Is My Pups’s Body Physique OK?

[Dallas]

Greetings my fellow Lab friends !

I just became a brand new owner of my first Labrador. He’s an English Lab with champion pedigree. I was curious as to if I’m putting too much weight on his body too early. I realize that Hip-dysplasia is a common problem in Labs, so I don’t want him to be carrying around too much weight at such a young age. He has some loose skin/fat that shows when he’s laying down. That alarms me that maybe I’m feeding him too much. If you could please review the attached photos and tell me what your personal diagnosis is it would be greatly appreciated. He is 11 1/2 weeks old, weighing around 24 lbs. Thank you !

[SunDance]

Are your thighs the right size for your body? Now sit flat on the floor....do they look too wide? Same thing.

He looks fine to me....as long as you can feel his ribs, he's good. You don't want to be seeing them.

If you're worried about HD for some specific reason, you can have him x-rayed when you have him under for neutering. (PennHIP x-ray is specific and more exact for HD and only some vets do this...but regular x-ray can show also.)

[smartrock]

So, if he's got champion bloodlines and he is from a breeder who did all the health screening before breeding for this litter of pups, you could ask the breeder what his parents' hip x-rays showed. It isn't what his will be necessarily, but it's good to know if there are any health issues in his lineage. You can also ask your breeder for his/her knowledge of how their puppies tend to grow and develop. Don't go with what your friends have said about your pup unless they really know what show bred labs are supposed to look like as puppies. Most people do not. I've had people ask me if my dogs, who to me look like perfect specimens of well bred labs, are rottweilers, labradoodles, or even newfoundlands. The funniest is when they ask if they're black labs. Um, that would be a yes.

I think your pup looks fine. I'm not a breeder, I've owned 3 labs. Puppies go through growth spurts so don't be surprised if one week he looks chunky and the next he looks much taller and lanky or his ears look too big for his head or all sorts of slight variations. The breeders I know suggest that their puppies generally gain 2-3 pounds per week at the beginning. One I know says her boys weights are close to 10 pounds per month of age up to 5-6 months. My younger boy weighed 20 pounds at 10 1/2 weeks of age, 30 pounds at 14 weeks of age and 38 pounds on his 4 month birthday (17 weeks). They grow fast.

[Dallas]

So, if he's got champion bloodlines and he is from a breeder who did all the health screening before breeding for this litter of pups, you could ask the breeder what his parents' hip x-rays showed. It isn't what his will be necessarily, but it's good to know if there are any health issues in his lineage. You can also ask your breeder for his/her knowledge of how their puppies tend to grow and develop. Don't go with what your friends have said about your pup unless they really know what show bred labs are supposed to look like as puppies. Most people do not. I've had people ask me if my dogs, who to me look like perfect specimens of well bred labs, are rottweilers, labradoodles, or even newfoundlands. The funniest is when they ask if they're black labs. Um, that would be a yes.

I think your pup looks fine. I'm not a breeder, I've owned 3 labs. Puppies go through growth spurts so don't be surprised if one week he looks chunky and the next he looks much taller and lanky or his ears look too big for his head or all sorts of slight variations. The breeders I know suggest that their puppies generally gain 2-3 pounds per week at the beginning. One I know says her boys weights are close to 10 pounds per month of age up to 5-6 months. My younger boy weighed 20 pounds at 10 1/2 weeks of age, 30 pounds at 14 weeks of age and 38 pounds on his 4 month birthday (17 weeks). They grow fast.

My breeder was extremely knowledgeable and provided all the paper work showing his parents hips and eyes were certified as good. No health issues were found in his lineage. Thanks a lot for the feedback. It seems as if he’s growing just fine then. We go to the vet October 7 for his next round of shots, so i will double check with my vet on his weight.

[Dallas]

Are your thighs the right size for your body? Now sit flat on the floor....do they look too wide? Same thing.

He looks fine to me....as long as you can feel his ribs, he's good. You don't want to be seeing them.

If you're worried about HD for some specific reason, you can have him x-rayed when you have him under for neutering. (PennHIP x-ray is specific and more exact for HD and only some vets do this...but regular x-ray can show also.)

Yes, I am able to feel his ribs. His ribs are rather large and are noticeably larger than his other litter mates. He was the largest and heaviest puppy out of the litter, weighing around 17 lbs at 8 weeks when i took him home. Maybe he’s just big-boned. Thanks for the feedback!

[barry581]

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again. The breeder I got my first Lab from when I lived in the UK gave me this advice a long time ago. You only get one chance to put substance on a puppy. You need to feed them enough to support the rapid growth they are experiencing until they are about 8 months old. My most recent male puppies were eating as much as 6 cups of food per day when the were 5-6 months old. The burn a ton of calories just growing. The other reason it doesn't hurt to have a little fat on you pup is if they have a period of vomiting or diarrhea, which can cause dehydration.

I'm assuming your breeder did all the appropriate clearances, and you can check the parents at this website: https://www.ofa.org. all you need to do is enter the dogs registration # or name and it will give you the info. If both parents hips were good or excellent you should have too much to worry about. Early neutering can also cause orthopedic issues as well as making them more susceptible to some kinds of cancers.

In my opinion your puppy looks fine, and could even take a bit more weight.

[Black Labbies]

Dallas looks exactly like a nice growing boy Lab pup should, but I agree, he could use a little more kibble per meals to chunk him up. Dallas sure is growing from pics to the next pics! So cute!

Comparing him to Loua (10 weeks, 3 days old), Dallas is a little longer in the legs, and a little thinner. Loua is a porky pig, lol. Loua is from a respected CKC breeder, whose Labs are GCH and CH and have had all their clearances done before they are bred.

[MightyThor]

My younger lab was a CHONKY baby, but he grew up to be quite lean. Once he grew into his adult body I started paying more attention to his weight, but he's a super active 2 year old now and it's hard to keep weight on him! One thing that happened to my older lab was gaining a bunch of weight after he was neutered (with no change to his food or activity level). He had to lose about 15 lbs and is now at a healthy weight. It is good to keep an eye on his weight since labs can get fat so easily (they love food so much!) but I agree that at this age embrace the chub!

[Whistle]

I'm so confused by this idea of an English lab! (Unless of course it is an imported puppy that comes from England) I remember someone told me that it was a nickname given to the show quality labs - but why??
After all, the breed is not English, although a lot of them were originally imported into Britain and became popular here. I would say that currently though, most of the pet labradors here are not show quality, tending to show much more the addition of collie.greyhound blood that helped split the breed originally - so a typical "lab on the street" here would be the tall, slab sided short coated, long tailed and pointy faced type! So while I'm relieved that they are not the ones nicknamed English - does anyone know why or where the nickname originated???

[barry581]

I'm so confused by this idea of an English lab! (Unless of course it is an imported puppy that comes from England) I remember someone told me that it was a nickname given to the show quality labs - but why??
After all, the breed is not English, although a lot of them were originally imported into Britain and became popular here. I would say that currently though, most of the pet labradors here are not show quality, tending to show much more the addition of collie.greyhound blood that helped split the breed originally - so a typical "lab on the street" here would be the tall, slab sided short coated, long tailed and pointy faced type! So while I'm relieved that they are not the ones nicknamed English - does anyone know why or where the nickname originated???

It's basically what some call show bred Labs here in the states. It kinda drives me nuts, as I do have an English Lab, whom I imported from the UK from the same breeders I got my first Lab from when I was stationed in the UK back in 1984. We've been good friends with them all this time, having been back to visit them many times, and they have been here in the states judging several times.