Food for growth? - Page 1

Hi everyone,

Basically my male is on the short side, he is nearly 12 months old and 57cm/22 inch tall, so he is just short for standard size.  As far as I know his parents are not the biggest so genetics are not helping out much either lol.

Is there any particular food that contribute to growth? I am only asking for the sake of asking and I dont expect miracles, he still is a nice working line dog regarless.

Suggestions are welcome.

P.S
He gets food now only once a day... Perhaps twice per day?

 

Chances are you can't use food to fix genetics. And it sounds like your dog may have gotten the smaller genes from both parents. Or maybe i should say the "Average" genes. But fear not. 12 months is not full grown and your pup may still have some growing and filling out to do. It would be like comparing a 18 year old teenager with his 45 year old father. Both are at the"age" where they are considered adults, but the 45 year old man is going to look so much more mature then his 18 yer old son.
If your pups parents were of average size and those dogs parents were of average size. Don't expect a giant from those litters, even though larger genes might be hiding somewhere in the gene pool.
Las long as he is health and happy your probably better off with your slightly average sized pup.

I have a friend who's older male shepherd is really a big thick massive male. He's not overly tall but he's just a big headed thick male. And at 8 years old he seems to really be falling apart on her fast in the last 6 months. Despite the best food and care.
Her new training prospect is 8 month and i hear her bemoning his smaller size. But that smaller male shepherd will probably out shine and live that big massive male.
Enjoy your pup!
Fry
 

I have to agree with you, nothing cant be done to change his genetics. To make things a bit worse for the little guy I think he was the runt of the litter.

He is just shy of meeting standard size which is a shame, but apart from that he is healthy, has a very nice head, great tracking nose,very smart and tones of drive.

Just have to wait and see how he looks when he fills out.

I have kept track of his growth and noticed that he has not made any changes after 9 months, he stopped growing there.

Thanks for your answer,  very well said.


 

What kind of food are you feeding him now? are you using any supplements for him?

I know you can not change genetics but there is a chance that he will grow a little bit more since he is only a year old.

 I would recommend to feed twice a day.

@Jyl,
He was on Royal canin german shepherd for his first 6 months then I moved to raw food.. now back to dry food but a different brand.
What supplements would you suggest? I could give it a shot, and see what happens.


 

I am not huge into supplements. I like to feed a good quality grain free food (if possible).

The one supplement I do like is ShowStopper and Super Fuel. I am currently using ShowStopper with my 8 year old female. She is spayed (has been for a couple years) but I am still doing IPO with her. She is an active dog and when she was young it was hell to keep weight on her. I used the ShowStopper and also Super Fuel on her and it worked WONDERS. I get it at www.k9power.com .

When I can I will supplement with some raw as well. But I feed a primarily kibble diet to my dogs. I do rotate foods 2-3 times a year. That way my dogs are getting a few different proteins and other ingredience. I have had very good luck doing this. Beautiful coats, great energy levels, good weight on my dogs...etc. I do give my dogs a tspn of coconut oil daily as well as a kelp supplement from Solid Gold called SEAMEAL.

Just wanted to add that I do not believe that Royal Canin is a very good food..... to many grains. Dogs are not meant to digest that much grain. Not sure what you are feeding right now, but I would try to go grain free with a moderate amount of protein..I have tried the high protein (40% or so) and my dogs all got the runs. Not saying it doesnt work for some dogs, just didnt for mine. I like a moderate amount (26% -32%) of protein.

A few foods I like are....
Taste of the Wild
NutriSource grain free
Earthborn grain free
Pulsar Horizon
Natures Domain (only at Costco)

I am in no way saying that these foods will make you dog grow. This is just the way I prefer to feed. There is a chance that your dog may have another growth spurt, if so the proper nutrition will help.Try not to over supplement too. As I metioned aboove, I do not supplement my dogs that much. I prefer to give them a good quality food. I use Coconut oil and Kelp. For my female ( the one in my avitar) who is almost 8 years old. I use the ShowStopper right now. But when I use up this 4# container I will start her on Young at Heart since she is getter older. Sure doesnt act her age... everyone who sees her thinks she is 3-4 years old.

 

12 mo is hardly an adult.  gsds can grow in height till 18 mo & filling out occurs up thru 3 yrs of age.  being on the small side is not always a bad thing.
some of the larger & heavier dogs literally fall apart after age 5.  smaller framed dogs tend to be more agile & hold together well if kept fit & trim.  the 
gsd was never intended to be as large & heavy as what many of the showline dogs have become.  if the dog is healthy & sound, that is far more important 
than being large.  pjp

My 7 year old male, Xenon v Bullinger, was 56 pounds at 13 months old. He was not skinny, ribs were not visible.
He was raw fed and certainly not overfed, which I think, slowed his growth.
It took him 2 more years to gain 20 pounds and to reach a normal size for a male, that is 75 pounds. (his sire and grand-sire were 75 pounds too).

I have a 4 months old female puppy at home, she is on a raw restrictive diet.
Ribs not visible but food controlled.
She is 23 pounds.
Dam is czech and around 60 pounds, Sire is German and 75 pounds.

It is believed that the more food you give your puppy, the faster they will grow....which is not good.
By the time a pup actually looks or feels fat, he is already at an extreme, and growing far too rapidly.
Wolf cubs are never overfed and sometimes even starving.

If your dog is fed a good quality food, personnally, I would be patient...he should eventually reach his  full genetic potential.
If you plan on having him neutered, just wait till he is around 3 so he can develop his full masculinity.

I feed my dog with the Royal Canin German Shepherd 24 http://www.petsworld.in/royal-canin-german-shepherd-adult.html. However, he is over 15 months of age. This food supplement contains Omega 3, Amino acids, copper and zinc that helps to provide complete nutrition to the dog. I agree on the point that genetics is the main factor and nothing can be done for it.