New Puppy Advice

[Destiny Galimore]

@ave_basenji Grizzly was at 22lbs around his birthday, November 17th. I fed him pretty freely in the beginning and did a mix of wet and dry foods (Wellness Brands). I left his food out all day and he ate when he wanted, which was sometimes in the middle of the night. He tends to not eat while I’m at work which can be very late so I didn’t feel right depriving him. I feel like it worked well for both of us. Now he eats about 2 cups a day of dry food a day with occasional wet food mixed. He stays lean. He finds ways to sneak eat weird things on our walks so he has occasional stomach issues but outside of that he’s very healthy.

Hopes this helps!

[ave_basenji]

@Destiny-Galimore thanks! I have been trying to figure out if its possible to go from 3lbs at 7 weeks to a standard 19-26 lb basenji when fully grown. From what i here about your grizzly it is possible. I guess i am a little-confused b/c after stating my pups weight it was as if there must be something wrong but looks like grizzly is standard size now. So it is possible then @DebraDownSouth? my pup will be totally fine and normal size?

When did Grizzly start growing? was there a growth spurt at some point?

[Destiny Galimore]

The day we picked him up, January 1, 2018

Grizzly yesterday, January 1, 2019

[DebraDownSouth]

@ave_basenji I don't have a magic ball. Destiny-Galimore didn't have a lot of breeders' help and her pup was lucky. If this litter is simply much younger than she says, they all could be normal. Time will tell.

[ave_basenji]

the litter isn't younger, I have been following my pups growth since day 1. I know the exact date of her birth and am not mistaken.

[DonC]

@ave_basenji said in New Puppy Advice:

the litter isn't younger, I have been following my pups growth since day 1. I know the exact date of her birth and am not mistaken.

I'd agree with Tanza that under two pounds at six weeks seems quite underweight. That would be more a weight at three or four weeks. Five or six pounds at six weeks would be normal. Four would be on the light side but some dogs are smaller. For under two I'd think something had to go a bit wrong somewhere.

Not saying the breeder has done anything wrong and not saying there will be a problem long term, but the weight is definitely not normal. Unfortunately I have no idea why. I may have missed this but are all the pups this small (by weighing not visually)? I'd think maybe she or the litter got sick or the mother got sick and couldn't nurse or didn't get enough to eat. If pups get sick they can lose weight in a hurry. Do you know how much they weighed at birth? It's possible they were premature. (I'm assuming the breeder didn't test for hormones which would let you know that -- not that they should have, that would be unusual, just wondering if that information is available).

Sometimes you just have to look at them. If they all seem healthy and energetic then they most likely are -- what is is possible. But if they were premature I'd wonder about the 11 week pick up.

[DebraDownSouth]

So if definitely the right age, something is wrong... and something equally wrong that the breeder didn't tell you about it from the start.

[DonC]

@debradownsouth said in New Puppy Advice:

So if definitely the right age, something is wrong... and something equally wrong that the breeder didn't tell you about it from the start.

I remember reading about Grizzly last year and thinking the weight was so low something had to be wrong somewhere. But now he looks healthy and the right size.

Getting odd weights is not hard to do, especially with lesser equipment, which is what I'd expect a breeder to use (not a knock BTW). They move around a lot, and, since the weight isn't that much, small changes can result in big changes in the weight. Plus there are lots of ways to get it wrong, including not calibrating for whatever you put the pup in.

If all the pups were weighed every day then things become much clearer. How does the weight of one compare to another? Was the birth weight low? For all? One? Did they have a period when they stopped putting on weight? A history makes things a lot easier.

[DebraDownSouth]

@donc She said the other litter was much larger. Since the pups weighed about the same in that litter, and since any responsible basenji breeder would recognize that the weight was too low and either get a new scale or calibrate the one he has, I'm not sure the weights are that off.

With Grizzly, you might remember the breeder gave no support, pup could well have been weeks younger. Yes, fortunately he looks great now. :) These pups the OP has been following, so the dates seem right. Obviously the easiest thing to do is ask the breeder to verify the weight and if that low, get vet checks before committing.

[creambasenji]

@destiny-galimore you're not alone. I think somehow they made my basenji a mini or toy size. She's 9 months and 8.5 pounds. Doesn't seem she will be getting any bigger

[Scagnetti]

@creambasenji said in New Puppy Advice:

She's 9 months and 8.5 pounds. Doesn't seem she will be getting any bigger

This must be a typo. 9 months or 9 weeks?

At any rate, I'd love to see a picture of a cream Basenji, toy or not.