Building muscle in puppy

Sooo... Nigredo is 11 months now. He is just under 65 lbs. He was neutered before 3 month of age, not sure when as the shelter didn't say. Because of this, he's totally not going to build any muscle on his own and hasn't.

He's been on a lower protein dog food because I heard high protein dog food was bad for large breed puppies. Makes them grow too quickly.

Is it okay to switch him to a higher protein formula now? I'm not sure how much larger he's going to get. He went to the vet for the end of year checkup thingy and she said he's got about 15 more pounds of growing to do.

I think she's wrong though, as for the last month or so... he's gained only about two pounds. He did have his growth spurt later than usual, but I think he's nearly done growing.

His feet spell a big dog like that, but I think he just has big feet. His skin is nearly filled out now and he grows at a very slow pace these days. Since he's a mega mutt, no way to know.

He runs and exercises a LOT, but it doesn't help. My last Lab mix would pull weights, but Nigredo just stands there with the weight attached, looking pitiful. So I don't think that's the way to go at all.

How can I help him build some muscle? He's totally frail!

I have always found just a decent diet and plenty of exercise has built quite enough muscle in all my dogs. How is yours frail ? that is a word I reserve for my oldie who has trouble on some days getting up not for an active (I assume) 11 month old.

He eats Pure Balance kibble free fed to him and gets usually two raw meals per week. As he's a Lab cross, he also loves to run and stuff, which he does a LOT each day. It's too cold to go swimming now, but he did that a lot as well.

But he's still got no muscle in his legs or anywhere. It's kinda hard to explain... but his build is still "puppy". Lanky, no muscle, and just kinda big looking.

As he's 11 months now, I'd like it if he could build up some muscle in his legs and on his shoulders etc. That's all.

Also:
I have a nearly 11 year old dog as well. She isn't frail at all. She's rather hulking actually. She barely exercises at all because she's lazy and has a bad hip so it's baffling. Her food is also Purina ONE Senior food, which helps keep her weight down... so not as good of quality as his food, making it even more baffling how he totally has no muscle.

Large breed dogs take a long time to bulk out - like at least 18 months for some.
Even a year old lab can look very different (lanky, less bulky) compared to a 4 year old lab for example.

As long as he's got a good diet, gets enough exercise and is healthy, I'd just leave him to develop naturally and enjoy him as he is

I see. Maybe you're right. I'm comparing him to my last Lab mix Brownie, who was always a lean and very muscular dog. He grew to an adult 60 lbs when healthy.

Nigredo isn't built like him... I guess there might be nothing I can do to change that. Also, isn't it giant breeds that take that long to fill out? Nigredo is 11 months and 64 lbs... I don't think he's going to be a giant??

I'm not sure I'd describe a dog that weighs 45 pounds as large breed to be honest but he should start to fill out once he's stopped growing height wise but there's no guarantee obviously as you can't be sure what breeds he has in him, one of which may well be a very slim built dog.

Edited to add, sorry for some reason I read 65 pounds as 45 pounds but I'd still not consider that large tbh

Hello. He is not 45 pounds. He is 20 pounds heavier than that, as I stated above. He is tall, but I heard extra height can come from being neutered too early and he isn't taller than the next Lab.

EDIT: In America, generally dogs from 50-80 lbs are considered to be within the large dog bracket usually. Anything bigger is considered giant, such as mastiffs and whatnot and any smaller is considered medium.

ALSO, he's NOT slim. He's not fat, either. His back is actually very wide and he has a wide and pretty big chest... he's just got no muscle definition.

I did correct the weight, I dunno why I misread it

I know why you misread it. It was because on the raw food thread I stated that he was 45 lbs and then you came here and had that stuck in your head.

It's all about the order we do things sometimes. If you had read this thread first, you'd have seen that it said 65 not 45 lol. Either way, we all make mistakes. You're good

If he's a mega-mutt, could be he's just built like that. Berkeley (100% pure-bred West Highland Fuzzy Yellow Mutt) came to me as a tiny fat puppy who grew in every direction but out (apart from hair). He has legs like twigs and when he comes out of the water you might not think it was the same dog, he's so... gracile? Yeah, gracile! That's definitely the word A lot of collie types have this build and it doesn't seem to impede them in any way.

If he's eating well, exercising lots, happy, healthy, strong enough to run and swim, I don't think you have much to worry about. 11 months is well into gangly adolescent territory, too, so that could be making him look a bit less robust. You were right to feed him lower protein food as a pup-- yes, you don't want them to grow too quickly. It can put strain on their joints and bones which can lead to problems later. It does take larger dogs longer to fill out, generally the larger, the longer: it took out Malamute X 3 years to reach his full size. It probably wouldn't hurt to start introducing a bit more protein, but for large dogs it's a good idea to keep it fairly low, and better to use the more gentle, easily digestible proteins like chicken and fish. It's important with any dog but particularly so in large ones to keep them from becoming overweight-- if Nigredo is just naturally skinny, you probably will never have a problem with this. Unless you start feeding him oreos. So, yeah, if you want to add more protein, maybe try a little oily fish like sardines or herring? The Omega 3 will be good for his joints and they are so delicious.