Small newf puppy - not eating enough?

McLoki

New member
Daisy is the first newf I have ever had. (have had danes and saints before so used to the giant breeds, but not newfs specifically)

My question comes about re: her size.

We are currently feeding her a grain free adult food (just happens to be what my last saint who was allergic to almost everything was on) and giving her 2 heaping cups of food in the morning and 2 more at night.

We are currently not taking it away after a set amount of time and it is available to her to eat the entire time she is in the house. (She is in the garage/run area while my wife and I are at work with our 4 year old great dane) She typically has been eating about 3 of the 4 cups offered per day. If she gets to the point where she is eating the full 4 cups daily, we will increase what we give her at that point (provided her weight stays reasonable)

My issue is that she weighs about 30 pounds at 4 months old. She seems happy and full of energy, but a little on the thin side. (can feel but not see her ribs/backbone - then again, she has a lot of puppy fuz right now so unless it stuck out more than an inch, you probably would not be able to see it anyway)

Since this is my first Newf - is there any cause for concern? Is a little on the thin side ok for a puppy? we are offering as much as she will eat - should we add something to the food to make it taste better or will that cause more problems down the road making her even more selective about eating?

The breeder (who I will admit was well on the odd side) said she should end up about 115-125 at full grown. (we saw the father and he was about 145-150 and looked great - mother was at the vet so did not see her)

Any thoughts?

Michael
 

Jeannie

Super Moderator
On average a newf should weigh 10 lbs for every month of age. Some are lower and some are higher. My Chase is small. She was about 5 lbs under that rule. She matured out at 97 lbs.


Please don't take the wrong way what I am going to say. No matter what you pup is a great dog. I have never seen a dog that is not awesome!

Looking at the photo you posted the other day my first thought was 'is she purebred?' Her head looks like a mix of lab. Do you have a better photo of her. It could be the angle of the photo making her head look smaller. She should have lots of puppy floof on her head but it looks flat. She may be purebred but poor breeding. A red flag went up to me when you said you got her at 9 weeks. Most responsible breeders would not sell a puppy that young. A breeder cannot do heart checks until 10 weeks of age. So most puppies are not sold until at least that age. do you know if the parents had their health clearances? Did you see the parents? Were there other breeds around? A female can have pups by as many as 3 different males in one litter.

I'll look for a photo of my Chase at about 4 months and post it later tonight. That way you can compare.
 

Denali's Mama

New member
Our newf was a finicky eater at that age and we actually went through several dog foods (partially because his poop was really runny so we tried different dog foods and also partially because he was picky). We finally landed on blue buffalo wilderness adult dog food salmon and he loved it. We also fed him three meals a day (1.5 cups/meal at that age). Our vet told us to take the food away if he didn't eat within a half hour of feeding time. After a couple of weeks he was on a schedule and ate regularly. His poop also hardened more. I am definitely not an expert with newfs as this is our first newf as well, but I know for us it was trial and error with food because of the soft poop and pickiness. Good luck!!
 

McLoki

New member
She has been wormed (seems to be done at each of our vet visits so far) - last one was at her 16 week visit (last weekend).

We can try and take her food away after 30min or so and see if she eats more that way. - I will report back what I find out.

Jeannie - No worries, I know what you are trying to say. She does look a lot like a lab in that picture (and in person if what most people who meet her are to be believed). The afro-fuzz (hair that sticks straight out) runs pretty much from her tail to her forehead if you look at her from the back - it is so uniform in length though it can be hard to tell from the front until you try and touch her and hve to go in about about 3/4" to hit skin. The cell phone quality of that pic is pretty pathetic, but I just thought it looked cute.. :) I will try and get a better one this weekend. Photographing an all black dog is turning out to be more challenging than I would have thought...

The poor breeding (from a breed standard look) is certainly a possibility. I did see the father, but not the mother (was at the vets the day I visited). I looked at him from a health, movement (joints), temprament standpoint rather than to the breed standard so he could have just been a healthy, good natured - bad example of a newf. :) The breeder seemed to think most of her females from that litter should hit 115 to 125#. Based on her current weight I would say that is optimistic at best, but since I don't know newfs as well as other giants - she may still have big growth spurts (rather than even growth over time) and hit the weight, I am just not sure.

My issue is more with her being thin (feeling her backbone and all her ribs easily) more so than her overall weight. Its just overall weight is what most charts show. Even if she were to be a normal healthy weight, I think she would still be shy of the 10lbs per month guideline, but closer to 5lbs off it rather than 10lbs.

On the good side - she is an awesome dog. One of the smartest I have ever had. Like any parent, I want her as happy and healthy as she can be... :)
 
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lmfoltyn

New member
We fed our puppy 3 times day until she was 6 months old. She was eating about 6 cups a day at that point and we tapered off to 4. Our girl is now 20 months old and weighs around 105/she looks heavy but when wet she isn't...still can feel the ribs ok...you shouldn't be feeling the spine at all...our older boy Jake who we rescued has spinal issues and you have always been able to feel his spine...hopefully your girl will just need to put on a little weight and be good...she does look like she has lab though...but on the bright side, lab/newfie mixes are wonderful babies...
 

R Taft

Active member
We feed puppies three to four times a day, depending on puppy. I also,thought a cross, sorry.... But I like to feel the ribs and backbone on my puppy. I like to keep mine lean. Now I did get my puppy from a responsible great breeder, but I did get mine early. My new puppy is a singleton and need the socialising. We weighed up the odds, she will get her cardiac check up at 12 weeks. Urshie lived with two vets, they are her Breeders. We spent ages chatting about the pros and cons. Also spoke to the university's cardiologist he says the final check is at six months if you want to be exact as many puppies have grade one or two murmurs that will most likely 98% go away, these murmurs can be heard at 8 weeks, may go by 12 weeks or up to 6 months....anyway all that does not help you. I would find it very suspect if you cannot meet the parents, unless the semen was frozen. I always meet my puppies a few times, just to get to know the mum and the environment they are raised in as that is so very important. It is why I will wait forever for a specific breeder. It makes so much difference.
Leaving food out is never really good. Maybe the puppy does not like the food, they do have a taste for certain food. I feed RAW, one of mine will not eat kidney. All the others do. Who says they do not have taste?
Or sometimes the other dog might eat it. Has the Dane put on weight or are they separated.i would try some different stuff or add some interest. I Am just changing my new puppy to RAW.... She loves it, it excites her.
 

mcme

Member
Just a thought, and I'm certainly not a dog nutritionist. If there isn't an allergy, perhaps try a food that's not grain free? I know humans are into low carb currently, but if you think she's too thin, maybe a regular food would help her gain a bit? My Dublin eats Blue Buffalo Large Breed Chicken and Rice and has always done well on it. He's slim, but not skinny. I fed him their Large Breed Puppy until he was about 6 mo. or so. (I know some here are very opposed to puppy food, but puppy foods aren't all the same. Not all promote too fast growth.)
 

matildasnana

New member
I am a new newfie owner but this is how the vet suggested she be fed, maggie eats 3 1/2 cups of dry food a day, spaced out into 3 meals. At 13 weeks she was 28 lbs. This weeks visit at age 17 weeks she was 40 lbs. The vet feels she is doing very well. She was 13 weeks when we got her. I also give her 1 tbsp of pumpkin daily.
 

McLoki

New member
Well, took everyones advice and started removing Daisys food after 20-30 min this weekend. It took awhile to get through that it was gone until the next feeding, but tonight she actually ate all her food. Hopefully she will keep it up and I will be able to regulate her weight a little better. (I would still like to keep her on the lean side of things, but not overly skinny...)

I did find a much better headshot of her (taken at 17 weeks with a much better camera) - anyway, here she is....
 
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Jeannie

Super Moderator
I still question is she is purebred or not the best breeding. My Chase is small and matured out to weigh about 95 lbs. Here are 2 photos of her. On the right she is about 11 weeks, on the left 19 week. Notice the shape of the head, bone type and coat. Your puppy is very fine boned, a smooth coat and thinner muzzle than most newfs. NO matter what her breeding she is adorable and has that sweet newf temperament.



 
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lmfoltyn

New member
She is adorable...no matter what her pedigree is...glad she is getting the hang of "oh, I have to eat or the food won't be here". They learn quick!
 

matildasnana

New member
Pumpkin has lots of good stuff and it does help the stool. I am curious although none of my business, i was given akc papers with my pup, they have info on the mom dad grandparents etc. Did you get paperwork with your pup? I think she is really cute and I am glad she is getting the hang of the new schedule. Best of luck to you!
 

Bailey Boy

New member
awww Daisy is absolutely adorable! I love her little smiling happy face.

Our Bailey had a close coat too just like your little girl the only fuzzy on him was his ears until he was around 6 months old then he puffed out all over. It was pretty cool to watch his tail unfeather for lack of a better word. You could actually see the hair unwinding around his tail. Forgot to add we fed Bailey 3 times a day most days there were some where he didn't want to eat all his food. I was so afraid of bloat I didn't want to feed him big meals. He was getting 4-5 cups of food a day, we fed proplan puppy food until he was neutered at 6 months then moved him over to adult food around 9-10 months of age. He gained roughly 10lbs per month until he was about 9 months old then thankfully stopped at 90lbs. You might just have a small girl.

Just wanted to add there were times I could feel Bailey's ribs when he a growing spurt then he filled out.

I hope you find a solution for your little girl, again she is just adorable!
 
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Denali's Mama

New member
She is adorable! I hope the new system works for her. When our vet suggested that to us, I was like really? That'll help? And it did! Denali is now 9 months old and we still have to follow this rule every once in a while (usually he eats it all, but now and again he'll act up and not eat right away) and sure enough he always eats his food at his next meal. Denali's just a funny guy and can be pretty picky. Best of luck with your little princess :)
 

matildasnana

New member
I just changed Maggie over to pro plan large puppy over the last two weeks she seems to like it. I am glad to hear your dog is doing well on it, makes me feel a lot better about the change. And my puppy has that kind of tail. I asked the vet about her coat as she also doesn't seem as fluffy as some I have seen. Vet said dont worry her coat will come in before you know what happened.
 
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