New pup parents are a worried lot. Doberman pups are naturally sleek, and parents are always worrying about how to make my Doberman puppy gain weight? Read on to get all the right answers.
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As pet parents, we want our pups to be healthy, and having an underweight puppy is a huge concern. Dobermans already have a sleek, lean, and athletic build, but there is a huge difference between sleek and skinny.
If you are a new parent to a Doberman puppy and wonder how to make my Doberman puppy gain weight? Then you are at the right place.
This article will discuss how to determine whether your Doberman puppy is underweight, what could be the reason for them being underweight, and how to make them healthily gain weight.
How To Make My Doberman Puppy Gain Weight
In the case of Doberman puppies, it is pretty hard to determine whether they are underweight or not. Since puppies are in their growth phase, they will be fine as long as they are showing signs of growth.
However, there are certain circumstances when you feel too skinny or have recently lost weight when you should be concerned. Some of the reasons your Doberman puppy might be underweight include
- Bad eating habits
- Over-exercise
- Insufficient diet.
- A sudden weight loss or a loss of appetite can also cause ill health.
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What Is The Ideal Weight For Doberman Puppies?
Before delving deep into making my Doberman puppy gain weight, we must know what is considered a healthy weight for Doberman puppies. You might be worried about your puppy when they are of a perfectly healthy weight.
For understanding whether your Doberman puppy is underweight, measuring the scales would be the first thing you would do.
There is an average weight for each age group of a Doberman puppy that is considered healthy. Let’s take a look at what should be the average weight of a Doberman puppy at different ages for both males and females.
| Age of puppy | Male Puppy Average Weight | Female Puppy Average Weight |
| 2 months | 19 lbs | 17 lbs |
| 3 months | 30 lbs | 26 lbs |
| 4 months | 40 lbs | 34 lbs |
| 5 months | 49 lbs | 43 lbs |
| 6 months | 59 lbs | 50 lbs |
| 7 months | 65 lbs | 56 lbs |
| 8 months | 70 lbs | 60 lbs |
| 9 months | 75 lbs | 65 lbs |
| 10 months | 79 lbs | 68 lbs |
| 11 months | 81 lbs | 70 lbs |
| 12 months | 84 lbs | 72 lbs |
| 13 months | 85 lbs | 74 lbs |
| 14 months | 86 lbs | 74 lbs |
| 15 months | 88 lbs | 75 lbs |
| 16 months | 88 lbs | 75 lbs |
| 17 months | 88 lbs | 75 lbs |
| 18+ months | 88 lbs | 75 lbs |
Know that every puppy is different, and their weight also depends on the genes of their parents. What might be underweight for some puppies would be normal for others.
The weights are only a standard for measuring weights for Doberman puppies. However, the actual weight of a puppy will depend upon the height, body type, and age of an individual puppy.
Make sure to consult your breeder about the family history of your puppy. A slight difference from the average weight is not a cause for alarm.
Puppy Weight By Breed
The weight of Doberman puppies also varies with their different breeds. You will find that the average weight for an adult American Doberman Pinscher is about 60 to 90 pounds for females and about 75 to 100 pounds for males.
At the same time, the average weight for a European Doberman is around 71 to 77 pounds for females and 88 to 99 pounds for males.
This difference in weight in adults would also be visible when they are puppies.
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How To Find Out Whether Your Doberman Puppy Is Underweight Or Not?
Weighing Directly
To ease your concern about whether your puppy is an ideal weight, the simplest way is to purchase a weighing scale and weigh them regularly. If they are losing any weight, you will be able to tell.
You should only be worried if the weight of your Doberman puppy is drastically lower than the average. If you are concerned that your Doberman is too skinny, monitor their weight regularly to ensure they are not losing weight.
Apart from the weighing scales, you can tell whether your Doberman puppy is underweight or not by looking at them and feeling their bones.
How To Determine If Your Doberman Puppy Is Underweight By Feeling Their Bones
You can determine whether your Doberman puppy is underweight or not by following these simple steps.
Step 1
Check for protruding bones. Start by running your hands along the side of your Doberman puppy’s body. You will be able to feel the shape of every rib on your puppy’s body. However, there will be a light layer of fat deposited above the ribs.
It should not feel like the skin is sitting directly above the bones. If there is no layer of fat, then your puppy is underweight. Also, even from a distance, you will be able to see individual bones.
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Step 2
Have a look at your Doberman puppy from the above. The waistline of your puppy should not be apparent. When puppies are younger, then you should not be able to make out their waistline. When they get slightly older, you should see an hourglass shape, but even then, their waistline should not be apparent. Having an elongated waistline is another sign that your puppy might be underweight.
Also, the spine of your puppy should not be visible from above. If you can make out the spine, then also your puppy is underweight.
Step 3
The third and last step would be to look at your Doberman puppy from the side.
The tummy part of your puppy should be tucked in, and the rib cage should be lower than their belly. However, if you can see the rib cage, vertebrae, and pelvic bones clearly, and it looks like the skin is sitting right above the bones, then your puppy is underweight.
What Is The Reason Behind Your Doberman Puppy Being Underweight?
There are several reasons why your puppy might be underweight even if they eat a sufficient amount of food. Now that you have determined that your Doberman puppy is skinny let us look at some of the reasons that may cause it.
More Than Regular Physical Exercise
Dogs of the Doberman breed need a lot of exercises. Since they are a guard breed, they have a lot of energy. Not giving them proper training will lead to them being hyper and destructive.
You should help them get exercise for at least two hours per day. This would help them be strong, healthy and well behaved, healthy and strong.
However, you can most easily get carried away and might be making your puppy exercise too much. If you like to take them out for long runs or walks, that might be the reason for their weight loss. Make sure to exercise your Doberman puppy regularly but don’t overdo it.
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Insufficient Diet
The flip side to too much exercise is insufficient diet. Weight gain or loss has a simple formula, the number of calories consumed versus calories burned.
You might be feeding your puppy sufficient food with proper nutrition, but if they exercise too much, they burn more calories, making them lose weight.
Not getting a proper diet might be another reason why your Doberman puppy might be underweight or losing weight.
Poor quality nutrition
Some puppy foods are not enough to offer the complete nutrition needed by your Doberman puppy. Even if they are eating the proper quantity, it is of no use since the food does not have appropriate nutritional value.
Not getting adequate nutrition would be another reason for your Doberman puppy being underweight. Make sure to check the nutritional value of your puppy food before buying and giving it to your puppy.
- Protein: At Least 25-30% of your Doberman puppy’s diet should be protein. You should not overdo protein because it can be harmful.
- Calcium: The food must have at least 2% calcium.
- Vitamins and Minerals: These should comprise at least 10% of your dog’s diet.
Underfeeding
Another possible reason behind your Doberman puppy being underweight or going through drastic weight loss would be underfeeding them. They might not be getting the sufficient calories that they need.
The guideline for feeding a puppy is given on the puppy food package, and most of the time, we use that to measure food given to our puppy. However, The feeding quantities on dog food packages are only a guideline.
If your puppy is active, then they are burning excessive calories and need food accordingly. You would need to give them more food or food having higher calories to maintain their weight.
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Bad Eating habits
Over time, some puppies develop bad eating habits and become picky eaters. If you give them too many treats, then they would want only that. They would not eat their normal food and would want you to provide them with treats.
It is really easy to get carried away with the treats when your puppies are younger and adorable. However, try to limit the treats to only once or twice a day so that they aren’t accustomed to only eating treats.
Health Issues
The most severe reason your Doberman puppy might be losing weight or being underweight would be some health issues. If you have seen them lose drastic weight in a few weeks, then there might be some underlying health issues.
Internal Parasites
Puppies often get infected with internal parasites or worms. If your puppy has a sudden weight loss, then that might be due to a parasite infection.
If, along with weight loss, your puppy also shows other symptoms like vomiting, scooting, or diarrhea, then you would need to give them proper medication.
Give them medication for deworming that can treat all varieties of parasites or worms. If your puppies have worms, then the worms will come out with their poop after the medicines.
Illness/Disease
Puppies suffer from several other diseases, and all of them can cause weight loss in your puppies. If you see any other symptoms, then you need to take your puppy to the vet. Giving them proper medical treatment is essential.
Diabetes
Another reason for weight loss in Doberman puppies is if they have diabetes. If your puppies are thirsty all the time, urinate more frequently, and show symptoms of dehydration, then they might have diabetes. Consult your vet as soon as you see these symptoms.
Dental Issues
The reason why your Doberman puppy might be losing weight can be not eating a sufficient amount of food.
If your Doberman puppy is suffering from some dental issues, then that would make them eat less food. Dental problems should never be ignored, and you should consult a vet as soon as possible.
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How Can I Fatten Up My Puppy?
Once your vet has ruled out a medical problem as a reason for weight loss in your Doberman puppy, then there are several ways that you can make them gain weight.
Giving them more calories
Higher calorie intake can help a Doberman puppy achieve optimum weight. You can try giving them high-calorie foods by changing their puppy food with some high-calorie food or increasing the quantity of food you feed them.
While switching to different puppy food, do not switch to a new food instantly. Do it gradually over some days to avoid diarrhea in your puppy.
Start by giving 10 percent of the new food mixed with 90 percent of old food and increase the percentage of fresh food on each consecutive day until you have switched the food completely.
You can also increase the calorie intake for your Doberman puppy by giving them extra treats.
Increase the protein, fat, and carbohydrate content in their food to increase their calorie intake.
Change their feeding schedule.
While it is recommended to feed your Doberman puppy thrice a day and gradually switch to twice a day when they get older.
If your puppy is underweight, then you can increase the number of times you feed them. Give the last meal of their day before they go to sleep so that their body can store the fat.
Modify their exercise
Even if exercising might be making your puppy lose weight, you don’t need to cut their exercise time short. Instead of aerobic exercises, you need to change the type of exercise and focus more on muscle-building exercises.
Daily exercise is not only good for making your puppy well behaved but is also helpful in increasing their appetite.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What can I feed my puppy to help her gain weight?
You can feed high-calorie food to your puppy to help her gain weight. Try switching to a food with higher carbohydrate content. Also, giving her treats would help as treats are higher in calories than normal puppy food.
Why is my Doberman puppy so skinny?
There can be several reasons for your Doberman being skinny. They might be exercising more and losing more calories than what they are eating. Other possible causes can be bad eating habits, not getting enough nutrients, or some underlying disease.
We have discussed the possible reasons for your puppy being underweight and how you can help them gain weight in this article.
Wrap Up
How to make my Doberman puppy gain weight is a major concern for many new Doberman pup parents. Since these dogs are naturally sleek and athletic, it becomes a bit difficult to assess whether they are underweight simply by looking at them.
Just like newborn babies, the best thing to do is to compare with the average weight chart that we have given. If the pup is falling behind in the age versus weight ratio, have a look at the list of possible reasons that we have given. If you can’t identify one, talk to a vet and get a professional opinion.
Once you know that there is a problem, look at the exercise, nutritional content, and food quantity-related advice that we have given to understand what you need to do. Follow the guidelines, and your puppy will be back to its happy and healthy self in no time!
The most important ingredient that we have not mentioned in all of this is the love that a pup parent gives to their baby. Your love will go a long way in understanding if the pup is not feeling well.