german shepherd puppy

Question
hi, my german shepherd female pup tymber is only 5 months old and already the same size as her mom, only her mom weighs 70 pounds and my tymber is already 62 pounds, she has been off of puppy food for a time now and the vet says all is good and her joints and all are great. he did say to put her on 1/2 and 1/2 of dog chow with a reduced cal food. is this too big for a german shepherd pup ?  

Answer
I think Shepherds tend to shoot up fast.  Depending on the genes from the father, she could end up bigger than her mother.  I am very supportive of the early switch to adult, actually all life stages food.  Some adult foods have over 1.5% calcium which can cause problems.  I am not completely happy with the reduced cal food.  How much experience does your vet have with shepherds and other Large breeds?  Labs and some other breeds are often over fed and become too heavy.  Shepherds often keep themselves lean, even the ribs showing a little.  If your vet is highly experienced with Shepherds, I guess go with the low cal.  

Diets for large breed puppies are very controversial.  Nobody has more data on large breed puppies that the service dog schools.  Most of them have their puppies on all life stages food by 4-5 months and are very strict about keeping the dog lean.  I believe pet owners should do the same.  It doesn't sound like your dog is overweight.  

Check the ends of the leg bones.  If they are still much knobbier than an adult's, the growth plates are still open and it is still growing.  If not, do not expect much more growth.

You may find this link interesting,   http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/134/8/2027S