14wk puppy underweight?

[DavesCleo]

Hi i have a 14wk female puppy that weights approx 11-15lbs. She was the runt of the litter. i feed her 2 cups of Natural Choice large breed puppy food a day. does this seem unusual or is she just developing slower?

[moondog]

The 4 lb difference in your estimated weight makes a big difference in a puppy that age......how much DOES she weigh?

Has she been seen by a vet? If so, what did the vet say about her weight? If not, have her seen for a well puppy check and ask the vet about her weight.

We can't tell if your puppy is the proper weight for her age and size, because we can't SEE her.

[DavesCleo]

i have a photo in the gallery. when i got her at 7wks i took her to the vet and she weighed 5.5lbs. i had her on the scale with me and i think it said 12lbs. we have a visit with the vet tonite.

[brunie's mom]

She does seem on the small side....but the vet should tell you if she looks healthy. Nutro is not the greatest of foods...you could get her on a better food and she may gain weight and grow better. 2 cups of food per day does not seem like enough...I don't think the Nutro Large Breed is high in calories.

I raised my pup on Canidae (for the first 3-4 months)...and I think I fed about 3/4 cup, three times a day. Canidae has almost 500 calories per cup. I then rotated back and forth between Innova Adult ( over 500 calories per cup), and Canidae. At 14 weeks she should be weighing about 25-30 lbs depending on her breeding and what kind of start she had in life.

Gina

[BostonRott]

Are you sure about her age? 5.5lbs is about 1/3rd of the weight of most of my puppies at 7 weeks, and yes, at 3mos, I'd expect her to be closer to 30lbs.

I would honestly recommend that you get her off the large breed food and put her on regular puppy food. Large breed puppy foods load their formulas with carbs, which is not a dog's first source of energy (fat is). Thus, in limiting easily accessible nutrition, you are not supporting the growth in a healthy way.

Look for a puppy food that has protein/fat %'s closer to 27/17 or 28/18. Nothing less than 25/15 is what I recommend to my puppy owners.

[BostonRott]

In looking at her photo, she looks to be fine boned and lacking in muscle across her chest/shoulder blade area. Does she get a lot of exercise/running time?

I'm guessing it's simply a function of her breeding and bloodlines.

[LunaBell]

My Luna is considered to be a small Rott pup, at 14 weeks she was 18 pounds. Currently at 6 months she is at about 46 pounds, while the other females from her litter are at least 10 pounds heavier right now.

[drydogfudz]

i don't think 2 cups of food is enough, adding a few cups more might improve her, also consider her bloodlines, does she came from a small type of rottweiler, but as long as the pup is healthy iguess you have nothing to worry.

[frontierrots]

Not to be scarey but the only Rotts I've seen under 7lbs at 8 weeks old had SAS (a cardiac condition). Does she have a heart murmur?

My 16 week old female is 40 lbs and most of my females run 30-40lbs at this age

My 16 week old currently eats 4 cups of food a day split into 3 meals

[DavesCleo]

Went to the vet yesterday and she is healthy and he said that i do need to feed her more. Her weight is 14.4 lbs. Thanks for everyone's thoughts.

[AB1101]

I would stop the large breed puppy food. She needs more protein and fat than that food gives. The reason why they call it large breed is because they want to slow the puppies growth. You do not need that.

[Luvs]

That still seems small for 14 weeks old. Kaleb is 14 weeks old and yesterday at the vets he weighed in at 32.8 pounds.

[harley1]

When I brought my girl home and got her to the vet at 7 1/2 weeks she was 17.? lbs, now at about 6 1/2 mths she is 70lbs and a very fit and trim 70 I might add. I feed her Jack Van Pattens Ultra Premium dog food and she gets 2 cups twice a day.