Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:18 pm Post subject: Weight v Age
Does anyone know if there is a table or other information as a guide to know what weight a lab should be at a certain age.
I want to be able to keep an eye on Osca's weight as he grows so that he is neither under or overweight. At the moment he is 8.5kgs at 11 weeks old, but I don't know if that is a good weight.
Watched Dog Borstal the other night and a Choc Lab that was on was thought to be overweight, but I thought he looked a good solid dog so it goes to show that I can't go by looks alone.
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"A dog is for life. Itīs a wife thatīs just for Xmas"
I think as they're growing, they're all very very different. My boy dog Dexter, weighed about 12kg at 12 weeks, and then 20kg at 16 . Amber on the otherhand only broke the 10kg mark around 5 months As long as the weight gain is steady, and they're not hugely flabby, you should be fine.
The dog on Dog Borstal was very overweight, he had NO waist and her whole body blended in together - mind you, the dog was fed 3 pints of milk and at least 2 packets of refreshers a day so its no wonder it was overweight......please though, dont take any notice of that programme, the training methods on there are out dated and cruel....
Anyway - I dont think that its easy to categorise Labs as theya re all so varying in shape and size. My Charlie for instance is only 30kgs, when I tell some lab owners this they assume he is a skinny runt, but he is just a small boy. Everyone is different. You are better assessing him by checking that he has a nice tummy nip from above and also that you can easily feel his ribs....thats the best way to see if he is overweight or not....
I think Sarah's guide of being able to see tummy/waist and feel ribs (without seeing them) is about the easiest to follow.
My Charlie is a stockyish sort of build though, and that has made it difficult for me to judge whether he was the right weight or slightly over. I wondered recently if he might have been getting a bit too puddingy so got him weighed properly at the vet. Sure enough, he was somewhat overweight, so I cut back his meal portions somewhat and reduced the number of treats in addition to lengthening his walks on most days. Now we seem to be heading in the right direction. For me his stocky build had masked the rise in his weight for a short while. I hope I'll not make that mistake again.
He is my first dog, so I too am greenish behind the ears here. One thing I have found though is that most vets allow free drop in and weigh sessions once morning surgery is over, so would suggest you ask yours whether they do too. You would know immediately whether everything was OK or not, and it is great for peace of mind. If in doubt use it.
I, like Sarah, go more by the look and feel of the dog to see if it's the right weight or not.
My girl is a smallish one and is on a diet because she was looking a bit plumper than normal, but when I weighed her at the vets she is only 29kgs which falls in their normal weight range. I know she is slightly overweight (disappearing ribs and a bit of a wobble when she trots ) so I'm aiming to take her weight back down to 26.5 kgs, which is what she was before she had problems with her elbows. If you look at the vets weight charts that takes her to the lowest extreme of the normal range, but it is right for her.
All dogs carry weight differently and Labs seem to come in all shapes and sizes , so I can't see how you can generalize their weight.
Yup...I agree with the general advice here. Go by the look of your dog. Forget about what other peoples dogs look like. Weight depends completely on the individual. Even littermates can be completely different weights. I've seen Labs as small as 50lbs and as big as 100lbs. Weight is partly genetic (for example bench bred Labradors are naturally stockier then field bred dogs) but mostly it depends on feeding, amount of exercise, etc.
As a healthy medium you should be able to feel your dogs ribs with ease (you should be able to feel each individual rib without difficulty) and he should have a "tuck up" and waistline at the back.
Marley went to vets last week and he was 5.6kg,today he is 10 weeks old and went to vets for 2nd injections and today he is 6.5kg.Vet said it was normal ,he said also they can have a growth spurt from one week to the next making a significant difference .He also said to put him on 3 meals a day now till he is 4 months, then 2 meals after that.But i thought it was 4 meals tll 4 months then 3 meals till 6 months,,any advice or is it just personal preference?
But i thought it was 4 meals tll 4 months then 3 meals till 6 months,,any advice or is it just personal preference?
Don't worry about what the vet said. Stick with whatever guidelines the breeder gave you. If the breeder said 4 meals until 4 months, then its 4 meals until 4 months.
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. Amber on the otherhand only broke the 10kg mark around 5 months 
) so I'm aiming to take her weight back down to 26.5 kgs, which is what she was before she had problems with her elbows. If you look at the vets weight charts that takes her to the lowest extreme of the normal range, but it is right for her.
