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  1. #1
    Puppy Michelle12's Avatar
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    Concerned about my puppy's size

    Hello,
    I bought a black lab puppy named Lily 2 weeks ago and I'm concerned about her size. This is my first labrador and my first puppy (but not my first dog) so I think I was a little misinformed when I got her. She was 13 weeks old and 6.4 lbs. Now she is 15 weeks old and 9.2 lbs, and she is about 12 inches tall when I measure her up to her shoulders. Both her vet and her trainer said she looks too small and puppy-like for her age. She still has skinny limbs and a round belly, which they said she should have grown out of by now. The vet said other than that she is completely healthy. She runs and plays normally and she eats normally. The breeder said she should be about 70 lbs fully grown, but I'm starting to doubt that. The only reason I'm concerned is because I am training her to be my psychiatric service dog and need a large dog for some of her tasks she will be trained to do. I love her to pieces though and just want what's best for her! Is there anything I can do to help her growth, or should I be concerned? Do you think the breeder lied to me? He never mentioned her being a runt or anything like that. I made it clear to him that I was selecting a dog to train as a psychiatric service dog. I chose Lily because she has such a good temperament. I thought the breeder had a good reputation and that's why I chose him. Lily was the last dog left from her litter, though. All her siblings were already sold. I attached a current photo of Lily for reference.
    Thanks!
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails -lily3-jpg  

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Sue-Ram's Avatar
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    I've never owned a puppy but my first thought is intestinal parasites (worms). Have you taken a stool sample to the vet?
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  3. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Hi and welcome! Your puppy does look teensy for her supposed age. I haven't seen the whole range of sizes for lab puppies but I will say both of mine were much larger at that age. Several folks on here have said a rule of thumb for a lab's adult weight is to double the pup's weight at 4 months of age and that will be about their adult weight. Did you actually see her parents or any of her siblings? A couple of members on here have gotten puppies recently, barry581, meeps83, and Sparky. They've posted a lot of photos of their pups at various ages, you can kind of get an idea of what their pups look like at various weeks of age.

    Let's test the theory

  4. #4
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    Honestly, she doesn't look like a lab. There may be lab in her but you don't see the typical characteristics. I mean it is possible she is lab but if she is, and no offence she is poorly bred lab. She is a very cute pup though what ever she is, but just not seeing a while lot of lab in her.

    Hard to tell but are those white spots on her side and back leg? No pure lab would have that, ok not normal labs. There are genetic defects that could occur but those are very very rare but you would still see pure lab pup there just weird splotchy colors.

    Did you meet her parents? Did the breeder have all the health clearances, eyes, hips, elbows, heart. Genetic testing? Look through the puppy pics on this site and you will see a lot of lab puppies, she doesn't resemble them to me in the face or ears. Also at 15 weeks she should be double her size.

    Here is a link to Barry's new pup brooks at 15 weeks. Brooks is a very well bred pure lab. At 15 weeks he is pretty much knee high and and high on life.
    Brooks at 15 weeks

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  6. #5
    Senior Dog BaconsMom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff View Post
    Honestly, she doesn't look like a lab. There may be lab in her but you don't see the typical characteristics. I mean it is possible she is lab but if she is, and no offence she is poorly bred lab. She is a very cute pup though what ever she is, but just not seeing a while lot of lab in her.

    Hard to tell but are those white spots on her side and back leg? No pure lab would have that, ok not normal labs. There are genetic defects that could occur but those are very very rare but you would still see pure lab pup there just weird splotchy colors.

    Did you meet her parents? Did the breeder have all the health clearances, eyes, hips, elbows, heart. Genetic testing? Look through the puppy pics on this site and you will see a lot of lab puppies, she doesn't resemble them to me in the face or ears. Also at 15 weeks she should be double her size.

    Here is a link to Barry's new pup brooks at 15 weeks. Brooks is a very well bred pure lab. At 15 weeks he is pretty much knee high and and high on life.
    Brooks at 15 weeks
    That was my first thought too. Looks like a mix to me. I think Barry's thread is a good one to reference, Brooks' growth is very similar to Bacon's.
    Julie & Jake, Bacon's Humans

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  7. #6
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Did you see parents? Did you get AKC registration papers?

    Lab puppies can range in size depending on pedigree (hunting or show). My show puppy was over 25# at 10 weeks. My hunting lab pup was 7# at 7 weeks and she was on the smaller side.

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  9. #7
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    Rethinking it some and looking at some of the 8 week old pup pictures. She might be lab, again not well bred lines, as there is something else in those lines and they gave her to you when she was 6 weeks old and not 13. 9lbs is typical of an 8 week old lab 6lbs at 8 weeks for a lab, I have never heard of. Which if they gave her to you at 6 weeks, which is unethical for a breeder and illegal in most states, then she may come from bad breeding. Did she comes with vaccination records and 8 week checkup from their vet? She should have had 2 rounds of vaccinations as well by 13 weeks from the breeders vet. So I would hope you received that paperwork as well.

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  11. #8
    Senior Dog
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    I agree that she doesn’t look typical for a well-bred Lab pup. That doesn’t mean that she won’t turn out to be a wonderful dog, but it does mean that she might not end up looking like a typical lab in either size or looks. And if the breeder didn’t do the proper health clearances on the parents, then there could be a higher risk of things like hip and elbow dysplasia, blindness and other problems. Doesn’t mean she’ll have any of those, but proper checks on the parents lessen the risk for the offspring.

    We’re not trying to say that if she’s not a well-bred pup she’ll be a bad dog by any stretch, but it does make it harder to predict things like future size.
    Annette

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  13. #9
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    I wonder if the patches are thinning hair instead of white spots. I'd take in a stool sample. For sure.


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  14. #10
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Hello and Welcome!

    I'm not the best on puppy information as we home seniors. She does look small for the age. Did the vet give you an estimate of age?

    She sure is a cutie.
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