Marie - I think Rocky looks pretty good now. He's about like our grandma dog Rosie. She's 10+ yrs old and has had three litters, so has the right to carry a few extra pounds. I would still try to work him out more to slim him and build muscle mass, but if I were to see him now, I wouldn't say "DANG, that's a fat shorthair". Nice work from that photo where he was a 93 lb sausage!

Wolfe, it wasn't me that said Casey was too skinny, it was WildRose (aka Charlie). I don't think I can make a judgement call from the photo - the one was too small and the other wouldn't display on my screen. If you're concerned, try to post again and I'll be happy to tell you what I think.

Jean

If you click on the picture it gets bigger. I am not sure how to post the picture larger on here. I wasn't pointing fingers, I am new to everything when it comes to GSP's and I just want to make sure Casey is healthy. I know that weight causes problems with dogs and I am just looking for some guidance.

It would be easier for me to say for sure if I could see her in person and touch her. But she is definitely NOT skinny for 8 months. I wouldn't say she's fat either though, but might be carrying a couple extra pounds, no more than 5. It's important to remember that the dog food company sells more food if they get you to overfeed your dog, so my experience has been that what it says on the bag is way too much unless you have a super, super active dog. By active I don't mean going for walks either, I mean hours of off-leash running every day. I might cut back her food 10% or so and see what you think. More importantly, the best thing is to get her LOTS of exercise off leash.

Here is another top view to see how fat your dog is. Rocky has definitely got more curves at 77.9lbs and can see his waist. We are slowly moving in the right direction. Still think Casey is perfect!!!

That's a beautiful coat on that Casey!

I'd say, Casey is definitely not skinny AT ALL, and it's hard to say from the photo if and how much she is on the heavy side. While I make sure my pups are not chubby, an extra pound or two is not detrimental, as pups still grow and have such high energy levels that extra weight disappears pretty quickly. Also, growing dogs go through different phases as they grow.

Re food intake, Tessa's base amount is 2 cups kibble/day with some canned food, cottage cheese, etc mixed in, so maybe 2.5 cups total/day. But on the days where she gets a lot of exercise, I feed an additional small meal to offset any weight loss. She's very lanky. She just gained an inch at the withers, but her weight has not caught up yet. Taken today, 23" at withers, 44 lbs, 8 months (not stacked, just "whoa"ing):

 Isn't it spectacular to see the color difference and patterns in our GSPs. Casey and Rocky are both pure breed GSPs and completely different colors Cannot believe how shiney Casey's coat is. She is a real beauty and absolutely perfect size

Wow!!! Tessa is growing into a beauty too. She favors Rocky's colors with liver head and body ticking!!  She should fill out and gain more muscle with food and exercise. Guess it is important not to over do exercise until the pup is fully grown. I think fully grown takes 2 years???  Both Casey and Tessa are true beauty honeys!!

Casey -  I would second what TessaG posted.  I have a 9 mo boy, Ringo, and he is maybe a couple pounds on the heavy side right now.  He quit growing in height and started filling out.  I have cut his food down and he is on adult food.  He gets basically the same amount as TessaG.  About 1 cup of kibble (Innova chicken and turkey) in the morning, and 1 cup kibble with 1/2 can Wellness venison or lamb in the evening.  I add 1 tablespoon of the California Natural Skin and Coat Supplement to the evening meal.  They also get extras like salmon periondically.  When I add extras I usually cut back on the kibble to compensate unless they have been running allot. Here is a picture with Ringo stacked.  If you look at his side, I like to be able to see the last two ribs and although I can feel his ribs, and if you look carefully you can see them, just not quite like I like them.

I tried to find a picture that showed what I was talking about above, but couldn't find one that actually showed the ideal weight very well.  Anyway, hope this helps. 

Your boy is a pretty boy and as someone else said he has a beautifully shiny coat. That is a very good indication of a good diet.  It is also hard to gauge weight by a picture as the lense does not get the detail that the eyes and hands on the dog actually get. I wouldn't worry terribly about his weight because if he is over, it is not by a whole lot.

This is a picture of Bregon at 9 months (now 10months) at about 75lbs. his call name has been changed to Flubber.

Francine

What's exactly right is going to vary from dog to dog and situation to situation.

If your dog is an outdoor dog in a cold climate they need more body fat for insulation and energy.  It takes far more calories to keep warm in a cold climate than it does to just work.

If your dogs work hard and you are in a warmer climate maintaining body heat is your enemy and the dog needs to be much leaner.

A dog that lives in a cold climate, but lives indoors needs less fat for both energy and insulation of course than it's outdoor cousin.

These simple facts of physiology are why it's virtually impossible to have a dog in great shape for both cold water work and upland work as the physical needs and demands are so much different.

My dogs stay lean because they work hard.  A "cold winter" around here means two weeks of highs in the thirties and lows in the teens.  We hunt a LOT of days when it's over eighty though!

My "trial dogs" have to stay lean, hard and fit or there's simply no way to be competitive.  Ever see a fat track star?  Ever see a skinny eskimo? HA!

How true WildRose about more fat in colder climate!! Never have seen Rocky shiver out romping in the snow. This was a warm day at 32 degrees with sun shining Whereas  in summer in 90 degree weather Rocky turns into a pancake

My 16 month old male GSP weighs in a 83lbs, not an ounce of fat, but tall and long. I do not even use a leash, just grab his collar when needed. He weighed 81lbs at 12 months. Every pup is different, but for health reasons, I try to keep him lean in order to avoid later life complications. He certainly would not meet the breed standard. I seem to recall him measuring at 31 inches tall.

Just measued my full blooded, akc registered GSP and he is 30+ inches at the top of his shoulder.

I do not know what became of his littermates.

All GSPs are different, I had one that was overweight at 64lbs, one that was perfect at 74lbs and this one looks skinny at 83lbs.

I think I will stay in town.

Jay

My Belle's dad was a huge GSP.  He was probably 30 inches at the withers and not an ounce of fat (I have no idea how much he weighed).  He was a gorgeous GSP, and very big.