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| Hi,
I'm the proud owner of a 10 month old Dog (not neutered yet).
I've got a few concerns about his health and would be grateful to hear if I'm being paranoid.
(I've previously had an OES 18 years ago who lived until he was 13, so I'm familiar with the breed. I'm aware different dogs will be different, so hope you don't think my concerns silly.)
a) As I mentioned, he's now 10 months. His weight is only 26kg. He's 25" at the shoulder. He hasn't really put on weight over the last 4 or 5 weeks. (He even dropped a kilo 2 weeks ago and put it back on last week.) He's fit and strong and boisterous etc, but he just seems quite skinny. He does have muscle, but generally, his bones feel quite pronounced (spine, ribcage etc). He's had vet checkups etc and they said he's fine.
b) On the roof of his mouth directly behind his top front teeth there is a small area where the skins is spongey to the touch. The rest of the roof is as you would expect - the skin is taut. It doesn't hurt or irritate him - even when I touch or examine it. The vet put him under general to examine it properly and perhaps operate if necessary. In the end, they said it was "perfectly normal". I've never come across this with any of my previous dogs. To me, "normal" would be that the skin is taut and not spongey. Has anyone ever heard of this? I am thinking of seeking a second opinion but would be interested to hear whether others have experienced this before stressing him out with a different vet.
c) He's a very happy, boisterous, fun loving, playful, characterful dog as we'd all expect. However, he's not at all cuddly. He prefers his own company when he feels lazy or sleepy and has never wanted cuddles or flopping down on our laps. He laps any physical attention, both rough and gentle play, but stops short of silent, still contact. He has absolutely no aggression or anything, so I'm not worried on that score. Perhaps he just prefers to sprawl on his own. Love him anyway:)
I'd be interested to hear other peoples experience or thoughts on this.
Many thanks. | |
| Hi!
I'm afraid I can't offer any advice other than to say that at 10 months I'm not sure 25kg is all that light, he should continue to fill out.
Welcome to the community! I hope that others with more experience can help with some better answers. | I have a just over 12 month old, not neutered, who is 37 kg's and 25 1/2" at shoulder so yes maybe if his bones are protruding you need more weight on him. What are you feeding him? Maybe a change in feed to a more calorie higher brand is needed.
No have not heard of spongy skin on the roof of the mouth, would it be maybe a partial cleft Palette with the skin just covering the abnormality? When he does eat does he do so with no trouble?
How long have you had your 10 month old? If not long then with the weight loss maybe just adjusting to a new enviroment and still settling in. In Kg's and 10 months and a Male I would expect him to be a bit more heavier then he is.
Let's know what sort of feed you have him on? | Hi and welcome to the forum!
Our boy is 19 months and not at all cuddly either. We have kind of had to teach him cuddles, he would much rather play than be stroked, actually he would much rather play than eat. Our boy was about 31Kilos when he was 10 months and our vet told us to put a little weight on him, we are still struggling but I think he has put on a little.
Have a good look around the forum, I know you had a sheepie before but there is so much info here! I'm glad you joined  | I would not worry about the weight. It takes awhile for the bone mass, muscles and fat to even out to adult proportions. Unless the back bone is standing proud, that is obviously raised above the ribs, the boy is fine, especially if the vet saw no reason for concern. Once the nipper gets to 18 months you'll have a whole different dog on your hands.
The soft mouth, if the vet took cell samples and found no problem, then be patient. Or it could be this will be his personal trait.
Not a cuddler? Sounds like he's perfectly content with himself and doesn't need constant reinforcement. I assume you are teaching him is commands so he does respond to you (he's not deaf?)......for him right now life is just too exciting.....which could explain his weight........he is constantly in motion.
Yes, each is different. | How many meals is he getting a day? And how much? I am not sure I know some people fee 3 times a day or twice a day and that might help him with his caloric intake.
Is he active most of the day or does he have rest periods? He might need a forced nap/quiet time just to help with maintaining calories.
Also if you are still worried about weight I (this will sound crazy) but is his area you are keeping him in cool to cold? He might be burning calories just trying to keep warm. (I know a sheepie should over heat most often but it is just an idea, a crazy one)
When he does nap he might just be so tired that he doesn't want to be snuggled or petted as he might find it stimulating and he just wants to rest. (basically he might find it keeps him awake when he is over tired) |
Ron wrote:
Hi!
I'm afraid I can't offer any advice other than to say that at 10 months I'm not sure 25kg is all that light, he should continue to fill out.
Welcome to the community! I hope that others with more experience can help with some better answers. |
Thanks for your reassurance. It's valuable to get different opinions and balance them out. |
lisaoes wrote:
What are you feeding him? Maybe a change in feed to a more calorie higher brand is needed.
No have not heard of spongy skin on the roof of the mouth, would it be maybe a partial cleft Palette with the skin just covering the abnormality? When he does eat does he do so with no trouble?
How long have you had your 10 month old? If not long then with the weight loss maybe just adjusting to a new enviroment and still settling in. In Kg's and 10 months and a Male I would expect him to be a bit more heavier then he is.
Let's know what sort of feed you have him on? |
I've had him from 8 weeks old. He's fed a complete puppy food of Eukanuba (Large Breed Puppy) mixed with a bit of James Wellbeloved (Junior) and a tiny bit of tinned puppy food to help vary flavour a bit. (Found he was getting bored with same thing, so had to spice it up a bit as sometimes he was missing whole meals. He hasn't missed many now - perhaps 1 every couple of weeks.) He does eat most of his breakfast and usually all of his dinner.
As for his mouth, the spongey bit doesn't cover anything sinister. I've run my finger around his palate and there are no ridges or holes. The firm tissue below the skin including the spongey bit is uniform.
He has no problem eating. He chews pigs hide bones and biscuits ok. Also, he loves playing tug with toys that would be in hard contact with that part of his mouth with no problem. It's all a bit of a mystery. |
Hint of Mischief wrote:
Hi and welcome to the forum!
Our boy is 19 months and not at all cuddly either. We have kind of had to teach him cuddles, he would much rather play than be stroked, actually he would much rather play than eat. Our boy was about 31Kilos when he was 10 months and our vet told us to put a little weight on him, we are still struggling but I think he has put on a little.
Have a good look around the forum, I know you had a sheepie before but there is so much info here! I'm glad you joined |
You've the nail on the head - he'd rather play than do anything else. I think he feels cuddles are pointless if he could be playing instead. I'm sure he say's to himself "I'm not wasting time on this girly fluffy stuff, I wanna play play play." I hope over time he'll come around. He's not anti social or stand offish or anything, I suppose he just likes stillness when he's tired. He has quieter moments with us, but still prefers to zonk out alone. |
SheepieBoss wrote:
I would not worry about the weight. It takes awhile for the bone mass, muscles and fat to even out to adult proportions. Unless the back bone is standing proud, that is obviously raised above the ribs, the boy is fine, especially if the vet saw no reason for concern. Once the nipper gets to 18 months you'll have a whole different dog on your hands.
The soft mouth, if the vet took cell samples and found no problem, then be patient. Or it could be this will be his personal trait.
Not a cuddler? Sounds like he's perfectly content with himself and doesn't need constant reinforcement. I assume you are teaching him is commands so he does respond to you (he's not deaf?)......for him right now life is just too exciting.....which could explain his weight........he is constantly in motion.
Yes, each is different. |
I think because I had an OES all those years ago, it's too easy to compare, when I know they are bound to be different. I suppose the main thing is he's very happy, alert and positive, even if I do think he's a bit skinny. Reading other comments, perhaps I'm worrying about his weight unnecessarily at the moment, though there are other posts that reinforce my worry that he could perhaps do with a bit more meat on his bones. His ribs, spine and pelvis etc are very obvious when you run your hand over him, but certainly nothing stands out/protrudes as abnormal to me (or the vet).
The vet said his mouth was normal, so didn't take any samples. It's mainly me fretting about something that I've never encountered as being "normal" before.
I like how you express his non cuddliness as being because he is content and doesn't need constant reinforcement. What a great way to put it:) I hadn't thought of it that way. You'll see from my other posts that he is very happy and content and loves fusses and contact, so I guess he just wants his own space to sleep. After all, why sleep on our lap if he could be wriggling around on it having his tummy rubbed instead.
He does respond to training and commands very well, so I don't think there are any communication issues around us bonding or anything.
He's not constantly in motion and does have long periods of quiet during the day when we are working (from home - don't worry, he's not left alone). He is VERY active when he's out for walks / runs, but because of the weight worry, I do make sure he's not over exercised. |
Guest wrote:
How many meals is he getting a day? And how much? I am not sure I know some people fee 3 times a day or twice a day and that might help him with his caloric intake.
Is he active most of the day or does he have rest periods? He might need a forced nap/quiet time just to help with maintaining calories.
Also if you are still worried about weight I (this will sound crazy) but is his area you are keeping him in cool to cold? He might be burning calories just trying to keep warm. (I know a sheepie should over heat most often but it is just an idea, a crazy one)
When he does nap he might just be so tired that he doesn't want to be snuggled or petted as he might find it stimulating and he just wants to rest. (basically he might find it keeps him awake when he is over tired) |
He's fed twice a day. Morning at about 7.45 and evening at about 6.00.
He's fed a complete puppy food of Eukanuba (Large Breed Puppy) mixed with a bit of James Wellbeloved (Junior) and a tiny bit of tinned puppy food to help vary flavour a bit. (Found he was getting bored with same thing, so had to spice it up a bit as sometimes he was missing whole meals. He hasn't missed many now - perhaps 1 every couple of weeks.) He does eat most of his breakfast and usually all of his dinner. In all, he gets about 400g to 450g a day (proportions based on the recommendations of the makers). He also gets treats during training.
He is VERY active when he's out walking and playing with other dogs (and I'm conscious of not over exercising him due to his weight). However, he sleeps and rests most of the day time and is more active in the evenings when we are indoors. Overall, I don't think over activity is burning off all his calories.
He sleeps in the hall which is warmish, but not hot. He has a habit of searching out drafts if he can find them - but we don't allow him to stay there. I don't think he's cold, but it is a valid consideration. | He won't be too cold in Bristol UK  I've never seen my boy shiver with cold, he even wanted to lie down and sleep in the snow, he likes an evening nap outside before bed and I had to drag him in!
It sounds to me like you have a normal, contented sheepie boy
By the way, your feeding routine sound OK. We feed Purina Pro Plan complete, usually about 500g a day, but put tinned food in (and sometimes a little cheese) to keep him interested too. Let him see you are putting away all the toys at feeding time, this works with our Rufus. | | Thanks to everyone for your comments. |
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