i feed her 3 meals a day with dry puppy food. shes 3 month old. she looks skinny and her rib cage are showing. and people are telling me to move down to 2 meals a day. why isnt she gaining weight?
Honestly, it's likely that there is nothing wrong at all. German Shepherds are naturally a skinnier breed, especially throughout their adolescent/teenage stages. Being skinny is completely natural for the breed, but many people don't know that and many people who own GSD puppies will get comments about their puppy being too skinny. As long as the puppy is eating well then there is nothing you should be concerned about (that is, assuming she has been dewormed; if she hasn't, then you definitely want to do that.)
Also, at her age you want to start switching to feeding her adult food. The timing that you switch to adult food is very important for large breed puppies. Puppy food formula is high in fat and protein which can easily cause the puppy's bones to grow too fast. This can result in Pano - a temporary and very painful condition that is caused by the bones growing too fast. A puppy with Pano will limp or become lame.
You will eventually find that most of the little that's in what you chose as Best Answer is wrong.
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Take Panosteitis-it is caused by bacteria in the bones - something they are able to do because of the pooch's genetic susceptibility. And, they being IN the bones, it is almost impossible for
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antibiotics to reach therm.
Had you bothered to go to the links I supplied you would have realised that my answer is far superior to hers.
Les P
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Your puppy should be gaining and maintaining a normal weight. I would take your puppy to a Vet for examination. It sounds to me like she has tape worm/parvo. Feeding the puppy three meals a day is correct. have you noticed any blood in her feces, does she act lathargic, these are good signs for parvo. Like I said, take her to a Vet and have her examined. Feeding her three meals a day, she shoulld be round and plump. I don't know who told you to reduce her feeddings, but they're dead wrong. Take her to a Vet. I hope that I have been of some help to you and your puppy. I'd be interested in knowing what the Vet finds.
Everett
She likely has worms, coccidia, or giardia. The vet will be able to diagnose which with a fecal sample. Make sure the sample is fresh - no more than an hour old - as coccidia and giardia are near impossible to find after that time frame. Move her to four meals a day (as much as she'll eat at each feeding) or you can allow her to free feed until she's older. If you're feeding a cheap food, try buying something that is a bit higher quality (I personally recommend Taste Of The Wild - the wetlands formula has the highest calorie count). You can add a good probiotic if you like and it may actually help. You'd need an actual probiotic supplement, not something like yogurt which does not have enough probiotics to actually help. If the food is good, she's getting enough, and the vet doesn't find anything, she may just be in a scrawny puppy phase. Shepherds are notorious for being scrawny youngsters. My youngest is 17 months and only now is losing the half-starved look. She always has plenty of good food to eat but she's a teenage shepherd and this is just a phase some go through.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com EPI is something that does affect way too many GSD but if she's only three months old this very likely isn't the problem. It doesn't usually show up until at least six months and very very rarely does it actually show up prior to 10 -12 months.
A three month old puppy needs 4 meals a day. Read the info on the back of the bag to determine how much to feed for the weight, then add a little since she is so skinny. There is special puppy food for large breed puppies so I hope you are feeding her that. Then a trip to the vet is in order to check for worms. DO NOT go down to 2 meals a day.
Possibilities:
# 1? You are wrong - she is the correct weight, but you think she should look like a St.Bernard or a hairy Rottweiler. In the first group below, click Links=> Size_ & _Weight to see how she compares with other 3 months GSDs.
# 2? She is a pituitary dwarf. If you think she is, there are several things you MUST do, starting with having the vet check whether she IS one, followed by starting medication to protect her kidneys.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com # 3? You are underfeeding her for the amount of energy she burns off racing around. (The remedy is obvious!) If she keeps licking the dish long after it is polished clean, this is the culprit - she is starving.
