Helloooo! We have a beautiful, intelligent 13wk old chocolate Labrador. I have a few concerns about her general health & was hoping someone might be able to assist me? We bought her from an interstate breeder & before we received her - we hadn't seen any pictures of her. My questions are: 1) at 13 weeks - she weighs 7.5kg, I can see her ribs, and she feels a little bony & looks a bit small in comparison to other lab puppies I have seen - does this age/weight seem a bit off? 2) the breeder had her on a puppy food called 'bonnie' - which I think is terrible - I'm just in the process of transitioning to Ivory Coat Puppy food (which is the Australian equivalent to Orijen) - she seems to have very flaky skin, so I am hoping the change will be good for her. 3) she has two very distinct colours on her coat - ever since the day we got her - her head and her neck area are a completely different colour to the rest of her body - is this normal for chocolate labs? I haven't seen this before - and I am feeling like the breeder may have taken advantage of the fact that we are interstate and hadn't seen her before we got her...? I don't think it's a sun issue - as its a distinct line where the colour changes. I'm not sure how to attach a photograph to this post Thanks so much for your help Ris
I think you are doing the right thing changing the food, better quality food is well worth it as it does improve them. I would see how the pup goes but it may be worth checking with your vet about her skin and general health and weight. They will be able to see her and assess her weight. I saw my pup loads from day of birth via internet and went to see him at various times. He is a very lithe lab and was always a bit skinny from about 12 weeks as he was very active. He a very skinny lab now so there are very different physical types. My older male was physically a lot bigger than him and my middle one was very very skinny until she matured. Is she show or gundog breed this can have a bearing on her build and weight. My chocolate boys coat did do some strange things and he did moult out into patches and different shades. At one point we called him the giraffe because of one big different coloured patch on his shoulder. They seem to go through a few colour changes before they mature, his giraffe patch has now gone and he is one colour now he's older. Don't worry loads of people on here will give you some great advise and we will all help you as much as possible. Its so hard sometimes with these little ones you can't help but be concerned. love and hugs from me and my dogs Rory and Midge
Hi Ris and welcome to the forum from me and my two Labs, Willow (black girl) and Shadow (yellow boy). When we brought Shadow home at 14 weeks, he was 8kg and quite skinny. We found that we could get him to a reasonable look and then he'd have a growth spurt and look super skinny again! We struggled to get any real condition on him until he had reached adulthood - and even then it was a slow process because increasing his food tended to give him diarrhoea. His sister, Willow (from the same litter), never had these problems and nor did any of the other litter mates, so I think it's just one of those things with him. Now, he's filled out with good muscle and has a nice broad chest. We still have to keep an eye on him, because we can blink and he'll suddenly start looking too ribby again, but I'd rather have a slim dog than a fat one any day. My Willow has a bit of dry skin. It's not terrible, but I found that giving her salmon oil with her breakfast has made a big different overall to her coat and skin condition. I think it's @kateincornwall who also rubs coconut oil into her boy's skin. I've done that a couple of times with Willow, and she loves it. It also makes her smell fabulous I can't tell you anything about colouration of choccies, but my yellow boy has distinctly different colours on him. He's darkish along his back, a faint gold colour everywhere else, but very white behind his shoulders. What is your concern? That she isn't a pure bred Lab? Or that she has some sort of defect? I assume you've taken her, or will be taking her soon, to your vet for an initial check-up and any vaccinations that are necessary. I'm sure they will be able to talk through your worries. What is your girl's name? We'd love to see photos. To do this, you have to host them on a service like Photobucket, Imgur etc and then paste the BBCode into your post. There is more information in the technical section.
Hello there, and a very warm welcome It's not unusual for chocolate dogs to have variations in colour. I don't know of any articles on it, but I noticed that a lot of Chocolates often have a band of lighter fur across their heads and ears. My dog has it. It does change a bit with the seasons, and I always think in summer it makes him look like he has blond highlights! Unless it's a health issue, and it really doesn't sound like it, you have to just love any little physical or colouring quirk your lab comes with, they are all individuals!
Hi Ris - I can certainly comment on the coat colour question. My Ripple had a very distinct two colour coat when I collected him at 7 weeks, this actually became worse over the next couple of weeks to the point where I also wondered if I had a two coloured Labrador . After that he started to lose some of the lighter colour and gradually evened out, now at 11 months he is a very dark chocolate. Hope this helps and I'm sure that your other worries over your little girl will be helped by everyone on this forum.
Hi Ris, I have a yellow lab and he is almost red in places ,he certainly doesn't have a uniform colour ,I bet even the black dogs have varying shades if you looked closely at them. You are doing the right thing changing over onto the best quality kibble you are able to feed your dog ,Just do it very slowly and carefully,there is usually a few tummy troubles with a diet change but they will stabilise .Im sure you will notice and change is his condition when you are feeding a better quality food. My dog was very skinny when he arrived ....and even now if he's ever on rice and chicken for a few meals he drops weight quickly....the lighter side for a dog is always better than the heavier side but Troy is only a poster so when you see your vet mention your concerns . Best Wishes Angela
Hi Ris, nothing to add to what the guys above have said, just wanted to say hello and welcome to the forum.
Hi Ris, and welcome. If you are concerned about your girls weight please speak to your vet. All puppies are different, grow at different rates and put weight on at different rates. My girl was much the same weight as yours at 13 weeks, gained 500g a week on average and is now a health and fit girl of around 25kg. Other forum puppies gain a kilo a week. For me it is important to monitor their weight gain by regular weigh ins at the vets so that you can see that they are growing, even when they appear skinny and leggy My chocolate girls coat looked two tone when she was little with each strand of fur looking chocolate towards the root and black on the tips. After a moult she is a lovely dark rich chocolate but whether her coat tone is even is difficult to tell as her coat colour varies according to the light level shining on it.
What is wrong with Bonnie food? I see it is made by Purina, a company that has several different quality lines. I was not able to find an ingredient list for Bonnie. It's generally a good idea to keep puppies on the food their breeder was using to avoid tummy upset at a time when their whole lives have just changed. Your puppy weighs more at 13 weeks than mine did. If too much rib is showing then maybe all she needs is a bit more food? I assume you are feeding her three times a day, maybe an extra small meal would help. At that age they can start to get lanky and show ribs. Welcome to the board.
Welcome to the forum from me and my 16 month old chocolate girl. Mabel's brown fur can vary depending on the season and light. I don't really have any further advice as you've been given good advice already. Although I would add, Mabel was fed on a Purina puppy brand which wasn't suitable. I changed to Arden Grange and rang their nutritionist (I found the number on their website) for advice on how to change. I'm sure many brands offer the same service. As long as it is done slowly there shouldn't be a problem unless your puppy has a very sensitive tummy. Good luck and photos please.
Thank you so much for all your help! You're all so lovely. I will try set up a photo-sharing account and will post some pictures. Good news - we have been transitioning to the Ivory Coat - we're going on to the 4th day - and we've had no trouble with her tummy - so it's agreeing with her. I think she must have just been through a growth spurt - and maybe that's why she was looking a bit skinny and bony - I think even over a couple of days we've noticed a difference in her... I'll pop her on the scales tomorrow @snowbunny - her name is Willow!!! @SteffiS - yes! can totally relate - I convinced myself that I have a two-coloured lab & have been googling myself silly. It sounds very similar to the situation you said you had... Thanks again for the forum love x
