Hi everyone! So, I'm new to the chat. I recently adopted a German Shepherd from the local animal shelter. We've gotten through parvo and pneumonia! Now, here's the thing, I was told that when I got her she was 16 weeks old. But, in talking to other people who have GSD's, she's extremely small for that age (she was kind of underweight, but she's pretty tiny if she's almost 5 months old now) and she has JUST started teething. If she is 5 months she's less than half the size she's "supposed" to be. What are your thoughts? Could she be younger than they thought? The vet said she's most likely full GSD, if anything else a slight bit of husky. aka: big dog. It just seems odd to me.... so let me know what your thoughts are, thanks!!

if she was that sick I'm not at all surprised that she is small. they miss a lot of nutrition when that ill.

you also have no idea how big her parents were which would be a big factor.

age on a shelter dog is a crap shoot at best. you read teeth & it's not an exact science altho at that age they should have been pretty close

Originally Posted by suebgone

if she was that sick I'm not at all surprised that she is small. they miss a lot of nutrition when that ill.

you also have no idea how big her parents were which would be a big factor.

age on a shelter dog is a crap shoot at best. you read teeth & it's not an exact science altho at that age they should have been pretty close

Agree with that...probably lack of nutrition causes her slow growth performance...

[lil mutt]

if it was due to lack of nutrition then you should work double time to give your dog a proper nutrition...

In my experience, I think it might be malnutrition. Definitely try to boost up the nutrition factor.

I think you should consult a Good experenced vet first to know better and also you should talk about the proper nutrition.

[wishbone]

Can you share some of her photo? Hope nothing more than lack of nutrition why she's thin, and she's not suffering any serious medical issue in her.

Consider contacting with a vet asap.

I think you should consult a experenced vet, thats the road i would take first

one thing about humane societys and shelters, is I don't think they really think about the age or breed of the animal. They go by first sight, and what they think. I am really good at telling the dogs breed, and what they are mixed with, have been looking at dog breeds since I was like 5-6 so I kind of know the difference (don't mean to be arrogant or anything) but I have been through the shelters and seen them put a dog up as a shepherd mix and it be a Border Collie mix or something. Also I know for a fact that they don't know how to tell ages very well considering I had a puppy that was 6 months, she ended up in the humane society and they said she was a year and like 2 months, and I know for a fact she wasn't that old. So I wouldn't trust Humane Society real well. From the sound of your dog, it does seem that the dog that you have is a little younger than they might of suspected but not too much younger because dogs teeth at different ages. I got a pitbull puppy at about 4-5 months and she had already gone through the teething stage, so I would have to say that your puppy is probably younger than that.