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Permalink Reply by Amanda on July 14, 2008 at 4:15pm

if she is overweight then so is Dax! Heh. Of course males I'm sure do weigh a little more, but he's about 16 weeks now and he weighs about 13 pounds. He does look a little pudgy though. :) but no worries, puppies are active enough that it'll be pretty easy to get her down if she is overweight. But puppies grow fast, so I wouldnt be worried about it!

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Permalink Reply by Danielle_RN on July 14, 2008 at 4:41pm

I don't think so at all. Kara is 17 weeks and weighs 13.7 pounds. When she was 10 weeks she weighed around 8 pounds, so I think Shelby is right on track. Her belly looked kinda big around that age, too but then as she has grown she has balanced out nicely. Just make sure if they have a potbelly that they have their stool checked for round worms.

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on July 14, 2008 at 5:28pm

She's actuall a bit smaller than average, which is about one pound per week of age up to 20 weeks. As Daniel mentioned, if her belly looks really bloated, make sure she doesn't have intestinal parasites/worms.

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Permalink Reply by Lexi on July 14, 2008 at 6:06pm

Kuma is 13 weeks and weighed in a whole 12 lbs, 6 oz at the vet's this past Saturday. I asked her about his weight and she said he's not chubby, but he isn't skinny either. He used to have a belly but he's starting to grow into it (slowly).

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Permalink Reply by Sam & Shelby on July 14, 2008 at 8:51pm

Well, thanks. She used to have worms, but was de-wormed before I got her.

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Permalink Reply by Katie on July 14, 2008 at 9:44pm

Foxy had her visit to the vet last week and she was 10 lbs. She is only 12 weeks old. The vet said he thought she was a little on the small size.

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on July 14, 2008 at 10:55pm

When Zod was a puppy, I was always concerned about his weight (and corgis being prone to obesity made me nervous). Given the thicker body that corgis have, I found it was hard for me to determine whether he was the correct weight. I did not want to use standard 'weight at X weeks' guidelines because Zod has a small frame for a corgi; I wanted him to be the right weight for his body, not some corgi standard (I think the weight for a show corgi is 27lbs, which would not be healthy on Zod. He weighs in at 20 lbs which is perfect given his frame size).

My vet gave me the following guidelines: As a puppy, you want to be able to feel her ribs if you rub her side; too much definition means she is underweight, but not being able to feel the ribs is a sign of being overweight. Any dog will see a decrease in metabolism as he/she ages, so being even slightly overweight as a puppy can mean becoming very overweight as an adult if the lifestyle is not addressed. Fortunately puppies are so active and have such high metabolic rates it is easy to get them on track!

You should also be able to see a slight inward curve below the ribcage if you view her from above. But, if you are in doubt you should definitely ask your vet. (Veterinarians are used to seeing very overweight animals so it is really important to ask; don't just assume your vet will tell you).

If it turns out that Shelby is overweight, your vet may also have dog diet software (I can't recall the name of the program). The program my vet has allowed him to enter the caloric information of Zod's food, his age and weight, and the amount he was eating every day to determine the proper amount of food for weight maintenance. I had to keep a record of what Zod ate and his activity level for 2 weeks, but I found the plan to be really beneficial.

Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Sam & Shelby on July 14, 2008 at 11:02pm

Thanks guys, I feel very reassured now. My parents will tease regardless, though. How cares? I love her and that's all that matters. Now I know that she's not on the chubby side!

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