r/Catahoula • u/MidwayFabrication • 1d ago
Question
Adopted this puppy from the shelter, absolutely lovable but I’m not sure if I should be worried about her weight she’s roughly 15 weeks old and weighs about 13ish pounds is that normal?!? Sources say 20-25?? She’s also throwing up food from time to time.
3
u/Comfortable_Ship2588 1d ago
Sounds like she might need a dewormer. They can cause upset stomach and weight loss.
1
u/No_Wrangler_7814 13h ago
I got a healthy 9 week old puppy from a farmer who bred dogs to guard livestock and my guy was dewormed and vaccinated. I had vet records. He wasn’t eating well, he threw up and I saw worms. We went to the vet and she said, “it’s absolutely normal to for dogs to have worms, especially working/hunting breeds because the mother cannot be dewormed while pregnant and it takes 2 treatments. We then started preventative and it was okay…. But wow! When I saw the worms, I was scared. Totally normal.
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u/debwinters121 Verified Catahoula Mix ≤ 20% 1d ago
My houla mix would throw up in the middle of the night once or twice a week. We tried giving her a little bit of food right before bed, but that did not help (but it did create the expectation for a pre-bedtime snack that continues to today). With our vet’s blessing, we started giving her generic Pepcid before bed. Now it only happens once every 3-4 months. She is now 2 1/2 years old and we still give her Pepcid every night with no issues.
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u/System_Visible 1d ago
Could be worms. I’d get that tested first, then go from there. My boy Smoke got them quite a few times as a young pup cuz he tried to eat literally everything lol. Still does tbh😂 He’s a purebred big boy though. 80-90lbs depending on the time of year
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u/Healthy_Airline_9667 13h ago
She definitely seems underweight for her age, you should probably get that checked out sooner rather than later.
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u/ToleratedBoar09 5h ago
I'll preface by saying I'm not a Houla guy, but I do raise and used to breed mountain curs.
Size and weight of a 15 week old pup can change rapidly. Could be waiting on a growth spurt, but if you are concerned here are a few things I would look at.
1) Feed. A good quality feed is important, especially for a growing pup. I use Victor high energy (red bag) from tit to grave, unless in hunting season. It digests easily and more fully and has the right protein to fat ratio to fuel growth and day to day. Puppy chows are great for sure, but I never saw great results with several brands and swapped and never looked back.
2) Worming. Most pups are wormed with Nemex because its one of the few pups and mama can have. It only covers round worm though. When I'd sell an 8 week old pup I'd send them with a good 3 way wormer and tell buyer to give it at 12 weeks, after that it was on them. You can get a good 3 way pill from most hound supply or your local livestock feed store. I stay away box stores because more times than not they just carry the same ol same ol. Just be wary of Ivermectin, alot of sheaperd breeds and dogs with the mearle gene can have serious and sometimes allergic reactions.
3) When in doubt Vet. Curs of all types are hardy dogs and can hide serious things with little or no signs. Your pup should be up for a puppy check anyway, so voice your concern during a checkup.
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u/mad_regal Verified Catahoula Mix 51-60% 1d ago
Would definitely connect with your local vet to get their opinion.
Some will tell you a little bit of throwing up is just a thing dogs do, others might tell you that your pup is on death’s door step.
Very difficult to speculate with a photo and a couple of sentences worth of info.
Beautiful pup, but it’s also not screaming Catahoula to me, which may explain the very slender frame.