7 1/2 month old - Overweight or not

[BoonDocks]

Our Boon Docks is 7 1/2 months old and is 56lbs. We feedhim Science Diet Puppy Original and per their recommended feeding he issupposed to get 4 - 5 1/2 cups per day but he has slowed his eating down. Likeany human toddler, when they are not growing their eating is reduced. We readthat at 12 months another growth spurt happens at 12 months. SO we are thinking he is going to beHUGH. What do y’all think, is he fat?

 

[2BullyMama]

WOW -- he is one good looking boy! Can you get a picture from above looking down at his back/waist?

to EBN!!

 

[brutus77]

he doesn't look fat. When you take an over view of him does he have a taper in to his hip area? Bullies should be wide through the shoulders and taper down through their waist. How many times a day are you feeding him? At 7mos my vet told me to switch Brutus over to adult food. I choose an all stage food at that point and I give him 1 cup of kibble in the am with 1tbs of plain unsweetened greek yogurt as a topper and the same in the evening. Sometimes I will substitute the yogurt in the evening with steamed veggies. He also likes frozen greenbeans and frozen fruit so as a treat every now and then, he will get this in the evening for "dessert". 5 1/2 cups of food seems like a lot to me but I am not familiar with the food you are giving.

 

[dolphin]

From these pictures he doesn't look fat to me. He looks just right!

 

[Texas Carol]

We need a pic from above but he doesn't appear to be overweight.

If Science Diet has grains, soybean oil, corn then I'd switch him over
to a food that does not have these ingredients as they cause gut
inflammation and will lead to problems. Under Forums there are articles
about nutrition and food ratings to help you decide. Also, he needs less
food now. On a nutrient dense food he needs about 1 & a half cups twice
a day until he's done growing(till about 2 y/o) then a cup twice a day and
once 5 yrs or older just 3/4 cup twice daily. Good luck and let us know.

Handsome boy!

 

[BoonDocks]

He is being given about 1 - 1 1/2 cups in the morning and at lunch and sometimes he doesn't finish that. We stopped feeding him at night cuz he had issues with messing his kennel at night. SOmetimes we give him some left over steak from dinner. We do give him Beggin Strips as a treat, which he LOVES as he does Cheetos. hehehe....We are def not giving him 4-5 cups a day cuz to us that is way too much. I will take a pic from above and post it tomorrow. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

 

[brutus77]

Oh that's good. I misunderstood you. Your baby is beautifull and I can't wait to see more pics.

 

[Manydogs]

BoonDocks is a very handsome boy! To me he looks good-but I tend to like "chunky" so It's a matter of opinion, as long as they're not obese, or have joint problems. Most "common" dog foods according to the recommendations on the bag,seem to tell you to feed way more than the truth! I guess they want to sell MORE dog food!

 

[BoonDocks]

OK, here are a couple of more pics of Boon. Now that there is a view from atop, what do y'all think?

 

[2BullyMama]

OK, here are a couple of more pics of Boon. Now that there is a view from atop, what do y'all think?

View attachment 59772View attachment 59774

he looks good... not fat but i would make sure you maintain his weight and keep him at that level. at this age you can switch to adult food if you haven't already and feed him about 2 cups a day plus and treats

 

[BoonDocks]

OK, thank you. I forgot to mention that we contacted the breeder about Boon's parents weight. Momma is 40-45 and daddy is 50-55. He thought is was kinda weird cuz Boon's sis/bro's parents called too cuz their pup is HUGH too. SO maybe they just thru a HUGH litter. Anyway he goes to vet tomorrow cuz he's been limping for a week, so we want to get it checked out. Well talk to the vet about changing food to adult.

 

[Davidh]

Ok he looks pretty good in the pics, and not over weight. The food you have him on isn't that good of a food, and 4 to 5 cups a day is a lot. We feed FROMM Pork and Peas and our 3 year old male only eats 2 2/3 cups a day to maintain his weight, and he weighs 58 lbs. plus you can put him on adult food now, so I would suggest changing his food to a better quality food.

 

[Jennifer Clark]

He looks great to me but like the others have said its very important to watch their diet and when given treats especially store bought treats adjust their kibble accordingly. I make all Sheldon's treats as well as use only small amounts of fresh fruits and veggies as training treats, and I don't have to worry about them having a hole bunch of calories.

 

[2BullyMama]

OK, thank you. I forgot to mention that we contacted the breeder about Boon's parents weight. Momma is 40-45 and daddy is 50-55. He thought is was kinda weird cuz Boon's sis/bro's parents called too cuz their pup is HUGH too. SO maybe they just thru a HUGH litter. Anyway he goes to vet tomorrow cuz he's been limping for a week, so we want to get it checked out. Well talk to the vet about changing food to adult.

Limping could be growing pains.... but keep us posted. nd, think about a different food.. SD is good for short periods of time to address an issue, not really good for long term. check out the Dogfood ratings list we have here to help with your decision.