Freaking Out About Puppy Weight

Ok, relax . Caleb weighed 15lbs at his puppy exam at just under 9 weeks. He was not skinny, and had no worms. He is also very heavy-boned. Even now, he looks smaller than he is; he's just a heavy dog. He did not grow very fast at all until about 14 wks. I did not keep track, but 31 lbs, he was not! And he's about 93lbs now . So, I don't think you have much to worry about, unless you need Dom to weigh about 189lbs at maturity :lol: . Different lines mature at different rates, and getting upset b/c your dog doesn't fit some ridiculous chart's ideal. These dogs mature SLOWLY. I see lots of dogs who look much older at 6 weeks than Caleb looked at 8. (see pic). On the flipside, he looked like an adult (to the common beholder) at 7mos. RELAX! :wink: Skinny is better than fat-you don't need 2 dogs w/HD, and he's far less likely to get it staying thin and growing slowly. What's the hurry?

9 weeks


15? weeks-AWKWARD PHASE! :lol:


Hope these pics help you gauge a little...

My female was only barely 16 lbs at 9+ weeks & is 60 lbs at almost 2 1/2 years. She is on the trim side but not thin & is very well muscled. I had to take her to the ER vet a couple of weeks ago (she scratched her throat with a piece of stick that she was chewing on & was bleeding) The vet kept remarking on how fit she was. She kept saying things like: a dog in the quality of condition that she is in.... she is is such great condition....& a dog as fit & muscled as she is.......I guess that they are used to seeing only all the couch potato labs & goldens. She finally asked me what kind of working dog she was & what she did. I thought that she was going to flip when I told her what she did. She then told me that she had had her face almost in her mouth to look down her throat with a light to check her. She also remarked on how well behaved & stable of a temperment she had even in such a stressfull situation. I just said...it's in the genes....good breeding. Anyway, didn't mean to rant...we were talking about weight. My male is almost 3 1/2 & he is only a hair under 80 lbs. He is in goog weight for his conformation & structure. Not ribby thin but trim. I thinkg that if they are well fed, good food...(I feed raw) and exercised that they are healthy. They will find their own weight based on their genetics. They grow in steady increments & sometimes in spirts of growth. I would not panic unless the pup is not eating & playing normally.

Puppy weight

My guy's always been on the slim side, and I like it that way! I got him at 9 weeks and he was about 13 lbs (I think, don't quote me LOL).

He's 12 months now and 65 cm at the withers, but only 62 lbs. I was told over and over again that a dog at his proper weight has a defined waist when viewed from above and you can feel his ribs (they should feel like the knuckles of your hands). He'll fill out to 75 lbs or so over the next year, but these dogs are not designed to be massive monsters.

I have found that my dog's more agile than \"fatter\" puppies, as well. I'm not sure about HD, but it does make sense to me that if your dog is already predisposed to the condition, extra weight on teh haunches can only worsen teh problem.

I think you'll find that as your puppy grows, he'll go through some very funny changes. Sometimes his head'll look too big for his body, other times his feet will look huge, or his legs too long, or his ears too big. Just make sure to get picture so you remember it later (and of course this works as black mail when you threaten your dog with pasting these goofy pics all over the internet :wink: )