Rottweiler Puppy Eating And Exercise Habits

Chloro is 10 weeks old and a very active girl. I have a couple of questions/concerns on her Eating and Exercise habits.

Eating – I feed her 3 time a day but she never happens to finish the food. Also I feel that she is not excited to eat, she skips meals, as she shows no interest in the food. I give her Royal Canine weaning kibbles. Is this natural for Rottie pups? Or is there something that I am doing wrong?

I visited the vet on 10th of Sep and at 5 week she weighed 6.2 KG’s. Is she under weight due to her lack of eating?

Exercise – I make her exercise twice a day. Before going to work and after I come back home. She gets 10 mins of walk on tar road, 15 minutes of play time (fairly rough surface) and 10 minutes of obedience training. Also the other this is that I stay in a two storied home. She often climbs up and down the stairs (15 – 20 steps) 3 to 4 time a day. Is this ok?

Is there anything else that I need to know???








Hi
I wouldn't worry too much about Chloros' eating habits, puppies tend to go through phases and stages in terms of appetite. Sometimes very hungry, other times not even interested, this is very normal and as long as she's growing, is active and seems happy and healthy I'm sure all is well.

Don't try to force her to eat, just offer her a good quality puppy food (what you are using is fine) and give her 10 or 15 minutes to eat. Then remove whatever is left and don't offer her 'snacks' or anything other than tiny training treats before the next meal. Nature won't allow her to starve herself if she's healthy, and it's better to keep a Rottweiler puppy on the 'lean' side when growing to protect developing bones/joints as much as possible.

If she weighed just over 13lbs at 5 weeks she's not underweight, but no two pups are the same and Rottweilers are slow to develop and mature. You really won't be able to tell how big she's going to be for a long time! Rotties weren't originally bred to be 'giant' or 'extra-large' dogs, and it's much more important that a Rottweiler is well constructed in terms of conformation, healthy and active than that he or she is huge.

As for exercise, it sounds as though you're doing just fine there too. The flights of stairs could be a potential problem, but as there's really not too much option but for her to climb them, just take it slow and carefully. With any large breed such as a Rottweiler, the growing bones/ligaments etc. are at risk of damage from over-exercising or falling etc., during the first 18 months or so, and stairs are a risk factor. However, although it's not an ideal situation, but you'll just need to be as careful as you can be and I'm sure it will work out well.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your puppy