Do they start bulking up at ten months? Molly has been a bit of a lightweight until now (she is from working line dad) but the last couple of weeks she seems to be putting on a lot of weight. I understand that the body shape changes, but I don't want to let her get overweight and then have to slim her down. On the other hand she is still a growing girl. Do the hide chews add many calories to the diet, or basically just past through them. She is suddenly taking a great interest in them. Not much exercise at the moment, sensible girl just wants to lay and pant in the cool
Re: Ten month old pup I am finding that my two need far less food at the moment, too hot and not as much running around when they are out, but much more than me!!
Re: Ten month old pup Hi Tina , looking back , I think Sam was still quite gangly and raunchy looking at ten months, he started to bulk and look more sort of solid at around 12-18 months of age . I wouldnt worry unless Molly is starting to add weight in the tummy area , she is only light so can stand to add some without fear of becomming overweight . Personally , I never have, or will, weigh the dogs food , mine seem to want the same ammount no matter how warm it is I dont feed many treats to be honest , just the odd sea biscuit plus the very odd bit of sausage for Millies training, but its so small an ammount that its not worth adding into the daily food quota . As long as Molly has a well defined waistline and you can feel her ribs , dont worry please .
Re: Ten month old pup The ribs that I could feel reasonably well a fortnight ago are becoming less easy to find, which is what prompted the question. Stacia's point about less food in the hot weather is a good one. Only short walks and lots of laying around panting doesn't require that much food. Three months ago, pre spay, she was on 380 grams per day and seemed just right. She's now down to 300 grams per day which doesn't seem much as she was on 240 grams per day when she came to us at eight weeks. But she is losing her figure. I guess I'll try dropping it by another 10% and see how we go from there.
Re: Ten month old pup Charlie started to bulk up - significantly - at around 13 months. He started to get very male lab shoulders, and he is adding muscle by the day now (16 months) it seems. But we might have been knocked out a bit by all the rest. The thing is though, his bulking up added almost no weight. He was around or just below 28kg at 10 months, and he is around or just a tad above 28kg now at 16 months. Kate is an experienced dog owner. As is Pippa (of course! ). And both say they don't weigh things - I completely understand why they say that. I weigh all of Charlie's food and I weigh him - every week. I'm not experienced at guessing doggy food portions, I have to really look closely to tell whether he is slim or getting tubby. So digital scales are the answer, it's just easier for me. To be honest, I go for weighing food and weighing dogs every time over "does it look right". It's too bloomin' hard for me to decide whether it looks right!
Re: Ten month old pup Harley keeps going through stages of looking a bit tubby, then the next week she will look on the slim side
Re: Ten month old pup Some lines will bulk up faster than others. Obi was still skinny and leggy at 12 months and didn't really start to muscle up till closer to 18 months. He stopped growing vertically at about 10 months. Once they stop growing so fast their food intake should drop a bit. If Molly's ribs are retreating then I'd say cut her food down and see how that goes
Re: Ten month old pup if i remember rightly jasper bulked up just under one year old, i was using jack pot treats at this age to train the recall he is 19 month this week, from having him nurtured 8 weeks ago, the vet advised us to watch his diet, we don't give him any treats for training we take a handful of his breakfast to hand feed him when out training, he seems to be enjoying it more than jack pot treats
Re: Ten month old pup Thanks for the replies. Much as I thought, but it helps the confidence to have your ideas backed up. Oberon. Molly says to tell you you are off her Christmas Card list
