New sheltie puppy, question about weight/size/food?

A

ArtistDreamer

Forums Novice
Hello everyone,

I'm new on here and I just recently got a sheltie puppy a week ago. His name is Artemis and he is now 9 weeks old :). When we picked him up from the breeder he had just gotten a check up and his first DHPP vaccination. He is a healthy puppy. However he was 12 pounds when we first got him and now for some reason he's only 10. We are feeding him EXACTLY what the breeder was feeding him. Purina puppy chow with extra nutrients 2 times a day. I thought that usually you feed puppies 3x per day but she said that he was going to be on the bigger side of shelties. Right now he's 10 pounds and 10.5/11in tall. But when looking up on puppy growth charts it looks like he is very big for his age and over weight for his age but he seems so skinny to us. Is it normal for sheltie's weight to fluctuate when their puppies? Is he overweight if he is this big already and only 9 weeks old? I have owned puppies before but not a sheltie. We did do a lot of research on the breed. He seems very healthy, happy, going potty regularly and lots and lots of playing, I just want to make sure that he stays healthy. If anyone also has any suggestions on what to feed a sheltie puppy 9 weeks old, he does love the purina and i'm guessing it's bc that's what the breeder was feeding him, but should we stil with 2x per day? Thank you!!!
 
Welcome to the forum and enjoy your new boy :biggrin2:. As far as food, keep feeding him 2x a day. My parents feed their little man 3x a day, but when I got my boy in March his breeder said 2x and that's what we stuck to. Your boy is going to be on the bigger end of shelties. My pup was 10 inches 10 pounds at 8 weeks. He's now going to be 6 months this week at almost 17 inches and 22 pounds. He's a skinny mini though. Make sure you take him to the vet for a physical and the vet will tell you if you should feed him more or less food. My vet told us to feed him more. (we were doing 1/2 cup 2 times per day and she said to do 3/4th two times per day bc of how skinny he was.) Don't worry too much about the weight loss, as it is probably because he's becoming more and more active. Also we love pictures so make sure you post some of your new little guy :yes:
 
Our first Sheltie Winston (see avatar) was a big boy, too. We knew as a pup he was going to too big for the standard and he grew 40 lbs. as an adult, but the vet never said he was overweight. Our new pups are much smaller. At 8 weeks they were 4.4 lbs and 5.5 lbs. respectively. The smallest (Franklin) may almost be considered a toy Sheltie, but we'll have to see because they are both growing like weeds.

As long as they are eating and pooping and energetic while awake, I wouldn't worry. You might also consider that if they were weighted on two different scales, the weights might not be entirely accurate.
 
If in doubt, I would definitely consult your vet as far as feeding times and amounts go. Our vet was concerned that our pup was really on the small side (2.7 lbs when we brought him home at 8 weeks), and very skinny, so she recommended we feed him even more than the dog food bag suggested (and those measurements usually skew too high, as the dog food companies want you to feed more food, and therefore buy food more often).

Our pup ended up being over breed standard for size (16.5" at last measurement, a bit over a year old), but he isn't overweight. A lot depends on the dog's build. Our boy is 24 lbs, which is fine for him, but for a similar size dog with a smaller frame, this would be overweight. A similar size dog with a bigger frame would be stick-thin at this weight, etc.

A lot could depend on how the pups were fed by the breeder, too. If they were all fed at once, it could be that your pup was eating food left behind by other puppies, therefore eating more than the measured food allotment he's getting now, hence the weightloss.
 
Thank you all so much for your replies!!! I really appreciate it, I just got a bit scared when looking at the charts for what was considered "over weight", i'm happy to know there are just some big sheltie's out there haha. I'm going to def. try and post some pictures in this message below via link :). He's a handsome blue merle and a sweetheart but def. having a problem with nipping, his teeth as little as they are, are VERY sharp and even though he has all the toys in the world and even some teething ones specifically he still likes to nip at me more than anyone else and i don't know why. We're taking the little guy to the vet next weekend for a booster for his DHPP so i'll give an update after that :)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200241431266460&set=a.10200198869122433.1073741828.1473104595&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200241431346462&set=a.10200198869122433.1073741828.1473104595&type=3&theater
 
ArtistDreamer said:
Thank you all so much for your replies!!! I really appreciate it, I just got a bit scared when looking at the charts for what was considered "over weight", i'm happy to know there are just some big sheltie's out there haha. I'm going to def. try and post some pictures in this message below via link :). He's a handsome blue merle and a sweetheart but def. having a problem with nipping, his teeth as little as they are, are VERY sharp and even though he has all the toys in the world and even some teething ones specifically he still likes to nip at me more than anyone else and i don't know why. We're taking the little guy to the vet next weekend for a booster for his DHPP so i'll give an update after that :)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200241431266460&set=a.10200198869122433.1073741828.1473104595&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200241431346462&set=a.10200198869122433.1073741828.1473104595&type=3&theater
Click to expand...

very cute- thanks for sharing :yes:
 
Artemis is such a cutie! I'd love to see more picturs of him as he grows up. I have a soft spot for blues!:wink2:
 
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