Is the Breeder Lying?

[Tawn]

We just got a (supposedly) pure Rott puppy a few days ago. The breeder claimed the puppy is almost 15 weeks old.

We were shocked when we went to pick her up because she was skinny with her ribs sticking out and her spine showing. She could hardly walk because of lack of muscle tone. She just floundered. But we took her and we will keep her. (She is doing much better now that we are feeding her and is very energetic.)

We took her to the vet and he said that she is SEVEN WEEKS old. He based this on her size. (She weighed a little over 10 lbs.) And that she still has that "puppy smell" which he says goes away after 9 weeks.

What do you guys thing? Is it possible for a purebreed Rott to be 15 weeks old and weigh less than 11 lbs??

Could the puppy have been starved deliberately to keep her looking small and cute? Would that work on a large breed like Rotts?

[targonrotts]

i understand you took and accepted your puppy no matter what...but my first question to you is, why, if you do not trust or like what you saw, do it anyways?
it only helps fuel the fire for these byb.

as to your question...
as to puppy breath...that is not a good presumption of only till 9 weeks. maybe still have it until they start to lose their teeth.
as to size and age...if we do not know what kind of .... this puppy went thru, it's hard to say for sure. if this pup is a parvo survivor, worm infestation survivor,ect, it is a possibility. we have had rescues found at 40-50 pounds and turn out they needed to be 70-75 for their frame.
malnutrition and sickness can stunt growth temporarily. good care, can help your pup, though.
how are the teeth? any signs of bleeding gums or missing any? see when that begins to see if it can shed light on her age.
good luck with your pup!

[coyote]

Puppies usually get ehir first two incisors at about 12 weeks these are the very small front teeth across the top anf bottom of their mouth, the ones they use to "flea bite", so see if your puppies top two middle front teeth are baby teeth or not if they are still baby teeth the pup is less than 12 weeks. The next reliable tooth indicator is the canine (sharp pointy teeth at the corners) are lost at about 5 to 6 months and come in as adults at 6 to 7 months.
Tori

[rottcrazed]

so see if your puppies top two middle front teeth are baby teeth or not if they are still baby teeth the pup is less than 12 weeks

Not always - with both of my litters none of the pups started losing any teeth at all until 14 - 16 weeks of age.

11 pounds however, at almost 4 months old, is not normal, even for a small Rottweiler.

I am assuming you did not buy a registered purebred Rottweiler?

Kristi

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by Tawn

We just got a (supposedly) pure Rott puppy a few days ago. The breeder claimed the puppy is almost 15 weeks old.

We were shocked when we went to pick her up because she was skinny with her ribs sticking out and her spine showing. She could hardly walk because of lack of muscle tone. She just floundered. But we took her and we will keep her. (She is doing much better now that we are feeding her and is very energetic.)

We took her to the vet and he said that she is SEVEN WEEKS old. He based this on her size. (She weighed a little over 10 lbs.) And that she still has that "puppy smell" which he says goes away after 9 weeks.

What do you guys thing? Is it possible for a purebreed Rott to be 15 weeks old and weigh less than 11 lbs??

Could the puppy have been starved deliberately to keep her looking small and cute? Would that work on a large breed like Rotts?

If she's 15 weeks, her baby teeth will be traded in for new chompers in the next couple of weeks.

If she's 9 weeks, it'll be 7 weeks or so before that starts happening.

If she was a bag of bones when you got her, her growth may have been compromised due to lack of nutrition. I'd also worry about health issues due to this. Please have your vet double and triple check for worms, parasites, etc... and have him take a good look at her heart.

[hhalford]

Our puppy weighed 9 pounds at 7 weeks and he is 15 weeks now and weighs 35 pounds. He has never missed a meal and is exercised daily. Good Luck with your puppy, they are so fun!

[Sharon Marples]

Needless to say, you just bought from a BYB who has no regard for health or temperament of the puppies they raise.

You are fortunate (so far) in that she appears to have a good temperament. Let's hope that her health has not been compromised in the way she was raised.

As was suggested, get a good evaluation of this pup at the vet. Make sure they check for worms and check her heart as well. I would probably do a baseline CBC just to see where all her levels are at. That way you can monitor as necessary. Be sure to get her on a good, quality food as well. You can do a search in the Nutrition forum to find the brands that are most often recommended.

Good luck with her, and don't expect anything from the breeder. Since you didn't purchase her on a contract with guarantees and certifications explained to you beforehand, I would not expect to get any creditable information from them in the future.

[12onny]

when i got my puppies they were 5 weeks old and weight about 4.2 and 5lbs.. now they are 10 weeks old.. weight about 19 and 21 lbs

[Anne]

Originally Posted by 12onny

when i got my puppies they were 5 weeks old and weight about 4.2 and 5lbs.. now they are 10 weeks old.. weight about 19 and 21 lbs

Why on earth would you buy from a 'breeder' who would sell baby puppies who should barely, if even, be totally weaned.

I would strongly advise you to heed the excellent advice given by Sharon Marples ^^.

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by Anne

Why on earth would you buy from a 'breeder' who would sell baby puppies who should barely, if even, be totally weaned.

I would strongly advise you to heed the excellent advice given by Sharon Marples.

Furthermore, any "breeder" who sells two puppies is almost certain to be of the BYB variety.

What a pity the poster didn't come here to read and do research before buying those puppies.