Puppy Weight ?

[Sue J]

Hi Everyone: I'm new to this site, but not new to Dobes. My husband just purchased a 6 week old female that seems small to me. I know it's difficult to determine typical weight due to parentage, etc., but I'm wondering what you've found as a typical/average weight of your 6 wk. old puppies.

Thanks for replying.:)

Sue J.

[Rich S]

Hi, and welcome to DobermanHub!

We found with Magnum it was very difficult to keep some body fat on him. As an adult dog, we still struggle to keep his weight were it should be for his size.

With your little dobe, my advise to you would be just make sure he has some fat on him, but make sure he isn't too fat. As I'm sure you know it is very important to make sure your young dog has a sufficient amount of body fat as he grows.

For a few weeks Magnum was putting on nearly half a pound a day.

Good luck and keep us updated.

[magtie]

six weeks is pretty young to be away from the mother. I belive most pups are realeased at 10 weeks ( i could be wrong)

[jelly8bean]

6 weeks is pretty young to be taken.. 8-10 weeks is much better for all the socialization issues that are needed with puppies. Have you any clue about the dam and sire's size? Or is this a Backyard breeder? (please don't say pet store - puppy mill babies would be a whole other issue) I would suggest you take your puppy to a wellness visit with your vet and you can get all your questions about weight answered there.

[Sue J]

Yes the pup came from a backyard breeder. My husband is a great guy, but didn't pick this one very well I don't think. When I asked about dam/sire size he said "big!". Since she was for his pet, he didn't care about pedigree (he's never been impressed by a pedigree). She certainly isn't show quality. She came from a litter of 10. I'm going to call the man he bought her from and ask some questions. The pup seems healthy and I can see her beginning to gain. She has a vet appt. Monday for a wellness.

I'm weighing her again tomorrow. She's energetic, curious and outgoing. Loves playing and nestlilng with my female beagle who also lives in the house. The beagle had a litter 3 months ago and I think she believes this pup is hers & is extremely gentle with her. Thanks for your replies, I'll let you know what vet says.

[MLR]

Sue J,

I don't know what others think about vitamins but I've given my two dobe's Pet-Tabs Plus for dogs made by Pfizer since the day I brought them home. You don't want the regular Pet Tabs, the Plus is for this breed. The label says to give a half tablet to dogs under 20 lbs and a whole tablet to dogs over 20 lbs (I think I started with a quarter tablet for the first few weeks). This is not the store brand or from pet catologs (I've seen the same name made by different manufactures in stores and in catalogs), I get this from my vet. This is for older, stressed or working dogs with high energy. Both my dogs are AKC registered pure breeds. My male came from really good stock and is good sized (98 1/2 lbs); both parents were on site when I visited. My female came from questionable stock; I only saw a picture of a dog I was told was the father. The females mother and grandmother were average standard height and a little on the thin side. In fact I didn't even think the mother was pregnant when I visited the 'breeder' a week and a half before the puppies were born. My female is now an inch and a half above standard height for females and weighs just 8 lbs less than my male who is also above average height for males by almost 2 inches. My vet and I both attribute most of this to those vitamins. Neither of them are fat; just big. Since your going to the vet anyway you might want to check out this vitamin. I also fed them both Purina One for large breed puppies until they were both two years old and then started mixing it half and half with Purina one for large breed adults. Since my male will be 5 years old next May, and my female will be 3, I plan on cutting out the puppy part of this mixture about that time. My vet said that there is a higher percentage of something (can't remember what right now) in this brand which makes their bones grow bigger. All I know is my female was the runt of the litter and I can hardly tell the two of them apart without them wearing different colored collars in the house. They are that close in size.

Hope this is helpful for you.

[Sue J]

Thanks MLR, I'll talk to my vet about the vitamins. I found out this little girl is also the runt. My husband really likes her so as long as she's healthy I think that's all that matters. I'm surprised at him chosing her because he always loved and picked big red males.

[jelly8bean]

I'm happy to hear the little one has a loving home. Take care of her and yourselves and have a wonderful new years!

[Sue J]

Thanks Jelly: We both love Dobes. They are simply a fantastic breed!! We've previously owned 3 that we raised from puppies until we lost them to natural causes of old age. 'Bout broke our hearts, they were members of our family. Before I remarried, I owned 2, but my nasty ex took custody of them. I think I grieved more for the Dobes than I ever did for him!! We're looking forward to our new journey with this little girl. She is already so loving. Happy New Year!

[MLR]

Hi Sue J,

Just wanted to add that I believe it was the combination of the vitamins and the large breed puppy chow that did the trick. No one can believe that my female is as big as she is even the vet who mistakenly called her by my male dogs name when I had just her by herself in for a visit one day about a year ago when she was a year old. He actually did a double take when I corrected him on the name thing and told him that it was Chloe, not Hercules, with me that day. She now weighs 92 lbs and is 26 1/2 inches high at the shoulders. (Her mother was only 25 inches high and I'm sure weighed 20 lbs less than Chloe does now.)

Mary Lou

[Sue J]

Thanks Mary Lou. She's on the puppy chow now and hurrah has gained 1 lb.!! I'm pretty sure she's gained some height too. She seems to be growing all over and her energy level is up. I'm more relieved than when I first posted this. Thanks for everyone's replies!

[magtie]

glad to hear she's gaining some weight

[MLR]

Hi Sue J,

I'm glad to hear your little girl is gaining weight and growing taller, too. She's in good hands with you watching over her. I'm sure she will surpass your earlier expectations.

[Sue J]

Just an update. Jett, our little girl saw the vet and got a clean bill of health. She weighed 11.5 lbs. and the vet said her weight was fine. She's on Pet Tab vitamins and large breed chow. she's gained 4 lbs. since we got her. He also gave her an iron shot to help her prepare for her ears cropping the end of the month. Now we've got a few weeks to relax until the ear deal starts. LOL

[jelly8bean]

I'm glad to hear it.. I don't know how I could take having the ears done. EEEKK. for them and for me. My babies are rescues and were grown up with natural ears so I have never had to worry about it. I love the look, but oooh, I sympathize for the pain. Hey.. post some before pictures...

[magtie]

i'm the same way, i love the look too, but i couldn't put my pup through it

[MLR]

Hi Sue J,

Glad to hear everything went well at your vets. I think it's really funny (in a nice way) watching a doberman puppy grow. One week their front legs seem taller than their hind legs, the next week it's their hind legs growing taller than their front ones.

I sympathize with you about the ear cropping but it's what makes them look like a doberman to me. I was wavering about doing this until I read in a dobe book that one of the purposes of doing this is to keep an intruder or someone attacking you from grabbing their long ears to attempt to pull your doberman off of them if they're defending you. With all the hype about the breed and some people being instinctively afraid of them to the point that they would try to hurt them, I decided that I never wanted to give anyone that kind of advantage over my dogs. Not that mine are agressive to begin with but you never know what would happen if they did need to come to the rescue.

Mary Lou