rottweiler growth rate after being treated for parvo

 

At three months old, my male rottweiler pup developed parvo (even after being vaccinated). He spent six days in ICU and my vets miraculously saved him. He weighed 18 pounds after coming home.

He is now 12 months old and weighs 89 pounds. His grandfather is a large guy and his mother is average. I have not seen his father. Question: Can parvo change the growth rate of a male rottie?

Hi
I’m afraid I’m not a veterinarian and so I can’t give a professional answer to this question, and it may be one you would also like to ask your own vet, or an online vet such as you’ll find on my Ask A Vet A Question page.

However, I have had personal experience of a Rottweiler puppy having contracted Parvovirus after being vaccinated (until all puppy vaccinations are completed – 4 sets – are completed there is always a risk, and even full vaccination is no 100% guarantee I’m afraid).

When there’s Parvo in puppies there’s generally a period of slower growth and development in the months directly after the illness, but given time it’s my experience that they do in fact catch up eventually.

I think it may simply be that your Rottweiler pup is still very young (at 12 months he’s still an adolescent pup)… he won’t be considered mature or reach his full adult size until he’s somewhere around 2 years old, possibly as late as 3 years old. He will also get his full height before he reaches his full weight, so for a pretty extended period of time most adolescent Rottweilers look a bit ‘gangly’, awkward and out of proportion. Underweight even at times.

However, as long as you’re feeding him a premium quality puppy food (see my Best Puppy Food page for more on this) and he’s healthy and active, then he should eventually reach his full potential quite nicely.

You can learn more about Rottweiler puppy growth and development on my Rottweiler Puppy Growth Chart page, but do bear in mind that every pup is different and your pup may still have some catching up to do.

I hope this helps, and wish you both all the best. Your Rottweiler is one of the lucky ones to have survived Canine Parvovirus and I hope he has a long, happy healthy life ahead of him.

Comments for rottweiler growth rate after being treated for parvo

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Nov 13, 2010

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parvo
by: kathy

my rottie smithy had parvo around 5 months old , it affected his growth quite a lot for a couple of years really but came on all of a sudden into a very large strong fit dog , he did have all his injections but unfortunately when tested it proved they had come from a bad batch , so was of no use ,luckily he pulled thru , tho i did spend every day for a week sat in a small room at vets with him, only going home when they shut, then just as he hits his peak he gets cancer , had lumps cut out , 5 in total , doin well at mo , but need to check him regular .


Sep 15, 2010

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Small female Rottweiler
by: Anonymous

My puppy is 10 mo old now and weights 62 lb. I heard that every month the dog is and a 0 after it and usually that’s the weight it should be. By statistics she should be 100 lbs but no matter how big she grows that doesn’t matter to me because I love her. My male rottie got to be 130 lbs but they say males are bigger. That is the least of your problem. Cherish your puppy for what she is and be sure to take her for obedeience training.


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About The Rotty lover 2159 Articles
My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone