This is the most difficult part of having a super fluffy puppy is I feel like I don't have the best idea how he looks under all that fur. After the past two weeks going to daycare 3-4 times a week I think he is getting a little too skinny but its so hard to tell because of all that fluff. I was cautioned by the vet, the breeder and some training friends that it is much healthier for there developing bones and joint if they are lean and fit and aren't packing on the extra pounds but now I think he might be to far the other way. Does anyone else stress about there dogs condition a lot?

This freak out started because I noticed today after the same amount of daycare/exercise Sadie has lost a little too much weight I can see her last three ribs a little to well and part of her spine... bumps? Are visible.

I think time to up the food I was thinking a cup but is that to extreme? He currently eats 2 cups a day plus a handful of treats (more some days less others) and twice a week they get a spoon if yogurt to there food.

It's been a crazy busy week and I thing the stress is getting to me. Noticing Sadie's weight loss and feeling Simon and thinking he was a little to much easy to feel bone has made me want to cry. I feel like a crap mom if my kids aren't getting enough food.

Any suggestions or thoughts would be great.

Don't feel like a crap puppy mum you are definitely not! When Orion was Simon's age I adjusted his food monthly, it is very hard to judge when they are growing so darn fast! Orion would look too lean, then too big again almost on a weekly basis.

I would suggest upping their intact a little though, if they are with you at daycare they are probably burning a lot more calories a day being busy. A cup would be a lot to increase by though I would think maybe quarter of a cup and see how they go for a few weeks. Something high protein to give them a boost might be good too - I give Orion whole eggs shell and all once a week or so and he does great with that.

Yeah I second not feeling bad. I was always having the same issue. Diz seems to always look chunky, then he blew his coat and I felt horrible because he looked drastically different and too thin. As Olivia said, it's hard to gauge when they are growing so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just up his food a little bit. Because I overreacted when Diz blew coat, he's now a little chunky and I'm working to take that extra chunk off.

These are some pictures from the park Wednesday he was climbing a tree. I know he is really fluffy but I think you can at least see his waist and get an idea. He also looks a little weird because he is at an angle but tell me what you think.

I'd say he's a little on the thin side, but nothing too bad, and maybe not even enough to worry about adding any weight. Diz has a ton of coat too, so it's really hard to tell. Honestly I think he could gain a tiny bit, but I wouldn't say he's drastically underweight or anything. He might just be in an awkward gangly teen phase too. He's getting to be the right age for that. This thread was very helpful to me when I was trying to decide if Diz was overweight or not. Seeing Cato and Denali at around the same ages gave me a good idea of what I should expect Diz to look like. You can see how Denali at 7 months was very coyote-like lean. They all mature differently, so I wouldn't worry if he's going through a lean phase.

I took some pictures this morning to try and get a good picture of how Simon and Sadie are looking. Sadie was much more cooperative.




From the top you can see Sadie's rib bumps.

Simon has been super rewarded for laying down and chilling out on leash so getting him to stand took a few tries.




And then he tried to play tug with the leash.



What do you think?

I think Simon looks perfect actually! Sadie could use a little more, but if you add much more to Simon he will lose his hip tuck. Even Sadie looks pretty good, you can't really see her hip bones sticking up, but I don't like to see ribs, seeing backbone doesn't bother me. If you want to up his food, I'd say add only 1/4 cup for a couple weeks. When on kibble Diz only eats about a cup a day, plus treats for training, and I add green beans to fill up his tummy a bit. If Simon gets the runs you'll know you're over feeding.

Thanks Jen I just worry I am sure it's really bad for a puppy to be malnourished in any way. I just would hate to do anything that hurts my kids.

I hear you! I was constantly worried about that with Diz as he was growing. Although it was the opposite with him. He always looked too fat. I realized, it was just how he grew. He would get chunky, and then grow taller and longer. Then, more chunk, then taller and longer. I definitely wouldn't call either of your dogs malnourished though. He wouldn't be able to produce such a nice coat if his body wasn't getting what it needs. On the flip side, you seem really knowledgable, and if you feel like it's best for him to put on a bit, I don't think it would do any harm.

I was trying to send you a message but it keeps putting the add over the user name spot so I couldn't. So I am just going to go off topic in this thread. I check out the post you linked of when Dizzy was younger and you mentioned that when he is tired he gets Yoda ears. I wanted to tell you Simon does the same thing when he is sleepy or just kind of bored and checked out. I find it super cute other than one of the people I know kept trying to tell me he was a mal because of where his ears were and wouldn't believe me that when he wasn't a tired puppy from meeting people all day he didn't do that.

Ha ha. Sometimes a growing boy just doesn't have the energy to keep his ears perked up. I think it's adorable too. I'll tell you, the best thing I did for Diz was decide to follow my gut with all things training and food. I definitely ask for and appreciate input, but follow my gut on what the right call is.