Thought I'd throw some pics up of Kato. He's growing to be a great boy though as would be expected is starting to be a trouble maker, he wrecked his mums flash carbon fibre fishing rod yesterday which she wasn't too happy about

We've been taking him to dog training & he's doing great though is a little lazy & pretty clumsy, funny to watch though  

Here's a couple of pics.

Kato @ 8 weeks when he first arrived home.


Kato's now 17weeks & weighs a bit over 20kg.







He's turning out to be a great dog & we're looking forward to getting our 2nd Aussie soon  

He's gonna be a big boy!  Looks like he's in tip-top shape.  Just as a matter of interest - is he on a large breed puppy diet?  Those bones look like they're growing pretty quickly...

He's a big spunk.  Looking forward to your next boy too...  

Merissa  

We've been feeding him Puppy supercoat with a couple of raw eggs a week aswell as gamey meat like rabbit & deer. He doesn't get over fed & is in great shape as I'm a bit conscientious about him carrying extra weight through summer as it gets pretty hot here on the border.

It's not the weight I'm concerned with, it's the balance of calcium and joint protection that you get in a large-breed diet that you don't with regular puppy food.  Supercoat is fine, but not for any dog that will weigh over 25kg as an adult - I'm guessing Kato will be at least 35-40kg judging by his growth rate.  I can already tell by his leg bones that they're growing very quickly.  The large-breed diets are designed to slow the growth to an extent (but not to restrict growth potential) so that the bones and joints can develop properly.  Osteochondrosis and hip and elbow dysplasia are largely due to nutrition rather than genetics.  I know you get a lot of contradicting advice over the internet, but check with your vet - any dog with the potential to be over 25kg should be on a large-breed puppy diet as a base, obviously the added meat and egg etc is fine...

Merissa  

lookin good mate

Thanks for the reply Merissa, it's always good to get some guidance from those in the know so to speak.

I'll have a better look into his diet & if I have any queries, I'll be sure to ask  

Grechy,
Looking good mate! be good to see him in person sometime.

Matt

No probs Joe - he's such a healthy looking boy, I'd love him to stay that way...  

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