Growing too fast?

[Kismet]

Our vet warned us against over feeding our puppy. (Something about his bones growing too fast and causing problems as an adult.) He said that Harley would reach the same size at maturity irreguardless of how much we fed him, and to always leave him a little hungry.

Harley is 5 months old now and weighs 43 pounds. He looks very healthy, shiney coat, loose skin, bright eyes . . . and beautiful form.

Should we be concerned that his growth is too rapid?

 

[sgbtab]

that sounds like a good weight. what kind of food is he eating? I heard that puppy food is not that good and you should feed adult. maybe I'm wrong I feed barf and my dogs look healthy. I have all ages

 

[Kerry Jane]

I have also heard that feeding puppy food can cause this. I would make sure that you are feeding him adult food and that he doesn't look overweight - otherwise don't worry about it too much.

 

[white_boxer]

Boxers can be prone to getting over weight and from research and personal experience they don't really need to be on the puppy wood after about 8-10 months. With the higher protien in puppy food this can cause the added weight and faster growth. However he does sound very healthy and not a heavy weight for 5 months. It is also depending on our puppy. He could be a larger boxer. If you are really, really concerned you can get another opion.

 

[gmacleod]

Very, very wise vet

How tall is he? That's actually a better measure of how fast he's growing than weight is.

And yes, puppy food is indeed often the cause of growth problems. Those formulas are often grossly overloaded with protein and calcium and cause or exacerbate a wide variety of growth disorders. Personally I would never feed it at all, and would strongly recomend anyone who does to change to adult food by 4-6 months. Here's a previous thread about puppy foods and hip dysplasia - which is just one of many disorders that is exacerbated, if not caused, by over-nutrition: http://boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66335