Gun Dog Forum

She’ll be 4 months on November 19th. She’s currently 21lbs and 17” top of shoulder. We feed her 3 cups a day of Eukanuba Puppy Large Breed. Not sure if she’s hungry, but she is a heavy counter and floor surfer, and we’ve been working through that. Chalk it up to being a puppy? But maybe we aren’t feeding enough? Or right food?

I believe her mom was around 65lbs. I know most are going to say don’t worry, but I’m asking anyway. Thanks.

At four months your dog will be lanky.

Absent malnutrition, bordering on starvation your puppy will eventually reach her genetic potential in due time, whatever that might be. We often get this question starting at this age, because they are growing out of the puppy stage and moving into adolescence. The goal with a growing pup is to provide sufficient calories/nutrition for controlled even growth, in other words, give them as much as they need while not letting them get fat. The not allowing them to get fat part usually is in the earlier stages, and as they mature it seems to get harder to provide enough calories with an active sporting dog. Even so, we haven’t had one reported starvation on the forum yet.

If your dog is just a bit on the thin side (which is completely normal/preferable as Slistoe pointed out) then the Large Breed Puppy food is currently providing all she needs. This may change in short order, because it is designed for truly large breeds. Think 70+ lb animals, and is restricted in calories and nutrients to control growth. A GSP, even a large 65lb female (that is pretty large BTW) is more of a medium breed. Add a sporting dog’s energy level and activity, and you may find you need to feed more than she can handle to keep weight on her, and yard clean up will turn into a chore.

I have always had good results starting with one bag of puppy food or whatever the breeder was feeding and then transitioning my pups to the same more calorically dense performance feed that I feed my adult dogs. As long as it is performance oriented, from a reputable company, and has an AAFCO statement on the bag that says “All life stages” you can rest assured it has everything she needs. Then all you have to worry about is how much or little goes into the bowl every day to keep her from getting fat. Well that and keeping her off the counters. It might be cute at 4 months, not so at 4 years. I would get that put in check ASAP.

Garrison

Not all GSP's are larger framed. I have a male that doesn't weigh 50lbs and a female puppy that is going to be smaller than him. Follow the feeding recommendations for the food and you will be fine.

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jmez wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 07, 2023 10:03 am

Not all GSP's are larger framed. I have a male that doesn't weigh 50lbs and a female puppy that is going to be smaller than him. Follow the feeding recommendations for the food and you will be fine.

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Agreed, I am not sure I have seen an in shape 65lb female GSP. I have however seen a female that tipped the scales at right around 23lbs who outworked and out hunted just about every dog she was ever braced with.

The feeding recommendation on the side of the bag is a good place to start, but only your dog can tell you how much it needs. There are a lot of factors not accounted for on the side of the bag. Is the dog kept outdoors, is it winter, is the dog intact, what is its current activity level, what stage of growth, does it have a lot of nervous energy etc.?

If I fed what the bag recommended to my current dogs, I would have one that was severely overweight and another that would be skin and bones. You have to read the dog, put your hands on it and adjust accordingly.

Garrison

If I have my choice I would pick the smaller dog. They take up less space in bed.