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My EM is small..... size question

L

Lyn1Lyn

Active Member
Hi everyone,
Warning!! Wordy post... sorry in advance..
I have a question that I'm sure you can give me an answer or possible answer to...
My Em ZEUS is pure bred from a great breeder..

Dad is Int CH and is 34" and 215 (show weight 225)
Mom is 28in and approx 145lbs right now, but she is young and still growing as per breeder..

When Zeus litter was born his dam wasn't able to make milk to feed the litter and he and his siblings had to be fostered by one of the other dams who had a litter not too long before his litter was born. He had to be fostered and hand fed by the breeder until he was old enough to eat regular food.
Although I had asked previously the breeder was unsure of his exact weight until 1 week before i got him.. Due to having to go to the vet because he was bitten by another puppy..
He was 9wks and 10lbs. :(
She informed me that this was small, but she attributed it to his "rough start" and assured me that he would turn out fine.

I got him at just about 10weeks and immediately put him on a raw diet, as he was previously on kibble and I feel raw is entirely better. 3 days after I got him i took him to the vet for a check up..
(10wks 1day ...15lbs and healthy ([no fecal test done at this time])

They gave me Interceptor for him even though he had been wormed by the breeder and he pooped out hookworms and roundworms the day after administering the Interceptor about 4 -5 days after his vet visit. :confused:

I took him back for his shots last week and he was:
(12weeks 2 days.....25lbs)...

This week he's even heavier I'm thinking already 30lbs.. He's 15inches at the withers and looks very healthy but still appears underweight at certain times of the day... especially in the morning after not eating for 14hours.. 7pm-9am...

What do you think? Do you think he will catch up?
I have attached pics from when I first got him to now: first 2 are within the first 2 days...last 3 are within the last week

Thanks for reading, Lyn
 

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T

turncoat

Member
Hes putting on 5lbs per week! He IS catching up hahaha.
mastiff-puppy-growth-chart.gif


As you can see your dog started off 13 pounds lighter then the male in this at 9 weeks, at 10 weeks he is only 10lbs lighter, 12 weeks only 9 lbs lighter and now that he is 30 pounds he is almost the same
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Sounds like he gained 15 pounds in 3 weeks. I would say thats a pretty good spurt. Sounds like the worms were giving him hell and might have been the bulk of the problem.
This week he's even heavier I'm thinking already 30lbs.. He's 15inches at the withers and looks very healthy but still appears underweight at certain times of the day... especially in the morning after not eating for 14hours.. 7pm-9am...
Click to expand...
Most English Mastiffs look underweight until they reach their height and start filling out. Its definitely better that they arent too heavy while their bones are growing. This is usually true for any large or giant breed.
 
L

Lyn1Lyn

Active Member
Yes... according to that chart he doesn't seem to be too far behind... I don't want him to gain to much to fast and that is one of the reasons that I put him on the raw diet as I am aware that it helps them grow more evenly.. He eats well and leaves what he doesn't want... We were doing just chicken up until about a week ago, now we've added other stuff.. He absolutely loves it.. I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't too far behind still. I also figured that unless there was something genetically wrong then he will prob catch up to his parent and wind up somewhere in between their mature weights and sizes..
I also figured that maybe he wasn't getting enough to eat at the breeder due to being fostered and there being like a total of 10-12 puppies total fighting for their food..The worms were a concern when I saw them, but he didn't poop out many when I gave him the Interceptor, but thats not to say that he didn't have a lot more before the breeder wormed him and I just got the leftovers..\
I did notice a bit of food aggression (only at breakfast) in the beginning but we are definitely addressing that and he seems to be doing much better with it..
Thanks for the reassurance, it definitely helped..

Lyn
 
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Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
At least he's eating good! My wife, 3 kids and the Corso are the pickiest eaters ever. I have to keep canned food constantly just to keep my dog at a good looking weight. I eat any and everything.
 
L

Lyn1Lyn

Active Member
yup he's a good eater.. Even the breeder said he was, thats why I was so surprised when she said he was so small....
 
A

AdrianVall

Well-Known Member
Oh yeah.. he'll definitely catch up. Just give him time. Looks like he's going to be a big boy. But also, remember that when feeding raw, he may grow a bit slower, but as you said, more consistent. My older mastiff, is 14 months now and he was raised on raw. He's grow slow, but very steady. He's 30 3/4" tall at the withers, and weighs 150. Dad was 220 and mom was 170.. so he's still got plenty of growing left. My younger mastiff, who's almost 6 months old, weighed 90 lbs. at 5 months, and is eating raw. Mom and dad were 185 and 180, so he's got much growing to do as well. Just give him time.. the last thing you want is for him to grow to quick and have hip/joint problems. He seems to be doing great though! Keep up the good work and keep us updated.
 
Arkitek

Arkitek

Well-Known Member
My mastiff had the same problem, roundworms were really messing with him, but he's recovered although he is still only 60ish pounds at 6 months, but he looks great and is steadily gaining weight
 
E

eblans

Active Member
It sound like your young fellow Zeus is catching up quickly. That is good to hear and gives me some hope. We visited our EM Pup Sarge on his 4 week b-day and he seemed a little small but seemed healthy. The next day, our breeder called to let me know that our pup Sarge weighed 3 lbs 10 oz when she wormed him that day. That sounded to light to me. Looking at some of the weights on the internet for a 4 week old EM, he seems small. I know the biggest pup of his litter weighed 4 lbs 7 oz at 4 weeks. I hope Sarge catches up when we get him home and on quality food.
 
L

Lyn1Lyn

Active Member
Yes he definitely is doing well.. And "eblans" I am sure your baby will catch up as well. I think the worming and the raw food has definitely helped. Boy he loves his chicken.. Just introduced a little beef and he nearly had a happy heart attack!!!
He's such a handsome good little guy... Growing up so fast....:sad0049:...lol... Won't be a "baby" for long.. (per say)...
 
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