9 Month old newfie eating schedule questions

[katharina.grant]

Hi there!
So our Beaumont is now 9 months old as of May 29th and he hasn't gained much weight at all (if any) in about a month (he weighs around 113 pounds). He mostly doesn't eat in the mornings and overall eats anywhere between 3 1/2 to 5 cups a day of Acana Freshwater Fish Formula. Originally we had him on Orijen Large breed but eventually he was just having continuous diarrhea on it. Also, I've seen other newf puppies around the same age as him and their coats seem to be more dense and/or fluffier, while Beaumonts just seems different. Are landseers generally not as fluffy? Any advice or insight? This is our first new and we just want to do everything right.

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

Wow, 113lbs at 9 months. His growth is probably slowing down but, that seems like a good weight for his sex and age. I was always told to never go by weight, but rather to go off of feeling the dogs rib cage. Ella is 11 months old and eats 4 cups of Annamaet dry kibble and 2 cups of home made chicken, turkey, sweet potatoes and coconut oil. This is spread out over 2 meals. Not to brag, but her coat is thick, fluffy and shinny. I would think that coats are somewhat determined by genetics, but some food allergies can affect coat quality. What did the vet say? His pic in your profile is beautiful.

 

[katharina.grant]

I've heard coconut oil is wonderful for numerous reasons, I'll have to try it! Our vet hasn't had a whole bunch of experience with Newfies, but she said that everything seemed to be going right on track. I think sometimes I just don't see Beaumont the way other people see him. He's still my tiny little puppy, lol.
And thank you, he is pretty darn cute to look at, but boy oh boy, when he's in one of his moods he's such a little stinker! lol

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

Wow. That seems big, so I'd guess his growth is slowing. Go by the rib test. If you can easily feel his ribs, but they are not too bony, that's perfect. How big were his parents? Your breeder should be able to give you an indication of growth rates for the puppies they produce (if he came from a breeder).

You want them to grow slowly. If you search in the food section, there are lots of good posts about the correct ratios for young pups.

It seems that a lot of landseer coats are quite different than the others. My landseer Ruby has a coat that is not nearly as fluffy as our previous (black) newf Maggie.

They are lucky they are cute at that age!

 

[dreamtwister302]

My Ella was 100 lbs at last weigh in, maybe 1-2 months ago. Doesnt seem to grow anymore. 6 cups kibbles a day, of expensive large breed grain free. She is ~16 months. Rib test to feel for fat. She never has much fat.

Her coat is very nice, thick, does not tangle/mat at all except below the ears. It never seemed to be very thick until maybe a few months ago, so i did not take her swimming in the ocean last winter.

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

Your Ella is so shinny, and I have to say that I love the name lol.

 

[anya]

No advice but a good read. I'm getting a newf puppy next week and it has been 10 years since my last puppy so I need to re-learn everything.

 

[R Taft]

My Urshie is nine months and not that heavy, but I like my pups lean... We feed RAW, so I cannot relate to cups. i feed her twice a day, plus she gets raw meaty bones

 

[lmfoltyn]

My dogs at that age ate 4 cups a day...2 at each feeding...my LuLu Belle is the youngest at 2 years of age and is at 104 pnds...she is extremely fluffy and looks fat but it is fur...you want a slow growth and not a heavy weight..all vets will tell you that it is better to be lean for a giant breed...less issues with bones, joints.

 

[katharina.grant]

Beaumont definitely isn't fat according to our vet. She just says that he's built very solid and that he's taller than the newfies she has seen at 9 months. I don't want to give off the wrong vibe that I want Beaumont to be massively chunky or anything. My family has always had dogs; I've grown up around large breed dogs (german shepherds) and I've seen them develop hip dysplasia and arthritis, and I want to do everything I can to prevent that from happening to Beaumont if I can.
I guess I was just wondering if its normal for some puppies to just eat once a day sometimes. According to the back of the dog food bag he should be eating 5 1/2 cups a day but almost every other day only eats half of that amount. Just wondering if Beaumont is just a weird puppy or if its more common than I thought.

 

[NinaA]

Never go by what the bag says, they're selling food. Always ask others. Also, my girls never got their full coats until about 3. In fact Moonlight didn't get fluffy until 5. That was fine with me as I had less coat to deal with and she wasn't ever going to show.