weight loss

Question
We got our male shepherd at 5 months of age he is now 9 months old and looks thin even though his eating habits have not changed.  He is a very large male, is this due to growth or something i should be concerned about. He has not been fixed. We have 2 females age 7 that we have had since she was 9 weeks old and 3 that we have had since she was born.  Do not recall this issue with them but it has been awhile. We had another male who passed away a few years ago that we did not have this issue with either.  He is a great family pet but we are a little concerned, he has grown at least 4 inches in height since we got him.  He is currently 26" at the shoulder when standing.

Answer
A quote from my puppy raising manual, ''Note: German Shepherd puppies typically will look very thin throughout puppyhood.''  As long as it is easy to feel his ribs, feed him all he will eat of a meat based food.  If his ribs show a little, don't worry about it, that is the way many young Shepherds are.  His growth should be leveling off now, and he may start to bulk up a little.  Feeding an adult or all life stages food will slow his growth allowing his joints to develop under less stress.