My 5-month-old puppy is thin. Is she getting enough food?

I can’t tell from the photos of the pups are too thin. In general you should be able to see the last rib when the dog is turning his body. If you are seeing more than that, he may be too thin. You should make sure parasites are not a problem as they will cause pets to be thin. It could also be related to diet. Some food have better quality proteins that are easier to digest. I recommend a brand called Royal Canin. Your pup’s are also still growing so they do tend to stay lanky longer. Most giant breed dogs are not physically mature until 18 months old. A visit to your veterinarian can accurately access the dog’s body condition (as well as check the stool for parasites). I recommend to have them examined so that you can get the most accurate information. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Puppies do go through some growth phases and can go through lanky periods. This is not unusual or anything to be concerned with. Being thin while they are developing is beneficial. It is however important to increase the amount of food you are feeding as Kasper gets bigger. If he is looking thin, it's likely time to increase the amount of food you are feeding. I hope this helps.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Smokey. The average American dog is quite overweight. So if you have one at a healthy weight, it will usually look too thin. You want a thin covering over the ribs when you run your hands along his sides. He should have a waist the curves in from the top and size views. There is a one through nine scale of body condition scores. A healthy weight is a four or five. Every dog food contains a different amount of calories per cup. At six months of age, he should still eat puppy food. Look at the side of the food bag for feeding recommendations. Keep in mind, these are typically too high for most dogs. His weight looks great in your picture, but it obviously hard to tell for sure. Your current feeding amount is likely adequate. I hope this information helps! https://www.justrightpetfood.com/blog/dog-body-condition-score

Most puppies should be proper weight if they are getting fed puppy food, and in his case large breed puppy food. If you are concerned about his weight, then I would recommend getting him checked to ensure he isn't losing nutrition due to intestinal parasites, which is the #`1 cause for weight loss in puppies. Otherwise, he may just be naturally lean. I can see his ribs there but he is laying down, if he stands and his ribs are still readily pronounced, then he may be a tad bit underweight. Also if he has any loose stool, this can indicate other internal organ issues that should be checked by your vet. If he has an underlying issue that is not treated, then no matter what you feed him, he will continue to be undersized. I hope that things work out well for your pet Thunder and that his weight normalizes soon! Best wishes and take care.

German Shepherds are lanky dogs, especially when they are puppies. Make sure you are feeding him enough and that he is dewormed regularly. If Boe is still abnormaly thin as an adult, then I would worry about something else going on. I would recommend to feed the Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy Formula. This is a nice diet with the right calories for a growing puppy. Please post again if you have any further questions!

The goal here is to find out why Daisy is thin. Is she having constant diarrhea? Not eating? Or on poor low quality puppy food? You should start by getting her on a high quality large breed puppy food such as Hill's Science Diet Large breed puppy http://www.hillspet.com/en/us/products/sd-canine-puppy-large-breed-dry OR Royal Canin large breed puppy food. Merrick is also a decent quality dog food as well. Then you want to get Daisy's stool tested by your vet for parasites. A prophylactic deworming can also be done (i.e. Pyrantel palmoate or Fenbendazole). And finally treat for any diarrhea or loose stool with added fiber (i.e. Canned pumpkin- not the filling, 1-2 tsp daily) until the stools are normal consistency. And finally you want to protect Daisy from known viruses and pathogens by getting her started on her puppy vaccinations. Most puppies start their puppy series between 6-8 weeks of age, so Daisy is definitely old enough to start these now. I hope this helps!

Hello. Genetics can be pretty tricky to interpret in dogs, especially if each parent was a combination of breeds. As long as Bella is eating & drinking well, active & engaged with all around her, I would not be too concerned about how she looks when compared to her litter mates. Is she up to date on her vaccines, wormed on a regular basis & on heartworm preventative? If she is well cared for, eats a name brand food & does not seem overly hungry, then changing her food will not probably change much. She is still young, & truthfully, staying a little thinner is actually healthier than being overweight. If you are concerned, a good evaluation by your veterinarian would confirm if there are any issues to be dealt with. But, all sounds pretty normal. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.