“Is my puppy a healthy weight?” We field this question pretty commonly from new pet owners. It can be hard to tell if your new furry family member is in healthy body condition or not, particularly with some puppies being very fluffy and/or sporting loose skin rolls or little round bellies full of food! Here’s how to assess your puppy’s condition, and what to do if you’re concerned.

How to assess body condition score
With “normal” puppy weight being extremely variable based on breed and natural variation between individuals, we tend to look at overall body condition scores instead.

You can assess your pet’s body condition score by gently palpating (finger tapping) over their ribs, waist and belly to assess their fat coverage, as demonstrated on this chart.

Bear in mind that some puppies may have a temporary round belly after eating a big meal, so it may be worth focusing more on their ribcage area for assessment!

Uh oh, is my puppy overweight?
If you think your puppy might be overweight, we’d advise having them checked by one of our vets to ensure your assessment is correct before we look at potentially altering their diet or feeding routines.

Being overweight during growth can negatively affect joint development, particularly in larger breed dogs.

Why might my puppy be underweight?
If you think your puppy might be underweight, we’d advise a prompt veterinary assessment to confirm this and to look for the underlying cause.

Puppies may be underweight due to:

• Insufficient food quantity or quality
• Internal parasites, such as roundworms
• Gastrointestinal issues
• Congenital issues, such as a portosystemic shunt (a liver blood vessel problem that some puppies can be born with)

If we diagnose your puppy as being underweight, we may recommend dietary changes and/or further diagnostic testing, such as poo analysis or blood tests, depending on their general health.

For more information on healthy puppy body condition and home care, contact our helpful team.