Emaciated dog? How long for dog to fully recover?

Question

I asked this question before, but only got one answer so I'll ask one more time.

A friend of mine adopted a rescue pit bull that was severely neglected by its previous owners. The dog was about a year old and was practically wasted away. You could see all the bones in its skull, the spine and ribs and it had no muscle mass. My friend has had the dog for about 8 months and the dog is perfectly healthy now, but is very lightly built considering that he's a male. He's 20+ inches tall and weighs a little over 40lbs. I know my friend feeds the dog Merrick and takes the dog every where he goes (he's a runner) so the dog gets plenty of exercise. Will the dog always be a little smaller than he should be, because of the terrible condition he was in the first year of his life? Is there a chance that he will continue to grow heavier with a good diet and exercise? Just wondering because I know it irks him everytime someone mistakes the dog for a "pretty girl" because he isn't as massive as your typical male APBT.

Answer 1

Like a child, the most important part of develop happens early on... and for dogs it's the 1st 1-1.5yrs of it's life that they grow the most. If he's only just 1yr then he will more then likely continue to slowly fill out over the next 6-12mos but I doubt he will ever be much bigger. Usually at 1yr they are really close to their full grown height but not totally filled out... which is why I say he may add on some weight in the next yr. My dog at 1yr was her same height as now but about 5-6lbs lighter (which is alot for a dog). Just keep giving the dog good food and exercise and he will develop some more, but don't expect a huge different.

Answer 2

It's hard to say. If he was severely malnourished during the time that his body was growing, it is possible that he will be smaller than the average dog of his type and age. He should consult his vet and ask him that question.

Answer 3

Your friend sounds wonderful.  Also, congrats for feeding the dog a quality food.  If this dog is under 18 months old, he will still probably fill out a little more and gain some weight.  If he is older than that, either he might be mixed with another breed, or it's just genetic because the size of his parents.  I wouldn't worry about his size very much.  Just the fact that he was rescued and brought back to health is reward enough.

Answer 4

Massively built pits are a freakish (and in my opinion) ugly new trend. Most Pits should be in the 50 lb range.  Yes, the dog may remain small due to the trauma.  All a pup's energy that should have gone into growing went into keeping the dog alive.  I have a cat that suffered a life-threatening illness at a very young age and her growth was stunted.  She's 8 years old and weighs under 4 lbs.

Thank your friend for me for saving this life.  Good luck!

Answer 5

It might just be his build.  My APBT is about 10 months old and he is very lean.  We feed him good quality food, and he eats as much as he likes.  He also gets plenty of exercise.  At 7 months, he was 40 pounds.  He has grown a bit since then, but he doesn't seem to have gained much, if any, weight.

He is probably younger than your friend's APBT, so it's hard to compare the 2.  We are hoping he will start filling out soon though, so I understand how your friend is feeling!

Answer 6

actually the average for a APBT( I'm assuming that's what he is) is 35 - 55 pounds and 18-22 inches in height he sounds like a regular pit bull. A APBT should not look like this http://www.bulldogbreeds.com/breeders/pi...

This is a beautiful example of a APBT http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/l...

Answer 7

The average weight for an APBT is 35 to 55 lbs, so your friend's dog is within normal range.   The huge ones you see are bred to look menacing and oversizing dogs like that from their norm causes all sorts of genetic problems as far as their health is concerned.

When it was fashionable to have the biggest, baddest german shepherd in town, they were so overbred that the hip displasia is rampant in the breed now - same happened to other large breeds.

Tell your friend to keep feeding her dog well, take good care of him, and be happy that he is healthy and a good weight now.   She's a kind person to have taken him and given him the break he needed and she sure doesn't need to make excuses to ignorant people for having a very fine weight APBT.

They were never meant to be mutants just so macho idiots could brag about what killer giants they are.   This is a major reason the breed has such a bad rap -

Answer 8

His growth may be stunted from the neglect. Or it could be that he was the "runt" of the litter. My male pit is about the age of your friend's. He weighs 50 lbs but one of his brothers weighs about 40 lbs. yet another brother is a chunk, weighs about a whopping 60 lbs.  The 40- & 60 lb. brothers have the same owner, are fed the same food, etc.  My dog was neutered not long ago and gained a couple of pounds since then, but other than that I believe he's done growing.   Go shopping for your friend, buy a dog collar that is clearly masculine (blue?) and a dog bandanna, the kind with a velcro strip they are so quick and easy to put on. Get one in blue or with a masculine pattern like camo and people will know he's a boy.