At 10 weeks Rhaegar was a whopping 35lbs and Roach was 23lbs at the same age. Rhaegar is over 80lbs now at 2 years old. Roach is now 6 months and is at 45
Such heavy dogs! I'm a showline Labrador girl, and I really do love chunky boys....but, I do worry whether these very heavy dogs are really fit. How tall are they? Are they massive? (I know the lovely Pongo is, of course!). We started a thread on that, didn't we....where is it, time to pull it out, I think. My super chunky boy, on breed standard, and in what I consider working condition, is only 29kgs!
Yes, Axel is very tall and in my opinion fit. I'm hoping he won't look quite so giraffe like once he fills out. After all, he is supposed to be show bred not field. Axel's breeder breeds large dogs. While I was surprised he got so big, as he was the runt of the litter, I'm also not that surprised because his dad was huge! I remember actually being intimated by the dad at first due to his size. I'll post a couple pictures of Axel to show his shape which I think is healthy but maybe others will think he's not. I do get compliments every time I bring Axel in to the vet or a pet store, being told how nice it is to see a lab that's in wonderful shape as most labs are indeed overweight. This one has my cousins lab in the picture as well. Who is 39kg. They are exactly the same height as well. They have a hard time keeping weight on him. This picture is of Axel tonight Just like people, dogs come in all different shapes and sizes. Doesn't mean they are overweight because they are more than the breed standard. A quick search for breed standard where I am is up to 36kg for a male and up to 34kg for a female. So Axel isn't THAT far off. That being said, there are a ton of labs, and other breeds who are definitely overweight but their owners just say "he's all muscle" etc etc.. Axel runs laps around those dogs at the dog park and it makes me sad. But what can you do Charlie is very handsome and I must admit, looks more than 29kg. All the dogs on this forum are gorgeous. I just love hearing about them and seeing photos of them. I'm Labrador obsessed, what can I say
Something I worry about constantly with Bear, I think my vets have got sick of saying "no he is fine, he is just a big lab". When I was at the vets last week (Bear's desexing), there was another male lab, the vet said to me "this is Leo, he is 5 years old and 26kg's, he is an average size lab, this is why Bear is so heavy" then he laughed. Leo looked tiny next to Bear, Bear is 63cm at the withers now (is that tall?? What is normal height?), but it's not just height his head is a lot bigger, his paws, leg thickness and depth of the chest. So if Leo truly is average Labrador size, then yes Bear is massive. This is Bear And his dad The picture of his dad is on a show day (I think), so not being an expert, or a breeder myself, I kind of have to go off what the vet says and looking at how he compares to his father. I think Bear is just a big Labrador and seeing Leo the other day kind of helped to put things in perspective (Leo's owner was a bit shocked when I said Bear was 8 1/2 months old), but even with this, and the vets insistence, I still worry. Cheers, Cameron
I worry often as well. I bring Axel in to get weighed once every couple of weeks and everyday I feel like I'm checking to make sure I can feel his ribs and he has a good tuck up
Oh and about the height, I was measuring Axel wrong. I was measuring in line with his front leg not just behind the front leg... if that makes sense. He's 67cms. Previously I said he was 68-69cms. I just always felt his shoulders and that's where I measured before, oops.
I worry a lot too about Stanleys weights and height but I'm the other way. I worry He's too small. He's coming up 8 months now and he's still less than 20kg. He's 50cm at the withers. His face is still quite puppyish as well. And I'm just thinking he probably won't get much taller now. I've spoken to the vet about it every time we go & she just always says she thinks he'll be a small lab and they come in all different shapes & sizes. But when we go training or to day care and there's other labs there the difference in size is shocking. Hopefully he'll fill out a bit more as he gets older. Maybe it's for the best because if he was in he 40kgs he'd weigh not much less than me, and I struggle to control him sometimes now.
Libby is 6.5 months and 17.9kg so quite similar to Stanley. When do they actually stop growing? I thought I read large breeds are around 18 months, is that true for labs?
@DebzC Maisie seemed to stop at 18 months, but as she turned two she grew again and also put a few Kilos on. I asked the vet and she said it was quite normal to still be growing at 2 years.
Thors first visit to the vet with us today. 8kgs at almost 12 weeks. How does that sound? (also found out he is minus one testicle so make the necessary adjustments)
Just to double check, you have Kibs down as 28 weeks for both these posts. I assume Kibs is ageing (if not whats the secret)...lol just kidding, but thought I would ask so I can get his details correct for the graph. Let me know and I will update the details (I am lucky Bear was born on the 26th February so it's an easy one to remember, but there has still been a few times I have had to double check, especially as they get past 20 weeks)
Axel looks lovely and slim, and he looks fit. Yes, dogs come in all shapes and sizes - but I think a Labrador should be a medium sized dog, not a large one. That doesn't mean I think there is anything 'wrong' with those that are small (Betsy is small and I still think she is just lovely ) or large, but I personally think the UK (rather than the US which has been extended upwards in height and weight and has some very undesirable characteristics specified) breed standard is the 'right' size for Labradors. Don't get me wrong, of course lots of lovely dogs will fall outside this range, and that's fine - I don't think though that it is desirable to deliberate breed a range of dogs much smaller or larger. I also worry a bit when I hear people say 'he's going to be a monster!' like there is something good about that. Sometimes (like Axel) you just see a tall, but slim Lab, and that's just the way he is, and that's fine. But too often, you see a Lab that really should be a great deal slimmer.
