Hi everyone. I know we have covered puppy weight before and there are lots of helpful articles on here about how to tell if your puppy is overweight or underweight, but I wondered if anyone else has/had a big puppy and is/was also getting comments from people they meet? The first thing people seem to ask me is how old Ash is. In the early days of going out it was all nice comments about his size such as "wow, he's going to be a big boy then" etc. Now people say things like "really, he's only xx old?" and "you must be overfeeding him" and one comment this morning "he must be overweight then if he's this big already." I know I should ignore things that people say but it's starting to make me a little paranoid and I'm worrying if he is becoming fat (the same thing happened when my eldest son was a pudgy baby and he's now a 5ft10 beanpole so I really should know better). Ash was always a big boy and the biggest of his litter mates. The vet nurse said he was fine for his size when they last saw him at 12 weeks. He is currently 48cm/19inches to his shoulder and 16.9kg at 15 weeks (I had to measure/weigh him today for a study he's in). I think he has a waist when he stands up and you can just feel his ribs but he can resemble a pot belly pig when he lays down. Do all labs have a really fat tummy when they lay down on their sides? I keep looking at him asleep and thinking hmmmmm. So sorry to bring up this weight issue as I know this topic is covered a lot but it is really starting to worry me. I have attached a photo from last weekend's first trip to the seaside as it shows his waist. I did actually have a nice comment from a lady with whippets that day who said how lovely his condition was and how he was a prime example of the breed, but we also met a man on the beach who commented "he's a bit big for a puppy that young" and acted as if I was lying about Ash's age lol. Guess which comment I'm focusing on the most lol. Untitled by carnie.pollock, on Flickr
Re: Big Puppy Comments From your photos on Flickr, I don't think he looks overweight. As long as you can see a waist from above and can feel his ribs, which you say you can, I wouldn't worry too much. All labs are different sizes, Harley is 25kg and probably won't grow too much more, whereas Penny (Penny + me) weighs 19kg and Kate's Sam (kateincornwall) is around 30kg I think (if I remember rightly). None of them are skinny or fat, they look good I get lots of questions about Harley due to her colouring....I now usually ignore all comments Hope this helps a bit
Re: Big Puppy Comments Hi , dont worry about it please, he may slow up or he may end up like Sam , now three years old and weighing 38 kilos but not an ounce of fat, just tall, big bones and very big muscles . They are all Labs but vary in size and weight, but we adore them no matter what , he is lovely by the way
Re: Big Puppy Comments Yes there is a big variance in size within the breed, as Naya said my Penny is only 19kg and fully grown so she is one of the smaller ones. I once had a lab in my kennels who was almost 40kg and maybe only 1-2kg overweight. I think he looks just right in your pic and you might find that his growth slows down for a little while now so may become more 'in proportion' with what people think a pup of his age should be, but if not - who cares! Like Naya I get a lot of comments about Penny's colouring and weight and I often feel like having to educate them - history of the red colouring and her size is actually normal blah blah but at the end of the day it shouldn't matter what other people think of my dog. I love her just the way she is
Re: Big Puppy Comments He looks fine to me, but why not go to the vets and have him weighed and the vet's opinion then you can tell people that the vet thinks he is perfect
Re: Big Puppy Comments as stacia said if the vets think he is ok then dont worry about other people my lab is very small and i thought thin but the vet said she is fine he looks lovely by the way i have people comparing thier lab to mine all the time lots of labs where i walk
Re: Big Puppy Comments It's hard to tell from one photo (plus if he is anything like my boy, he sucks his tummy in when he is sniffing! ;D ;D ;D ). Many sympathies with this - I found it very difficult to tell if my boy was the right weight when he was younger. He seemed to change shape every week! Some weeks he'd look podgy, some weeks his legs seemed to grow and he looked fine. It didn't help by different vets saying different things (there are several vets working at the centre I went to). One vet said he was fine, another said he was too heavy, and yet another said (in response to the exact same question you have about the fat tummy) "puppies are often shaped like that". To be honest, I think they found it as hard as I did. I'm better at judging these days. And it's easier because he has his permanent grown up shape. The key for me is that you shouldn't have to look to see whether he has a waist - I mean that it should be prominent enough for it to be absolutely obvious to you however your dog is standing. The same with the slope upwards of his tummy when viewed from the side - it should be a feature of the dog's shape, you shouldn't have to look twice to see it, or wonder whether it's there or not.
Re: Big Puppy Comments Thanks everyone. I was trying not to let it bother me but after so many comments (and me being a first time puppy owner) I was starting to second guess myself. He's having a 3rd parvo jab next week so I will ask the vet to double check his weight is right for his frame & age. I did notice since posting this afternoon that his tummy now seems smaller when he's laying on his side, so maybe he just gets a bit bloated a couple of hours after eating (know that feeling myself). I think I may just have been sizing him up at the wrong times. Carnie x
Re: Big Puppy Comments Hi Carnie Yes, I sympathise - our boy Pongo has always been a Big Lad (32kg now at 8 months), and people refuse to believe he isn't full grown yet... at the moment he is going through one of those phases where I'm worrying that he is getting chubby.... so he's getting a few less treats per day and going on longer walks.... but actually I'm pretty sure he is fine, and next week I'll be thinking he is too thin with ribs sticking out! I think we all get a bit neurotic about not allowing our labs to get overweight. But better a bit skinny than too fat! Rosie
Re: Big Puppy Comments My Luka was 6 kgs at 8 weeks. I posted photos of him from when he came home till now at 15 months. He has always been large and looks far older than he is. He is not fat and last vet check has him just under 40 kgs. I definitely have a large end of the scale dog. Vet says he is healthy and normal weight for his size. There were times when he was younger when I thought he looked a little heavy but the vet said one it was just a little puppy fat that he needed for growing ( which he did quickly). Don't worry and just ask your vet to be sure.
Re: Big Puppy Comments I've got the other end of the scales. Literally! Cupar 14 weeks and 11.5 kg. Vet's reckon he'll be a small lab. Oh dear. I like my labradors to be big. His mother wasn't small, the photos of his father don't look like a small labrador. He was one of the smaller pups in the litter. So I wouldn't worry about your boy. He's looks fine from photos. This is a bad photo from yesterday. https://db.tt/wyJLmWDU
Re: Big Puppy Comments Every human looks different to every other human but some people seem to think members of every other species on the planet should look like cookie cutter versions of each other. But they are all different to each other too
Re: Big Puppy Comments They do go up and down in weight don't they? Personally I found it hard between 5 and 7 months to determine whether our pup was an ideal weight. Now it is easier now he is almost 10 months and I am getting a feel of what his fully grown shape will be. He now weighs 28kg, and not far off I think his cruising weight. You should be able to see a waist, I do think it is actually harder to see in gold labs, especially if they have a heavier coat. If you run your hands lightly down the dogs ribcage, you should be able to easily feel the ribs but not see them.
Re: Big Puppy Comments Yes, I agree with Kate - the waist isn't always that obvious in a Labrador with a well muscled lower back area between rib and butt and a thick coat. It should be at least detectable from above though and from the sure there should be a visibly concave flank area (at least before a meal). And they should have a tuck up, where the tummy is higher than the lower rib age when seen from the side. As far as overall height and build go, well they vary so much. Most people commenting on the street wouldn't have a clue. They're just armchair experts.
Re: Big Puppy Comments So much lovely advice from everyone xxxx I will report back next week if the vet does think he's overweight. I'm determined not to have one of those hippo shaped labs I keep seeing waddling about York. Carnie xxx
