[Suzanne]

Hi everyone

Barney is now 7 months old and a "big" boy. He is not particularly tall but very broad still with HUGE paws and very stocky. Most people are surprised when we say that he's 7 months.

Looking at him carefully we can see that his head is still a little on the small side and I remember our breeder saying that his head will be the last thing to stop growing as they develop "from the paws upover". When can we expect him to stop growing. Some people have said a year, others two? If he keeps growing at the rate he is he will end up a great dane!

Suzanne

 

[Labrazil]

Hi Suzanne, I had the same concerns regarding Bridget and was told that labs are fully mature after two years of age. Regards,

Labrazil.

 

[CharlieBrewer]

Hi Suzanne

You ill probably find that his growing will start to slow down soon, but he will probably not be fully grown until he is 2 years old. But you wont notice him growing as much over the next 12 months, it will just happen!

Hope that makes sense?! :?

Sarah

 

[Karen_theArtist]

Hi Suzanne - love seeing Barney's photos as he's growing up.

Corbie is the same, all paws :lol:

 

[SamM]

An old lady once told me that that when the tip of the dogs tail gets inline with the back of their knee then they are fully grown. How true this is I don't know.

 

[mommy]

Cozwaz...thats what I heard and has been true with Tilly.............as for growing Suzanne ....


1. You need to look at their knuckles...thats a sign of their full size, and when growing stops

2. Generally about 18 moths max in height...but then they pad / bulk out,

But I am sure |John W will correct me if I am wrong......

 

[Suzanne]

Thanks for that everyone, will have to check out the tail/knee measurement and see how he's going

He's already rather bulky so hopefully he won't get too much bigger that way :!: To us he does seem to have slowed down at least but when someone hasn't seen him for a couple of weeks they always comment on how much he's grown. Never mind, I'll stop worrying about it .... thanks again.

 

[BaileyBear]

Hi Suzanne,

I thought Bailey had stopped growing.........how wrong was i??? 8O

When he was about 18 months old i realised he could now rest his chin on the dining room table without lifting a single paw, a stretch or standing on something!!!

I hadn't noticed him still growing but he's 2 next month so i'm hoping he's just about finished now

 

[Marsupial]

Hi Suzanne

How do you know when they have stopped growing? is a good question.... and although there are lots of excellent dog books on the market, they don't seem to answer a lot of the basic questions.

A lot of these books seem to assume a certain level of knowledge.

I certainly found that as a first time dog owner...I didn't have any level of knowledge!

It was just those sorts of questions that I wanted answering...When have they stopped growing? When should you reasonably expect them to stop peeing the bed? When will he stop nipping? Will he ever stop chewing things? When can I start training him..and at what age can I move onto the more advanced stuff? Is there anyother way of telling him to 'put his lipstick away'? etc etc

I ended up having to put my own book together based on trial and error ( mainly error!)

I wish some of the 'proper' dog authors remembered what it was like to be a first time owner again!

Anyway...luckily enough you have some very helpful people in this excellent forum!

Cheers

John
Shakespeare My Butt!
Where trial meets error!

 

[JohnW]

How do you know when they have stopped growing?

The short answer is, when they stop!!!! Not very useful I know but there is is!

Different lines seem to develop at different rates. Personally I have never had a Lab finish growing until 2 years old. But then, I hate the faster growth which modern puppy foods tend to give, believing it *CAN* be bad for bone development. I get off of puppy food very early, certainly by 6 months and find I get a nice slow development. Most growing is done in the first year when they possibly attain over 3/4 of their final size, but the final bit, and the filling out happens in the second year.

Regards, John

 

[NigelB]

I read that the KC Breed standard height for a male Lab is 22-22.5 inches. Harvey is now 10 months and measures 24 inches, not sure if hes likely to grow any higher but he seems to tower above most other Labs we come across :roll:

Does anyone else have a lanky lab?

 

[Rebel1]

hi nigel
max is now 11 months and the same height as harvey. and yes hes all legs :lol: :lol:
he seems to have stopped growing upwards and is now filling out a bit.
it can be quite funny when he stands up on his hind legs, front paws on my shoulders and tries to lick my nose

 

[BaileyBear]

Hi,

Bailey has just turned 2 and i've just had some fun trying to measure him.......he was more interested in trying to grab the tape measure than standing still for me :roll:

He is just shy of 27 inches He too is very leggy and also has quite a long body too :wink:

I hope he has now stopped growning although in the last 6 months the growth hasn't been that obvious..........one day he just appears to be able to reach things hasn't able to before. He can rest his head on the dining room table now with all four paws still on the floor :roll:

 

[Fay]

Hi Nigel,

Just measured Harvey and hes 23 inches - but he's not 9 months until Monday :? He does seem quite big when we meet other labs.


Fay

 

[Karen_theArtist]

Corbie's 9 months on Sunday (7th) and he's also 23"... not easy to measure him as he kept trying to eat the tape measure :lol:

I know his dad and mum easily got their front paws on my shoulders when I was standing and Corbie can't reach yet, so he's got a bit of growing still to do. He does seem bigger than other labs we meet as well.

 

[Fay]

Glad to hear Corbie is the same size Karen Thought I had a giant on my hands lol

 

[Josephsmum]

Hi,

A silly question - how do I measure him? is it floor to shoulder when he is sitting?

Lynn

 

[NigelB]

Hi Lynn

The measurement is taken from the shoulder (withers) to the floor while standing

Ive found the easiest way to measure Harvey (in the absence of a proper measuring rig) is to place a straight edge on his shoulders while he is standing close to a wall, make a pencil mark on the wall and measure down to the floor

 

[anna]

just measured vogue, she's 55cm which is right on the breed standard, she always looks so small compared to other labs, are people breeding larger dogs?

 

[manxpat]

I think you can say they finish at about 2 years. My bitch grew loads in the first 9/12 months and then slowed down, but the maturity with the head and ribcage can take a lot longer.

It is as John said "when they stop".

Regards