Weight question! :)

[tuckersmom20]

Originally Posted by Parapara

I know right?? I've been considering switching to puppy food, I know they shouldn't eat too much because it will make them grow to fast but now she's stop growing completely! I feed Blue Buffalo Adult, and now I just got a bag of Innova Adult, but she's gained like, 4 lbs in 2 months! whaaaa

we're in the same boat eh.....
Tucker has gained and lost some months and now stuck at 52.
Maybe puppy food will help..im really considering going back, he was gaining when he first switched to Orijen...but it seems like all of a sudden it just stopped and is going no where.
I got worried in October and send some poop to the vet, and apparently Tucker is as healthy as a horse.

[Parapara]

Yea, Aeris was declared in excellent health as well.... just plain weird! and now that I think about it, she stopped gaining weight when we switched the puppy food to adult food...

but I'm pretty sure the Blue Buffalo is ALS... Maybe I should switch too? But I have that entire bag of new Innova I just got! lol oh boy

[tuckersmom20]

Hahaha we just did the same thing last week...bought the huge bag of Orijen.
My other two eat orijen as well so i could just switch Tucks anyway.
I thought Tuck might have stopped gaining cause of worms or something...and the vet said nope, so maybe back to puppy food


BTW, it just started snowing here for the first time this year hehe...(yucky snow!)

[KarinB]

I wouldn't worry too much about your (all of you) dog's growth. Most labs seen today are way bigger than the breed standard. Wedge (at 3yrs) weighs in at 62lbs.

He also had the curl to his tail. Don't worry about it. Some dogs like to carry their more curved and some like to carry it straighter.

Wedge with his tail curved.


Wedge with his tail straight.


Usually it is somewhere in between both of these extremes.

[Masons Mom]

Originally Posted by tuckersmom20

Wow, i cant believe Mason is growing so quickly...
I know Tucker is getting taller, my mom comes over bout once a week and keeps saying how hes getting taller. He probably is, i dont see it cause i live with him lol.
Tucks been stuck at 52 lbs for what feels like forever now...He's been on Orijen 6 fish which is supposed to be a all life stages food, could that be why hes not gaining??
These pups always gotta get us worrying or wondering lol.

Mason eats Canidae all life stages food - 1 1/2 to 2 cups in the AM and 1 1/2 to 2 at night depending on how much we trained using treats during the day. He was on Blue Buffalo but he had trouble with loose stools so the vet suggested we switch. I keep thinking that he's going to stop growing soon. His mom was 65 pounds and dad was 75. Mason isn't fat at all, just well muscled. He spends lots of time at the dog park and beach.

[Annette47]

Yes, it's normal for weight gain to slow down as they begin to approach full growth ... she may end up on the small side, but should still grow some more before she's done.

As for the tail, the curve is incorrect for a Lab, but it doesn't mean by any stretch that the dog is not pure-bred. Some field bred dogs were chosen to reproduce because of the their working ability, with less attention paid to their conformation (looks). Because of that, you sometimes end up with dogs with less bone (ie smaller frame), incorrect coats, curved tails, longer ears etc. If the parents had great working abilities, that may have had more importance to the breeder than whether or not they had a correct coat. On the opposite end, some show (conformation) bred dogs were bred primarily because they look like labs are supposed to without regard to whether they still possessed the qualities to be successful in the field.

Successive generations of this has led to the divergence in the two types, with many on each side claiming that theirs is best. That doesn't mean that there aren't good-looking, conformationally correct field dogs, there certainly are, but not all will be. Similarly, there are plenty of show-bred dogs with great hunting abilities, but again, not all.

Also, many backyard breeders breed the dogs because they both are Labs, without regards to either looks OR field ability, so in those cases you can end up with dogs that neither look like nor have the abilities that a Lab is supposed to have. Doesn't make them a bad pet by any stretch, but if you have a dog from this background, that may explain why it looks and acts different than you would expect from knowing it's breed.

Hope that helps and doesn't start an argument - the division in the breed is a MAJOR topic division among fanciers.

[bellabri287]

Star is stuck too.... 33lbs at the vet last Sat... she was 30 about a month ago... i blame it on the bland diet she was on for 3 weeks... but I'm starting to think shes just slowed down. Maybe we won't go above 40 like I thought....

[Parapara]

Originally Posted by Annette47

Yes, it's normal for weight gain to slow down as they begin to approach full growth ... she may end up on the small side, but should still grow some more before she's done.

As for the tail, the curve is incorrect for a Lab, but it doesn't mean by any stretch that the dog is not pure-bred. Some field bred dogs were chosen to reproduce because of the their working ability, with less attention paid to their conformation (looks). Because of that, you sometimes end up with dogs with less bone (ie smaller frame), incorrect coats, curved tails, longer ears etc. If the parents had great working abilities, that may have had more importance to the breeder than whether or not they had a correct coat. On the opposite end, some show (conformation) bred dogs were bred primarily because they look like labs are supposed to without regard to whether they still possessed the qualities to be successful in the field.

Successive generations of this has led to the divergence in the two types, with many on each side claiming that theirs is best. That doesn't mean that there aren't good-looking, conformationally correct field dogs, there certainly are, but not all will be. Similarly, there are plenty of show-bred dogs with great hunting abilities, but again, not all.

Also, many backyard breeders breed the dogs because they both are Labs, without regards to either looks OR field ability, so in those cases you can end up with dogs that neither look like nor have the abilities that a Lab is supposed to have. Doesn't make them a bad pet by any stretch, but if you have a dog from this background, that may explain why it looks and acts different than you would expect from knowing it's breed.

Hope that helps and doesn't start an argument - the division in the breed is a MAJOR topic division among fanciers.

Thank you very much It's very useful information. Aeris ACTS like a Lab, but her tail always has thrown me off, so I've always wondered about it. I guess at least her "breeders" didn't lie to me. I'm not really worried about it though, maybe she is just going to be on the smaller side Which is quite alright with me!!

[tuckersmom20]

Originally Posted by bellabri287

Star is stuck too.... 33lbs at the vet last Sat... she was 30 about a month ago... i blame it on the bland diet she was on for 3 weeks... but I'm starting to think shes just slowed down. Maybe we won't go above 40 like I thought....

:O star has that white patch too??? Tucker does and its slowly growing out and disappearing.
Star does have big paws though, so maybe she'll continue to grow into them. Tucker is starting to grow into his paws, so making me think hes going to be a small boy.

[Parapara]

Aeris had HUGE paws as a baby, then she grew into them, and now her paws seem to be getting bigger again, hahaha

[bellabri287]

Stars white spot is growing with her. Her namesake is saved! I should measure Star someday, I'm curious, shes a shorty.

[tuckersmom20]

thats what i should attempt to do tonight when i get home...
Maybe ill measure the Alligator (tucker) hahha..

[nikkiluvsu15]

Yeah.. I'm curious how tall Tucker and Star are. Harleigh just looks like a giant compared to other Labs I've seen, but she's probably not.

I need to measure her again too.. I wonder if she has grown any! Hmm..

[Parapara]

lol ! I need to find a measuring tape, and find out how tall Aerie is.

[Chasin the BEAR]

WOW Bear just turned 7 months old on 11/02 and he is at 85 lbs!!! I have had people ask if he is two years old. He is filling out fast and has the muscle tone of a older dog already!