Underweight puppy?

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rnxw

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Our puppy is at 20 weeks, and only 9 pounds..hes about 12 inches measuring from shoulder. He seems to be always hungry one hour after food. When we took him to the vets 2 weeks ago he was only 8 lbs and change..and the vets said he is healthy( the only concern was Giardia, which caused him to vomit several times) but a bit slim.
I saw all these weight threads and puppies at 15 weeks weigh heavier.
btw we had him on Chicken Breast and Rice for a week or so to treat his giardiar and vomitting problem.
 
First off, if the Vet says your pup is a healthy weight, he probably is.

The "ideal weight" for the dog really depends on the build of the individual dog. At 6 months, my 14 inch boy weighed about 13 lbs but he was also very lithely built. Today, at 3 years and 14.5 inches he weighs about 16 lbs but still has a rather lithe build for a Sheltie. Anything much over 16 lbs makes him start to look like a log with legs.

As for wanting food within an hour of eating, that's a Sheltie for you. Many will eat all day long if you allow them to. Leave something you are eating where they can get it and it WILL be gone, even if they just ate 10 minutes earlier. (This means be very careful with chocolate, raisins, grapes, and other foods poisonous to dogs.)

The best way to estimate if your dog is over, or under, weight is to run your fingers along the rib cage. You should be able to feel the bumps of the ribs through a thin fatty layer.
 
Giardia is a REALLY nasty parasite that can make your puppy feel very unwell, hence the vomitting and diarrhea. When your puppy eats, the giardia absorbs all of the nutrients from the food instead of the puppy, which can lead to weight loss and him acting hungry all of the time.

9 lbs. doesn't sound all of that concerning, especially if the vet wasn't concerned. You may find that when he's completely recovered from the Giardia that he puts on some weight and his bottomless stomach disappears. :smile2:
 
How long has the pup had Giardia ?

rnxw said:
Our puppy is at 20 weeks, and only 9 pounds..hes about 12 inches measuring from shoulder. He seems to be always hungry one hour after food. When we took him to the vets 2 weeks ago he was only 8 lbs and change..and the vets said he is healthy( the only concern was Giardia, which caused him to vomit several times) but a bit slim.
I saw all these weight threads and puppies at 15 weeks weigh heavier.
btw we had him on Chicken Breast and Rice for a week or so to treat his giardiar and vomitting problem.
Click to expand...

Is the Giardia cleared? If so he should start gaining some weight soon.
 
My girl Daisey is 22 wks and 5.2 lbs as of this past Fri :eek2:. However, she is a toy size - def will be less than 10lbs. She also is being treated for Giardia, and acts starving all the time, so I suspect once I can feed her normal food she'll put on a little...

I don't think 9lbs sounds too bad... he will put a little weight on once he gets rid of the bug.
 
Tully was 9lb at 24 weeks (and about 11.8") so it isnt unusual - she is a very slightly built sheltie - short body and scrawny legs.

Once he gets back on the normal food he should be fine. Is he on puppy food - pups need the extra stuff in the puppy food to help with their growth spurts. His growth spurt might be a little delayed because of his illness.
 
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