 
#45 ·
Hi,

Your puppy is adorable. Congratulations!

I would put my puppy on the best food I could find. I'd recommend checking out Orijen or Innova large breed puppy.

Is she cleaning up her food? If so, I'd add at least 1/2 cup per day and feed her three to four times per day. Two cups does not seem like a lot for a growing puppy.

Mayhem--what a cute name. Is she full of it or how did you come up with her name? What do you call her?
 
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#46 ·
Thank you, I plan to switch her food soon and I have heard great things about Innova.
I have increased her food amount to 3 cups a day. She was really skinny when I first got her but I honestly am starting to believe that it was a lack of food when she was at the breeders because she is now putting on weight very fast.

I think you are getting my posts confused with someone elses because my puppy's name is Lacy, but yes she is a little handfull.

Thanks for your input.
 
#48 ·
We were told Apollo was 8 weeks when we picked him up and he was infact 5.5 and weight 4.3 pounds. We were also told he was fully wormed and he was so full of worms he wasnt expected to live through the night. Have the vet do a full worm and exam on her and get some good high quality food into her, lots of love and she will fill out.
 
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