Proper weight

[ellensy]

hi!

We have a new baby labrador, Happy. She is 5 mos. old now..

What should be the proper weight for her age?

Thanks in advance!

~ellen~

[HollywoodNVegas]

Hi Ellen,

There is really no "defined" weight your puppy should be. Labs can very greatly in their size while growing so a weight range is difficult to say. To good extremes, for example, are: my neighbors Lab is 5 months old and barely pushing 30 pounds...comng from large ancestry. My Lab, Hollywood, was about 50 pounds at 5 months (at a good weight).

Puppies sometimes go through fat and skinny stages as they do not grow up and out evenly for a bit. But, do make sure of the following:

1. The skin on your dogs back should NOT be sinking in between the rib bones.
2. Hip and shoulder bones should NOT be protruding.
3. No waist definition whatsoever can indicate chunkiness.

There are many more tips I can give you if you would like - please just let me know.

[Kfamr]

Wow! Hi there Ellen!

It's so nice to see you post. There was a thread a while back asking about older PT members who haven't posted in a while and you were one that I questioned about.

Congratulations on the new addition! Sorry I can't help with the question at hand.

How are the other furkids doing? And yourself?


Please stick around!!


-Kay

[ellensy]

Hi HollywoodNVegas, thank you very much for the information.. Do brace yourself for more questions from me

btw, Happy is 15kilos (around 33 lbs.) @ 5 mos. old. Is that ok?

[lizbud]

My Lab/mix Maggie was between 30-35 lbs a 3 1/2 mos of age.
It's really hard to judge a dog, unless you can see the whole
dog in person. Your Vet should be able to tell you if she doesn't
weigh enough.

[finn's mom]

If you look on the bag of dog food, most will actually have a diagram and a little description on what a healthy weight should be. You should be able to see a tummy tuck up when looking at the dog from the side (profile) and a definite waist from the top view. You don't want to see every rib, but, some visibility is all right (like if the dog is turned a certain way, it's ok to see a few ribs), and, you should be able to feel the outline of the ribs when light pressure is applied. People constantly say that Finn is "skinny", and, it drives me nuts. He's lean, yes, but, people are basically just used to seeing fat labs. I went to get him from the humane society the other day after his surgery and one of the girls made a comment. There was a lab wandering around that I thought had too much weight on him. The girl compared Finn to that lab. I retorted with, and, that dog looks like he's about to pass out from just walking. He was waddling and panting like crazy. I asked how often that lab was allowed to full out run, and, allowed to swim, and, if he was athletic. She was stumped, and, had no response. People get labs and don't exercise them, and, they get fat fast. Finn was never (and still isn't) the weight most people think is appropriate. It also has a lot to do with what you feed Happy, as far as how quickly she will gain weight. Finn's weight gain has been really slow and steady, which is good, because it gives his bones and joints time to develop. A lot of puppy food is designed to bulk the dog up really quickly, and, that can (but, doesn't always) lead to problems with proper bone development. sorry for the long answer, it was just fresh in my mind what with the encounter I had at the humane society. Take some side and top views of your pretty girl, and, let us see her.

[ellensy]

Hi finn's mom,

Thanks for the info.. Will take pictures of Happy and post them here for you to see

Thanks,
ellen

[finn's mom]

Originally posted by ellensy
Hi finn's mom,

Thanks for the info.. Will take pictures of Happy and post them here for you to see

Thanks,
ellen

You better be prepared, she reminds me a lot of Finn, so, I may bother you with a lot of replies about her. And, as for proper weight, it's really so different for each dog, just use your common sense, if she's pudgy, lessen her food, if you can see all her ribs, feed her more. But, I understand your concern, I was a nervous wreck with Finn, as he was the first puppy I've ever had, and, the only big dog I've ever had. I had no idea!