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New owner - adopted female dobie in MA

1156 Views 15 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  HerMewMew
Hi my name's Matt my wife and I just adopted a female Doberman a few weeks ago we named Zora. She is just about 6 months old, she was bought from an unnamed breeder in upstate NY, and her former owners brought her to the MSPCA in Boston @ 12-13 weeks w/ a broken left front leg...why they had her so young w/ a broken leg is unknown to me, seems strange. Anyhow, her leg is all healed up, she had multiple surgeries the last of which was to remove pins/plates and she doesn't seem the least bit fazed, she was on strict watch by a vet tech who fostered her during this tough time, she has been well socialized w/ the vet's family/kids, and other pets (1 dog 3 cats). She imprinted on my almost instantly and has a very good temperament overall. I will probably have a bunch of questions BUT - my 2 main ones are below:

1) She's just about 6 months, seems good overall health lots of energy can run and jump and play great despite her former injury, however although she has decent height she is only 41 lbs. I feel like she is at least 5 lbs underweight for her age, is that accurate? I would attribute this initially to her being cooped up to keep her leg healing well and on a reduced diet as a result. Does this seem right?

2) Speaking of diet, I've been using Science Diet puppy for large breeds, recommended by the Vet, but I notice the first ingredient is not meat. I had read dobies need alot of protein, and that beef/pork is the preferred meat - are there any GOOD dry foods you can recommend for her that would satisfy her nutritional needs? I thought about cooking some skirt steak in a skillet w/ just some vegetable oil and adding that to her diet as well - what do you think?

Attached are some pics of her as well, for reference, I'm 5'8
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Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new girl, she is very pretty and I'm glad shes found a good home :) She looks a bit on the thin side from the pictures, but its kind of difficult to tell. Could you take a picture from a birds-eye view?

I would say there isnt really a set weight, as it varies alot from dog to dog, but as a *really* general size its about 10lbs per month of age to begin with. 4 months, 40lbs, 5 months, 50lbs, 6 months, 60lbs. But then some dogs are much more and much less, so its just a guide.
She looks thin to me, thinner than I would be happy with anyway (I am a bit of a feeder though!). What did the vet say about her weight? Does she have a good appetite? Does she eat more if you give her more? If yes to the last two questions, I would up the food slowly until she reaches a weight that looks right. Im no vet however. Good luck :)
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