No, not really - you can tell easily by 6 months what they are going to end up like. I'm not unhappy with her from a performance dog point of view, I think her structure looks ok. It just could be better, that's all. And she is seriously titchy! She'll just have to be a Field Trial Champion instead! A titchy one!
I might still show her though - I don't think she is so bad it would be laughable (so long as she grows a bit more....). She might get placed in very small shows. It would be good to get the experience, anyway....just for fun...
Right, just measured Xena and I got 19.5 inches. I'll try again this afternoon when I have a helper to distract her with treats so that I can get a more accurate measurement. I know you're not planning to spay Betsy, @JulieT, whereas Xena will be getting spayed in the next few weeks, so it'll be interesting to see how they compare over the next 12 months.
Must get the tape out on Willow tomorrow! I know she's taller than the couple of sisters we see from her litter, but she's by no means a tall dog; she's shorter than most other Labs we see. Her sister Annie is a real midget, though
Betsy says the advantage of being a short arse is that you fit on the footstool for your evening cuddle. Which is more than that heffalump Charlie can do.... IMG_2727 by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
I think my Loki is about that big now and he is only 14 weeks. Weighed 11kgs at the weekend. He loves laying like that too
I would give you some of axels height if could. 27 inches and his front end isn't quite caught up with the back end yet
Are you sure? 27 inches is way way way over the max I'd expect for any Labrador - you measure to the shoulder...
Yup! He's the tallest lab that I have seen. We come across labs at the dog park often and he just towers over them. I'm always asked if he is a purebred, which he 100% is. He's 26 3/4 inches to be accurate, at the shoulders. I just round up. Even had him at the vet the other day and he was shocked as he has a chocolate lab himself. I must admit I'm not TOO shocked at his height as I know a puppy from the previous litter and he was 26.5 inches at a year old. He just looks SO funny to me. He is so skinny and all legs. Just waiting and waiting for him to fill out. Maybe he is done growing in height now and will look more porportioned once he fills out.
Ella is about 23 inches. I think that's a little on the tall side but not quite as extreme as Axel The standard shows such a small height range. There must be a lot of labs that are too tall or too small.
Yes, there are - of course, just like people are tall or short. But I wanted to show Betsy, so then it matters (although less than you may think, I see quite a number of Labs in the ring that I think are too tall). It matters to me a bit anyway, though - in that I think the breed standard is important and I tried to buy a Labrador that had a good chance of adhering to it. But, well, the way it turns out is just life! It's more important she is healthy, and so far she seems remarkably healthy. Charlie would like everyone to note that he falls bang in the middle of the narrow range and is, therefore, a perfect height. Betsy is now known as Titchy Betsy by the humans. Charlie says he'll continue to call her Shortie.
