My puppy isn't growing. Is his slow growth a cause for concern?

Hello, sorry to hear about Koopi. That swelling and lack of growth is not likely associated with eating too much too quickly. I would be more concerned that your puppy could have a congenital abnormality where his lack of growth could be associated to an abnormal hear condition or a liver shunt or perhaps a heavy burden of parasites. I would recommend having your puppy evaluated by a veterinarian to ensure there are no underlying issues with him. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I agree that Max looks a bit smaller than an average 5 month old lab. However, severe intestinal parasites would typically cause a dog to look very skinny and in the picture you provided, Max doesn’t look alarming thin to me. Deworming should be done a few times in puppies, so I do think it’s a good idea to deworm again (under the guidance of your Vet), but I don’t think his size or temperament are likely to be related to worms. If you’re concerned he’s not growing appropriately, I recommend having him examined by your Vet, and run some bloodwork to help rule out systemic diseases which could influence growth. However, my suspicion is you simply have a petite lab and his size is normal for him. I hope this helps!

It is possible that Cookie has not hit a growth spurt yet and will increase her growth rate in another month or so. I would recommend a good deworming to make sure parasites are not a reason for slow growth. Also, I would make sure she has a good balanced puppy food. If she does not seem to like the puppy food you can always change the brand or even mix in wet food to help stimulate her appetite. Some shepherds are born with congenital defects but these are pretty rare. IF you feel she is not improving I would recommend taking her to your vet for a good exam.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! At least in the pictures, he looks pretty good. Very handsome dog. These dogs do tend to show their ribs a bit. I think that he could benefit from perhaps gaining a few pounds but not much. In terms of his growth, he has likely reach his growth plateau which is why he has not been growing much lately. If he is otherwise doing well in terms of appetite and activity level, I would not worry much. I do think that it would be best to relay this to your veterinarian who knows his medical/preventative care history so that we ensure that his caloric intake is appropriate for his age and most importantly activity level. This is something that can be easily done and make a difference in terms of him gaining some weight. Again, he is very handsome so congrats as it looks like you have been taking good care of him. Good luck!

The most common reasons for being too thin and failing to grow at an appropriate rate is parasitic infestation and / or a diet that is not appropriate. I would recommend having a fecal sample analyzed to see if Sandy is in need of a dewormer. I would also make sure she is receiving a high quality puppy food in an appropriate quantity. If both of these criteria are already met and she is still not performing well, she needs to be assessed by a veterinarian for some additional diagnostic testing. Hope this makes sense.

I recommend you have Nugget examined by the veterinarian. Have them check his liver values, pancreatic values and check for intestinal parasites. While dogs who are abnormally small could still be healthy, issues like liver shunts, parasites and pancreatic insufficiency could also cause the same symptoms. Best to have him checked out. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Copper! Without being able to examine him, it's hard to say what might be causing this. One possibility would be a respiratory infection causing coughing and difficulty breathing. Less commonly, young puppies like this can have breathing issues due to a congenital defect like a heart problem or cleft palate. If you think he's having a hard time breathing normally, I would really recommend taking him to an emergency vet right away for an exam, as this may be a life-threatening problem. The vet can listen to his heart and lungs and may also take chest x-rays if needed to help diagnose the problem and get him started on appropriate treatment.