Lab/Golden Mix is not growing

gpolley

My 8 month old lab/golden retriever mix is not growing as expected. She weighs only 30 lbs and is the size of a much younger pup. Is this anything to be concerned about? Do the size of dogs vary like the sizes of people?

From what the vet has told me and the info I can get off the internet, she should be about 45-50 lbs. at this age. The vet cannot find anything wrong with her. She is allergic to beef and chicken and is on a special prescription dog food, which she seems to like. Her growth rate was the same before the food change a couple of months ago. She is happy and does not look thin or underfed. She is just small.

Any ideas or thoughts?

blackgavotte

I would not be too concerned if she is otherwise healthy and happy, but do continue to keep in touch with your vet.

The thing I wanted to point out is, that many dogs who are sold as say, two breeds, often have many more breeds in them than that. People just tend to look at a parent, or a picture even, and then decide what the dog is. That can be very wrong. She may have also not descended from the best stock of whatever dogs she does have in her, in fact that's usually the case. So she could have ancestors which were small for the breed, and also likely has a few different crosses in her. How did you know what breeds she is supposed to be? Did you see either parent, or both?

gpolley

We got her from a reputable rescue group. The paperwork that came with her was from the owner of my puppy's mother, who is a golden retriever. She claims that the mom mated with a yellow lab. However, you make a good point. The mom or dad may have been small or a mixed breed of a smaller breed. She has a golden retriever tail and a lab face and body. She is a gorgeous carmel color.

She still looks so much like a little 2-3 month old, even in the face. We hope she stays this way. She is so adorable and 30 lbs. is a good size for us (not too big and not too small). She is spoiled rotten and we love her to death.

She is very happy and healthy, but we will keep an eye on her health and keep in touch with the vet. Thanks for your advice.

Sierra'smom

We also rescued a lab/golden mix. She's almost 10 months old now and was only 35 pounds about a month ago (last time she's been to the vet.) She also has food allergies and was on a special diet of fish and potato dog food which we got from the vet. They said that labs typically have skin, itching problems. He always refers to her as a lab and says that she's just going to be petite. He said that some labs just are, but I've never seen any. She is very happy and healthy and lovable so we thankful for that. I was hoping for a bigger dog when we adopted her, but I love her just the way she is. Also, we are first time dog owners, so we really don't have anything to compare her to.

LMH

My friend was looking for a small dog like a Jack Russel and she got a mix from a guy who said he was a Chi/JRT so she thought perfect ,he will be small. Well he's about 25-35 pounds ,still growing and looks like a little german shepard mix. You know what forest gump's mom says..Mix dogs are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. Sorry if that is totally stupid but I thought it was funny.

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justagirl21

Parents can be an indication of a pup's size as he grows although its not always the case. Both parents can be big and have a small pup or vice versa. Golden Retrievers are getting smaller and smaller now as many breeders are breeding them small for families as so they don't "bowl" kids over etc.. My Golden Retriever is 9years old so is one of the bigger Goldens but is also big even for his time. He's not fat at all, but quite healthy and sitting at around 30-32kg's (66-70lbs). As a groomer, I come across very very small Golden's compared to my boy that are around the same weight as your Golden and not classified as 'underweight' or 'thin'
I wouldn't be concerned, you have a gorgeous, small, Golden and you should appreciate it, just like I have a beautiful, massive, Golden :P

FriendsOfZoe

My purebred golden is 48 pounds at almost 10 months. She was probably about 40 at 8 months though (just had another growth spurt). Breed standard for golden girls is 55-65 pounds...you'd be surprised at how tiny a 55 pound golden looks. Nearly all goldens and labs you see are overweight, so you don't realize how many small ones you might actually see that just look a lot bigger because they're overweight.

Also, both goldens and labs take a long time to reach their final weight. In fact, it's dangerous to grow too fast (they can be more prone to hip/joint problems). For goldens, they should reach their final adult height by about a year old, but they don't reach their final (ideal) adult weight until 2 years old. In other words, they grow up all the way and then fill out over time. So you can expect a golden to add another 5-10 pounds after they are a year old. I don't know much about labs, but I am guessing they are about the same.

Puppies go through growth spurts too, where they don't seem to grow for some time and then all of a sudden just shoot up (kind of like teenagers). I would not think by any means that your 8 month old is done growing. Sure, she will be a smaller dog, but I'd guess she's got another 10 pounds, maybe more in her.

And to add to the mix stories, I know of lots of lab/poodle mixes who people think should be "standard" around 60 pounds because the poodle was 55 and the lab was 65. Yet these dogs inherit the height of the poodle and the bulk of the lab and weigh 60 pounds at 6 months old!!

I'd be glad that your baby is a bit smaller (as it seems you are), and as long as she's healthy (not too skinny), just let her be and see how much she grows!!

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