[cholesmom]

Our puppy Chloe is almost 7 months old and still has somewhat prominent ribs. Early on we had some major problems with parasites( she had just about all of them) but much medication later she has gotten a clean bill of health. My concern is her weight, she is growing and getting longer and larger but those ribs just continue to show. After viewing many basset puppy pics online it seems as though her "look" is not typical. She is on a high quality dog food called medley (made with chicken brown rice and veggies) and is eating approx 2-3 cups per day. Are basset ribs prominent or should she be "plumper" in that area? I appreciate any input you may have.

 

[Betsy Iole]

Different puppies grow at different rates...some get very long and skinny for a while, while others stay pretty well-proportioned for their whole puppyhood.

Your vet would probably be the best person to assess Chloe's nutritional status. Bear in mind that "over-nutrition" is also thought to contribute to certain developmental disorders of the skeletal system, so it's probably more desirable for a basset to be slightly on the thin side than on the pudgy side.

 

[prechrswife]

Our Max's ribs showed some when he went through that awkward "teenaged puppy" phase. We, too, worried that he might not be eating enough. Now, he is 3 years old and has filled out nicely. It was just something that he had to grow out of. I don't know if that was any help, but that was our experience, anyway.

 

[puttemanp]

Lola (3,5 months old) also has quite prominent ribs. In fact, everyone says she's to skinny, except the vet
Lola is growing in length for the moment. When I compare pics of her with pics of Maurice at the same age, Maurice was much less long than Lola is now, but he was much rounder than she is.
Maurice became a huge basset hound (in fact, he's the largest of all the bassets I've ever seen). Don't know how Lola will turn out, but she's on the same diet as Maurice was at her age. I expect her, as its a female, to be much thinner than Maurice anyway.

Patrick

 

[Eli]

My basset Droopy is 3 almost 4 years of age and is as healthy as ever but is a skiny basset not like most of the bassets who are quite mmm...FAT He is what I like to call a sporty dog.He loves to go out and chase cats.

 

[cholesmom]

Thank you all for your input it has reassured me that Chloe is probably fine.. as i mentioned earlier she recently recv'd a clean bill of health ...we have gotten many comments on how looooooong she has gotten from friends and family...this is probably the reason for the ribs.