Did feeding my puppy less than recommended harm his growth?

Thank you for using Petcoach (now Boop). Large breed puppy formula’s are formulated specifically for the slower growth of large breed dogs. Large breeds can develop orthopedic diseases such as hypertrophic osteodystrophy and panosteitis related to caloric intake, fat and protein. Large breed dog food have been developed to provide optimum nutrition while reducing the risk of these disorders. I would definitely recommend keeping Charlie on a large breed puppy formula. Parina pro plan is a great choice. Here is a bit more information. On large breed puppy formula. https://www.iams.com/pet-health/puppy-care/why-large-breed-puppy-formulas-are-different http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2017/02/confused-about-what-to-feed-your-large-breed-puppy-new-rules-may-help/

Suggested serving sizes are recommendations for the "average" dog and vary greatly depending on the ingredients and nutritional value of the food. If your dog keeps a consistant good weight, is healthy and has a shiny hair coat, then you are doing everything right. When in doubt take him to your vet for a weigh in and Body Condition Scoring. Usually this is a free service offered by your veterinarian,

I’m glad to hear Max has recovered! Parvo can affect the overall adult size but feeding him a proper diet will help to counteract its effects. You should feed him a large breed puppy food but do not give him any supplements. Large breed puppy foods are fortified with the proper amount of calcium, phosphorus and protein. Providing additional calcium and phosphorus can actually hurt his bone structure and cause severe growth abnormalities. Omega-3 fatty acids for dogs are fine to supplement with and this will help to decrease any inflammation in his body and also improve the coat and skin health. The foods I recommend are: Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy. This is my favorite diet for German Shepherd‘s as it is formulated to meet their growth needs and also takes into account their sensitive digestive systems. Purina Pro Plan large breed puppy formula. Nutro large breed puppy formula. Science Diet large breed puppy formula. Eukanuba large breed puppy formula. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

An indent at the waist is acceptable on many breeds depending on where it is and how deep. Your vet can evaluate “body condition score” any time. Here is a good link for more on body condition score - though note that it is really more for adults than puppies. https://oregonvma.org/files/Purina-Dog-Condition-Chart.pdf As for the feeding, the “all Life stages” thing is confusing, especially when they do not give a chart for puppy feeding. (Though the food is fine for non-large breed puppies.) The adult chart is probably a good place to start, but you may need to increase from there. When all else fails, I usually say, “feed to maintain body condition”. If Louie is looking a little thin, increase food by about 25-50%. If he seems overweight or is leaving food in the bowl, tone it down by 25% . You can also ask your vet to calculate an actual calorie intake for Louie based on his current weight and then use that to know how many cups to feed. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Louie!

You want to make sure to feed a high quality diet. You also need to make sure that the growth is slow and consistent. If your puppy grows too quickly, it will be more likely to develop conditions like hip dysplasia. The diet I recommend for my large breed puppies is Royal Canin Large Breed Puppy. It will ensure even growth and the diet is highly digestible. This diet can be purchased at many pet stores or online. Proper exercise is also important but remember not to start jogging with a large breed puppy until they are at least a year old. You can damage the joints that way BUT normal things like playing or chasing the ball should be fine. Please post again if you have any further questions!

I'm not sure what you mean by a diet chart, however for his young age I recommend following the recommendations on the back oft he food bag. When he's an adult, you want feed about 75% of what the bag suggests for his weight. Diets vary greatly in the number of calories they have per cup, so it's hard to make an across the board recommendation. I recommend checking out Purina, Hills, and Royal Canin to get you started for diets. He should be on a puppy diet until about 9 months of age. He should NOT be on a grain free diet (this is a fad born out of the human gluten-free fad and recent research is showing it may be harmful for dogs, in addition to be unnecessary). As far as exercise, start anything you do slowly. He shouldn't be going for jogs until he's about 9 months old, but can run on his own as much as he wants and you can slowly work up to longer walks with him as he's interested. I'd recommend paying special attention to mental exercise with food toys, things like "snuffle boards" and kongs -- there are thousands of DIY Ideas online for this. Enjoy your little cutie!

I would not recommend trying to feed a home-cooked diet to a growing large breed puppy like Buddy - this is because nutritional balance is extremely important at this age for proper growth and development. It's extremely difficult to properly balance a home-cooked diet for a growing puppy like this - not as simple as just following a recipe and adding some supplements, I'm afraid. Nutritional imbalances in young puppies can cause severe orthopedic issues later in life such as hip dysplasia, growth plate abnormalities, and other types of joint problems. For this reason, I would strongly recommend feeding a good quality puppy food for large breed puppies - my favorites are Purina Pro Plan and Royal Canin, but there are many options available. Once your dog is fully grown, you can revisit the idea of a home-cooked diet if you wish, since it's much easier to balance this type of diet for an adult dog :)