[Angiethegolden]

Hello !
8 months ago, I got my first puppy, a golden retriever. Her name is Angie.
Unfortunately, she is too small for her age. We have been feeding her kibble as well as chicken, rice and veggies.
We got her the 28th of august 2021 and she was two months at that time, she is now 10 months old and weights 17kg.

10 months old female golden retrievers should weight at least 23 kg, I am really worried about her growth.
We went to see the vet a month ago to check her out, he said that she is not underweight (her bones aren't showing) and is healthy even though she is petite.
Also, these last few months she started loosing her appetite, she refuses to eat in the morning and eats only at night. This worries me even more since not eating means not growing as much.

We got her from a guy that had his own golden give birth to 5 puppies and he never dewormed them. We also didn't deworm her as much we should have. I think this may be the cause of her smallness.

Can she still grow ? Or is she going to be this small for the rest of her life ?

 

[Jasmyne]

Are you certain she is purebred?

 

[Angiethegolden]

Are you certain she is purebred?

I am not certain 100% but I dont think the guy lied to us and I think that she does look like a golden retriever.

 

[Jasmyne]

Were mom and dad breed standard size?

 

[Prism Goldens]

I'd start now w the deworming- you can order pyrantel pamoate by columbia labs on line w no script.. and change her food, so to make it more appealing, give her plenty of exercise, treats for mental exercise, and hope she will hit another growth spurt. I had a girl grow a full inch after she was 15 mo old, but that is rare I think.

 

[DanaRuns]

At 10 months old, she probably still has a little height to gain. But, assuming proper nutrition and the absence of certain serious diseases, her genetics will control her final size. You can slow it down or speed it up, but her final size is going to be determined what's in her genes.

She looks pure bred, to me. And a real cutie pie.

Like Prism, I once had a young Golden female who was freakishly small. She eventually ended up being within the breed standard, though on the smaller size. She was a rescue, and had been raised in severely poor conditions, which may have had something to do with it. As long as your girl is getting enough food (and I agree with Prism about exercise and giving her super enticing food) and stays relatively healthy, she will reach her maximum genetic potential for size. That may be small. You won't know until you get there. So, rather than focusing on size, focus instead on food and health.

How much are you feeding her? I'll tell you that by 8 months old, my puppies are usually eating 3-4 cups of kibble per day, and they are always pretty lean. When we show them, we always have to kind of beef them up for the ring. Are you under-feeding her?

 

[Angiethegolden]

Were mom and dad breed standard size?

I have only seen the mother in a photo next to the breeder and her size looked pretty normal for a golden.

I'd start now w the deworming- you can order pyrantel pamoate by columbia labs on line w no script.. and change her food, so to make it more appealing, give her plenty of exercise, treats for mental exercise, and hope she will hit another growth spurt. I had a girl grow a full inch after she was 15 mo old, but that is rare I think.

I started with the deworming on april. This month too, and I'll continue doing it every two months, then every three months.
What's worrying me right now is her not having appetite at all. She started refusing to eat her dinner too. She eats only if I handfeed her what's in her bowl. I think this may have to do with a recent event that happenned. We were on vacation to see the waterfalls in Ouzoud, we decided to take a break from the neverending stairs and entered a small den with carpets to sit on. We stayed there for about an hour, then suddenly, out of nowhere, we've got scared by a very powerful impact sound just above our heads, it was two monkeys, one falling after the other on our roof. Poor Angie got so scared as she was shaking and her heart was beating so fast. We tried petting her, giving her water but she only calmed down after about an hour. From this day she started barely eating. She also listens carefully to every sound she hears, I think she may have some anxiety. Right now, we are giving her Nuravit syrup wich helped her regain a little appetite, but she still isn't eating ennough in my opinion.

As long as your girl is getting enough food (and I agree with Prism about exercise and giving her super enticing food) and stays relatively healthy, she will reach her maximum genetic potential for size. That may be small. You won't know until you get there. So, rather than focusing on size, focus instead on food and health.

How much are you feeding her? I'll tell you that by 8 months old, my puppies are usually eating 3-4 cups of kibble per day, and they are always pretty lean. When we show them, we always have to kind of beef them up for the ring. Are you under-feeding her?

She is very playful and energetic, she loves to run and play with other dogs and kids. I will do my best to provide her with some appetizing food. Health is more important than size, I agree, that's what worries me, she stopped eating like she used to once she got to 8 months old.
Once she started being six months old, I fed her twice a day. I don't feed her kibble all the time since she prefers homemade food. I hope I haven't under fed her, I'm already upset she is this small.
Here are some other pictures I have taken recently that, I hope, will give you an idea about her size.

 

[Prism Goldens]

Every two months will not solve a parasite problem- every two weeks for two months should. worms, worms and more worms.... will give you an idea of what you're battling- a history long strategy designed to keep worms here!
So you don't say how much you are feeding her, just that you're feeding twice a day. Leave the homemade to snacks- if you are concerned @ her size, you need to feed a food that is designed to satisfy any nutritional deficits.

 

[mylissyk]

She is right at the age where puppies may self regulate and not eat as much food as they had been eating while they were growing so quickly. You may be offering her more than she needs. I think she will eventually be a fairly normal size.

 

[Angiethegolden]

Every two months will not solve a parasite problem- every two weeks for two months should. worms, worms and more worms.... will give you an idea of what you're battling- a history long strategy designed to keep worms here!
So you don't say how much you are feeding her, just that you're feeding twice a day. Leave the homemade to snacks- if you are concerned @ her size, you need to feed a food that is designed to satisfy any nutritional deficits.

My vet told me to start deworming her every month first then every two, but I guess it won't solve the problem. We went yesterday and he told me that since she has fleas, they cause her to have worms so we should treat the fleas to treat the worms.
Since I only fed her homemade food, I didn't really measure how much I gave her, but since she hasn't fully grown, I may have not given her enough.
Thank you for your advice, I will start deworming her every two weeks from now on. I will also start feeding her more kibble since it contains all the vitamins she needs, she won't eat much of it for now since she is used to homemade food.
Also do you have any advice on how to make her eat in the morning ? She only eats once a day (at night).