they might be giants!

[MuttMom]

Saturday, we took the pups (rescued littermates) to the vet for their third set of booster shots. (This is killing me financially at $97 per visit every 3 weeks, but who needs donuts--or anything else--when you've got puppy love? ) They're growing like weeds! Otello went from 16 to 25.6 lbs in 3 weeks; Roma from 16 to 23.3 lbs. The vet decided not give them the rabies shots yet, because they still have their milk teeth! He seems to think they're younger than I think they are. I'm guesstimating, based on the word of the guy I rescued them from, that they're about 14 weeks old. Our vet is guessing closer to 12 weeks old. Maybe he's right. We're all agreed on one thing: They're HUGE for their age.

Then, I made the mistake of going on the Internet at work yesterday to see if I can "guesstimate" their ultimate size at adulthood, and I'm finding warnings about not allowing puppies, especially large breed puppies, to grow too fast. But what's too fast? I'm a little worried. I'm not feeding them anything special (can't really afford to), just a basic puppy kibble (Authority brand) supplemented with small amounts (1/4 cup each) of boiled chicken or chicken livers. They eat at 6:00am and again at 6:00pm. One time, I gave them some hamburger. Another time, I made them some scrambled eggs. I don't give treats, unless I'm training them. But am I feeding too much? They don't have big bellies or anything...you can feel their ribs, but you can't see their ribs, so I didn't think I was over-feeding them. But maybe I am. Any advice, big breed/mixed breed owners?

Anyway, on Sunday, we took the pups with us to the farmer's market and I was soooo proud. They walked nice-as-you-please on lead, this being only our fourth attempt to walk them on lead in public. They got a lot of attention, of course, but for once Roma didn't jump up on everyone who leaned down to pet her. She's starting to understand about not jumping, I think. The moment we stopped in some shade for some water, they both fell over like rag dolls and went to sleep. Funny!

[LilacDragon]

If they still have puppy teeth, then I would be feeding three meals a day. Probably a cup or so morning and evening and half of that at lunch.

It sounds like they are at a good weight, if I were you, I would just keep an eye on it and remember - MODERATE excercise. No running on pavement and such.

[MuttMom]

Originally Posted by LilacDragon

If they still have puppy teeth, then I would be feeding three meals a day. Probably a cup or so morning and evening and half of that at lunch.

It sounds like they are at a good weight, if I were you, I would just keep an eye on it and remember - MODERATE excercise. No running on pavement and such.

Thanks, LilacDragon!

The pups don't get a lot of time on pavement, other than on the sidewalk near the vet's office or rarely if we go somewhere in town, like on Sunday at the farmer's market. Most of their exercise is just from playing together or walking with me on dirt, grass, or mulched paths at the local park or my backyard. Training--such as it is--is just a few minutes a day. They have such short attention spans yet.

[Ritz459]

Phew, it sounds like they will be big! Chloe is around 26lbs at four months...I'm thinking she'll be around 60lbs full grown.

If you can feel their ribs, I don't think you are overfeeding. With large breed dogs, you just have to be worried about them growing too fast...this has nothing to do with how much you feed them, but what you feed them. I would feed a large breed puppy food just to be safe, and then if you switch to adult food at six months that also helps slow their growth down.

At least, that's what I've heard.