Hunter is fed Eden, he gets fed to the guideline for his his weight with a few little pieces of Eden treats for training, if I up his food past his guideline it makes his poo runny! We can see his back ribs when he stretches or twists himself, is this normal? His waist is also very defined. I kinda of felt like the puppy fat stage should last a bit longer! Edit - He's also up to date with worming, last tablet was at 10 weeks.
Hi @Andrea0408 It would be helpful to see some photos. It's normal to see end ribs when the dog twists. If the puppy is standing straight the rib should not be noticeable. If you need to feed more then do it gradually. And you don't need to give much more. Most good kibble are highly concentrated. When puppy puts the weight on then reduce. It's a juggling act. Largely ignore recommendations on the packet. Just a guide. Use your eyes and hands. Take puppy to the vet for just a weigh in. Treat. Back out. Good experience at the vet's practice.
There should not really be a puppy-fat stage. When pups are with the breeder, the breeder IS concerned with putting weight on them because weight gain is associated with survival. That's why pups can often be chubs when they leave a breeder. That doesn't mean that new owners should be attempting to preserve the chubby puppy look any longer(!) since no longer is weight gain associated with survival, as it is in neonates. It sounds ideal to me if you can see his ribs when he stretches out - that sounds like a perfect weight. Really don't feed the guidelines on food packets for weight - all dogs have individual metabolisms and what will keep one dog at an ideal weight will see others obese and still others underweight. The only way to decide how much to feed a dog, is to look at the dog and assess their body shape. (I feel like a stuck record on this one, it seems like every other forum post is about 1) food 2) how much food to give 3) whether someone's dog is fat or thin!!!) See: https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Purina-Body-Condition-Score-Diagram.pdf
Sorry Jo! I did try and search for similar posts, but most people asking if their puppy was too thin seemed to be asking about 4-6+ month old pups. He guidelines seem to suit him, when I increased his food a little bit he got really soft poos so I figured he's eating what he should. Thanks for that picture, I'd guess he's about a 4, certainly inbetween the 3 and 5 images so I'll try to stop worrying about it so much!
