Hi all, I am a new Weim mommy but he is very skinny. I got him from a strip mall where they say their dogs are from rescue. My baby is 11 weeks and only weighs 15 lbs. he is happy and playful and very smart. Yes I took him to the vet and he is healthy just underweight. I am concerned he may end up small. I am feeding him FROMM large breed and will switch to Oijen next week slowly. What is the smallest Weim male you have had? At 11 weeks what should he weigh and how tall should he be? What should I shoot for in the next month as far as weight gain? Thank you all for your feedback
Hi, I don’t have your breed, I have a male Akita who is on the small side for his breed (80 lbs) and a female Akita who is still growing but also on the smaller side. I would suggest to not have a weight goal but just feed him an appropriate amount of food for his weight and age. You don’t want to make him fat trying to get him to gain weight. He will grow as he is meant to and it sounds like you’re giving him a quality food. I had a much larger Akita (120 lbs) before this one and at first I was disappointed about my new boys size but he’s now plenty big and also more manageable then if he was bigger. Just love him for who he is.
From checking his weight on www.puppyweights.com he does seem to be quite small for his age, but you do say that he is likely to be a rescue, and he could have had a really bad start in life. Weight guides are only rough indicators though, and without knowing his background for sure, nobody can really forecast whether he will make an average size for his breed. I'm sure we all know people who we thought were small at school, and grew up to be bigger than ourselves. He is still a baby and time will tell. The main thing is that he is happy and healthy. As Marc says, don't be tempted to overfeed to try and make him gain weight, you just want to keep him nicely covered at this stage.
Gentle, slowly - because you really do not know how old he is, especially from where he came. Small amounts of food, 3 or 4 times a day, small amounts each time. He will soon tell you he is hungry and wants more. If your vet thinks he is OK then trust him.
Thank you all so much. My biggest concern is that I can see his ribs and his hip bones. I gave him another dewormer and I am weighing him weekly. Any other thoughts?
he is very happy playful and boucy, he has gained about 4 lbs since 08/08/18 and his poops are nice solid brown like 6 a day. he has long legs and his coat is beautiful but his face looks a little sunk in, he has a narrow muzzle anyway but seems a bit sunk in. definitely has a drastic taper. When I first got him he ate his own poop twice and now does not do that but he eats rocks sometimes. He eats when I am at home for sure and I try to feed him often
When you say you are weighing him weekly, is that at the vet or on your scales at home, because unless he is weighed on the same scales [and if you are weighing him at home, the scales should be in the same place each time] the results might not always be accurate. However, if he has gained about 4 lbs since 08/08/18 he is definitely on the right track!
I was so worried about him that I bought a dog scale that is in the same spot all of the time and weighs ounces as well. I hope he is on track. I don't think he eats as much when I am not home or when someone else cares for him. I seriously sound like a worry wort but he is a baby and I hope he will be big and strong. How much weight should he gain per week? We have him on large breed ojein
As long as he is happy, energetic, and continues to gain weight gradually the outlook has got to be positive. However, there has to be a possibility that he was handed in to rescue because he was not thriving, and if so, he may never reach the average size & weight for his breed. You could try adding some higher calorie additions to his kibble, such as egg, cottage cheese, fruit, cooked vegetables, or a little malt extract. Keep an eye on his motions, and the amount of urine that he passes, and carry on feeding him little and often, like a young puppy. If you think he is not making sufficient progress, I would let your vet have poo and urine samples to check, - a blood profile could be useful too. Do not let him eat rocks. Provide lots of chews to help him teethe and for amusement.
Thank you so much for your guidance, yes I definitely don't want him to eat rocks, I read an article about Weims who eat rocks and they suggested taking the rock and giving a treat, then she ended up with Weims who left piles of rocks on her floor lol. You have helped tremendously
He will be as big and strong as he will be - in other words maybe he will or maybe he will always be a bit on the smaller/lighter side. But as long as he is growing and gaining weight, which he is, and as long as he is happy and active, that is all that really matters. That is something I cannot help you with April, I am sorry, but I never bothered about weight gain with my previous two girls, although I was more concerned with keeping weight off Pereg, the girl in my avatar due to her condition and medication, and I do not know anything about kibble as I have been a raw feeder since around mid 2011. I did keep a check on Tikva's weight gain when she was tiny, weighing her on my kitchen scales, but I cannot get to her first medical card as it is in a drawer above her crate and she took herself off to bed in her crate about an hour ago [it has gone midnight here] and I do not want to disturb her, but she has been on raw since I finished bottle feeding and then weaning her. But she thrived and her weight has been plus/minus the same amount since she was six-months old - she is now three-years and four-months old. Small, slim, with a waist to die for, also with ribs [and some spine] showing, but rock solid bone and muscle. She will be weighed again either at the end of this week or the beginning of next week when my vet comes to give her her three-monthly Parkworm shot. She is also due her yearly booster. He has to weigh her to know how much to draw from the vial for the Parkworm shot. No dog scales [no room!] but my scales are always put on the same floor tile, he weighs himself holding her, puts her down to check his own weight, then does the maths to get her weight. As the scales are only used for that purpose and on that floor tile, he reckons her weight is 99% accurate each time.
Many years ago when I bred Griffons, my then vet, who was a family friend, used to drop off all necessary shots for me to vaccinate my puppies. With strict instructions as to dates etc. In this life when I first had Lexi, I only had to take her to the surgery for her yearly boosters, and being disabled by then had to put her on my manual chair to push her to the taxi and then into the surgery. Not easy. So my wonderful vet said he would come here, and he did so when Pereg arrived, until she developed epilepsy and had to go to the surgery for three-monthly blood tests. By then I had found my special taxi driver who would walk her to his car and then into the surgery. Now there is just the little booga Tikva, and Ram, my vet, comes here every three months for her Parkworm shot - there is absolutely no way I could cope with taking her to the surgery, even with my driver's help. And Ram's call out charge is probably less than the cost of the taxi coming from town, taking us to the surgery, and then bringing us home. A lot easier for both Tikva and for me. The mandatory yearly rabies shot is given by the Local Authority vet, who comes here when he is on the Moshav. He is not a small animal vet but is responsible for all meat, milk, poultry, eggs etc for human consumption, and is also responsible for rabies shots. He also chipped my three without charge, and has never charged for the rabies shot, which the private vets are trying to get changed to two-yearly [the protocol is three-yearly but our Ministry of Agriculture are still sticking to yearly]. Not that many people bother, and I doubt many have heard of Parkworm, which started in the centre of the country and has now moved south. I am not going to risk anything happening, especially with so many loose and dumped dogs and after losing Pereg at such a young age, so I do the best I can to keep Tikki healthy. And if that means making sure she has all necessary vaccinations, then she will have them. Given by her vet. Tbh I would not risk giving them myself as my hands are not very good now.
We have no choice in the UK. You not legally allowed to purchase vaccine, and the vaccination certificate would not be valid unless it had been signed by a vet. Over here vacc. certificates are required for boarding kennels, the issue of Pet Passports, and many dog trainers will ask to see them before admitting a puppy to a training class. Allowing the vet to vaccinate your puppy usually involves a health check, which is an opportunity to ask any questions that may be bothering you, and a chance to discuss which vaccine components are considered advisable. I think it is a fairly modest cost, and helps to build a relationship with your vet. - and you never know when you might need them in an emergency.
Oh so true [thinking of Ram coming out at 1am to give Pereg peace]. A good vet is as good as, if not better, than a good GP. At least with a GP you can tell him/her how you feel, where and how something hurts, whereas a dog cannot tell a vet. So when the vet does a health check when giving vaccinations, if you have a good relationship with your vet you know you can trust him/her to make sure your dog is OK.
Thank you for all of your replies. I have found an answer to his small size. I had previously taken him to a vet that I thought was reputable. They examined him, saw he was treated for worms prior, knew he had eaten his own feces a few times, and brushed us off as him being small. Now, we all know Weims are by no means small, but in my research I found that worms cause stunting of growth. I just wasnt going to take no for an answer. After this vet called me just to scold me for giving my puppy one of his vaccinations at home, I decided to treat him for worms myself....well guess what came out of him? I did call the vet to inform them how simple it would have been to treat him and test his stool and that he could have died. Looking at him you could see something wasn't right. We have an appointment at another vet tomorrow and I am so happy Kikea will be ok. As you can see below he is quite obviously too skinny
Just look at his beautiful face - and large paws, and then those oh so thin pictures, which are enough to make me weep. He is obviously too skinny and that vet does not deserve his qualifications if he cannot see it - assuming he is fully qualified. I really hope that the other vet can see Kikea as he is and will treat him properly. The problem can arise when there are a number of vets in one area and you do not know which one is good and which one is just "oh, blah blah blah - it is your fault etc". That is why I am so grateful for my wonderful vet, who will be coming here next week for Tikva's yearly booster, her three-monthly Parkworm shot, her three-monthly Bravecto, and her six-monthly Drontal Plus worm pill. And who supported me throughout Pereg's epilepsy and Tikva's not-so-good start at just three-weeks old. There are other vets in town, one is known as "Dina the dog killer" as she cannot be bothered to do full tests. She is the sort of vet who says "well you can always get another dog". I will be thinking of Kikea until I hopefully hear some good news from you. Juli xx
Thank you for your kind words, he is so sweet. After I called the vet she emailed me to place the blame on me and not take accountability for testing him right away. It sounds like her ego is a little to big so there is little space left for a brain lol. It's ok I was not rude, but I know I am fighting for my little guy. I will update you guys and thank you again for your support.
