Physical growth
The rapid growth that takes place during your puppy’s first six months needs to be fuelled with adequate quantities of appropriate food. Too much food and the puppy may grow too quickly or become too fat. Too little food, or food of the wrong kind, and the puppy may not have sufficient nutrients to keep him strong and healthy. The object is to provide sufficient nutrients for steady, sustained growth, and no more.
Most people worry that their puppy might not be getting enough to eat. In reality, it is unusual for a puppy in a caring home to lack sufficient nutrients for growth. Overfeeding is far more common.
Weight control
Perhaps one of the greatest threats to your dog’s health in our modern age is excessive weight gain. Obesity is a growing and serious problem in domestic dogs. Overfeeding a small puppy may lead to more rapid growth, which in turn is believed to be a contributory factor in serious joint problems, including hip dysplasia. As people have grown larger, so have their dogs, and the sad truth is that many dogs are now overweight. With obesity comes a raft of other problems, including diabetes and heart troubles. It seems we are creating a mirror image of our own medical problems for our four-legged friends.
Temptations for people to overeat are many, and the psychological and emotional aspects of human obesity are complex, but the situation for dogs is far simpler. Your puppy cannot open a tin or a packet, nor pop into his local shop. He cannot ever decide what or when to eat. Only you can do that for him. You have complete control over how fat he becomes, and one of the most important things you will ever do for his health is to keep him slim.
Obviously, in order to maintain your dog at a healthy weight, there needs to be a good balance between food intake and exercise. It takes a great deal of exercise to burn off a few extra calories, and small puppies have very different exercise needs from adult dogs, as we shall see. So, increasing exercise is not, and never will be, a neat and complete solution to avoiding obesity in puppies. The answer lies first and foremost in controlling how much they eat.
What does ‘slim’ look like?
People often ask, ‘How much should my puppy weigh at ten weeks?’ or ‘twelve weeks?’ This really is not something that anyone can accurately predict. It depends on the genetically predetermined potential size of your puppy as an adult, as well as on how he is fed and cared for. Even puppies in the same litter may vary quite considerably in how much they measure and weigh as adults.
It’s all very well knowing that your dog should be slim, but how do you know when he is the right weight? What does ‘slim’ look like?
Viewed from above, and from the side, your puppy should have a waist. This becomes more pronounced as he grows. If you can feel the knobbles along his spine without pressing very hard, he is too thin. And you should not be able to see or feel his hips. His rump should feel firm and smooth. Initially, you should not be able to see your puppy’s ribs, although if you run your hands firmly along his sides and can just feel them, that’s fine. Once your puppy is over five months old or so, you may find he gets very gangly for a while and you may be able to see the last two or three ribs, especially when he twists or turns, or eats and drinks. In some breeds, often those built for speed such as greyhounds or whippets, a couple of visible ribs is normal at all times.
If you think your puppy is getting a little too thin, then by all means increase his rations. But don’t go mad! If you are unsure whether or not your puppy is a healthy weight, don’t hesitate to take him along to your vet, who will be able to put your mind at rest, and advise you on any changes you may need to make to his diet.
We mentioned earlier that keeping your puppy slim as he grows will help to protect his developing joints. Being the correct weight is one factor you can control, but it is not the only one. Avoiding excessive exercise is another.
The five-minute rule
‘When can I take my puppy for a walk?’ is something I am asked a great deal. It is not unusual to find people taking tiny twelve-week-old pups for quite long walks on a lead. However, a puppy’s bones are still soft and growing, and it is believed that inappropriate exercise may damage the growth plates within them. This damage might then cause or exacerbate joint problems later in life, especially if the puppy has been unfortunate enough to inherit a tendency to hip dysplasia.
Consequently, experts often recommend that puppies be walked for no more than five minutes per day for each month of their age, starting when they are around four months old. This means no more than twenty minutes of exercise per day for a four-month-old puppy or thirty minutes at six months.
I should make it clear that there are no official studies to back up this rule, although it is certainly widely acknowledged to be a sensible precaution.
One recent Norwegian study suggests that it may be the type of exercise rather than the quantity that is most relevant. Of all the puppies studied, the ones most likely to develop joint problems were those that had been allowed access to steps before three months of age. It makes sense, therefore, to carry small puppies up and down steep steps or in and out of vehicles, and to avoid teaching or encouraging dogs to jump much before their first birthday.
Most people worry that their puppy might not be getting enough to eat. In reality, it is unusual for a puppy in a caring home to lack sufficient nutrients for growth. Overfeeding is far more common.
Weight control
Perhaps one of the greatest threats to your dog’s health in our modern age is excessive weight gain. Obesity is a growing and serious problem in domestic dogs. Overfeeding a small puppy may lead to more rapid growth, which in turn is believed to be a contributory factor in serious joint problems, including hip dysplasia. As people have grown larger, so have their dogs, and the sad truth is that many dogs are now overweight. With obesity comes a raft of other problems, including diabetes and heart troubles. It seems we are creating a mirror image of our own medical problems for our four-legged friends.
Temptations for people to overeat are many, and the psychological and emotional aspects of human obesity are complex, but the situation for dogs is far simpler. Your puppy cannot open a tin or a packet, nor pop into his local shop. He cannot ever decide what or when to eat. Only you can do that for him. You have complete control over how fat he becomes, and one of the most important things you will ever do for his health is to keep him slim.
Obviously, in order to maintain your dog at a healthy weight, there needs to be a good balance between food intake and exercise. It takes a great deal of exercise to burn off a few extra calories, and small puppies have very different exercise needs from adult dogs, as we shall see. So, increasing exercise is not, and never will be, a neat and complete solution to avoiding obesity in puppies. The answer lies first and foremost in controlling how much they eat.
What does ‘slim’ look like?
People often ask, ‘How much should my puppy weigh at ten weeks?’ or ‘twelve weeks?’ This really is not something that anyone can accurately predict. It depends on the genetically predetermined potential size of your puppy as an adult, as well as on how he is fed and cared for. Even puppies in the same litter may vary quite considerably in how much they measure and weigh as adults.
It’s all very well knowing that your dog should be slim, but how do you know when he is the right weight? What does ‘slim’ look like?
Viewed from above, and from the side, your puppy should have a waist. This becomes more pronounced as he grows. If you can feel the knobbles along his spine without pressing very hard, he is too thin. And you should not be able to see or feel his hips. His rump should feel firm and smooth. Initially, you should not be able to see your puppy’s ribs, although if you run your hands firmly along his sides and can just feel them, that’s fine. Once your puppy is over five months old or so, you may find he gets very gangly for a while and you may be able to see the last two or three ribs, especially when he twists or turns, or eats and drinks. In some breeds, often those built for speed such as greyhounds or whippets, a couple of visible ribs is normal at all times.
If you think your puppy is getting a little too thin, then by all means increase his rations. But don’t go mad! If you are unsure whether or not your puppy is a healthy weight, don’t hesitate to take him along to your vet, who will be able to put your mind at rest, and advise you on any changes you may need to make to his diet.
We mentioned earlier that keeping your puppy slim as he grows will help to protect his developing joints. Being the correct weight is one factor you can control, but it is not the only one. Avoiding excessive exercise is another.
The five-minute rule
‘When can I take my puppy for a walk?’ is something I am asked a great deal. It is not unusual to find people taking tiny twelve-week-old pups for quite long walks on a lead. However, a puppy’s bones are still soft and growing, and it is believed that inappropriate exercise may damage the growth plates within them. This damage might then cause or exacerbate joint problems later in life, especially if the puppy has been unfortunate enough to inherit a tendency to hip dysplasia.
Consequently, experts often recommend that puppies be walked for no more than five minutes per day for each month of their age, starting when they are around four months old. This means no more than twenty minutes of exercise per day for a four-month-old puppy or thirty minutes at six months.
I should make it clear that there are no official studies to back up this rule, although it is certainly widely acknowledged to be a sensible precaution.
One recent Norwegian study suggests that it may be the type of exercise rather than the quantity that is most relevant. Of all the puppies studied, the ones most likely to develop joint problems were those that had been allowed access to steps before three months of age. It makes sense, therefore, to carry small puppies up and down steep steps or in and out of vehicles, and to avoid teaching or encouraging dogs to jump much before their first birthday.
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