At a dog show recently the judge said my Shetland sheepdog puppy was lacking a bit of substance and needed her bone building up. He said to feed more food but surely she could then be overweight? She is raw fed.

She is 6.43 kilo and 9 months old.

IMO you can't feed for bone as this is genetically determined, so what the pup has is what it has. On the whole raw fed youngsters are often slower to develop and carry less body fat, I fed raw for a while but have returned to feeding kibble as for my dogs the body conditionon was better on kibble and they do seem to fair better on some carbs ( the Orijen and similar feeds didn't suit them either ) this will horrify the raw feeders but that has been my experience.

Hello Gaby

  I'm no specialist in your breed but I am aware that judging in going in favour of the American standard/type , which is heavier and an exaggeration of the  traditional Shetland Sheepdogs. This has happened in my breed, Border Collies. This 'good bone/better bone 'has everything to do with breeding for show as opposed to breeding for 'fit for purpose'. And has nothing to add to health issues within the breed. It is bad science at best, witless breeding for accolades at worst.

Shetland Sheepdog enthusiasts are welcome to challenge me on this !

Similar tendency in my breed stateside to want heavier and bigger and more bone than the FCI/British standard calls for.

My breed needs to be strong yes, but also agile with lots of stamina, to serve as a hunting dog who has to avoid getting killed by it's prey (large game tracker in marshy forest).

Thanks everyone, maybe another couple of months may see her come on. Plenty of time, no rush. She is a very healthy pup and a lovely coat, so we must be doing something right.