Adopted Golden Retriever puppy, worried about size
 

"Holier Than Thou" wrote in message
. 3.44...
(George Patterson) wrote in
om:
I adopted a 2-month old Golden Retriever puppy at a local rescue
(apparently some moron bought her for her son and got fed up with the
chewing and pooping in less tha two weeks!).

Is her size (8lbs. - 10
inches) awfully small for a 4-week-old puppy or am I really obsessing
over this?


FOUR WEEKS?

Four?
BethF, Anchorage, AK

I'm a little unclear on the age also. It started out as a two month old
puppy and ended up as four weeks.

Even at two months, it appears it was sold to the original owner at no older
than six weeks. (And *why* doesn't the breeder have the papers yet? This
guy sounds like a real sleaze. OTOH, he does agree to get them to him
eventually.)

Even at two months old, I'd listen to my vet. It's probably fine. The
puppy has had a rough start but should catch up pretty quickly. And outside
of what is being done with treatments and good food, you're pretty much
going to get what you get at this point.

~Judy

Holier Than Thou wrote in message .3.44...

FOUR WEEKS?

Four?

Poor puppy.

Her size is fine.

Sorry, I meant *8* weeks old. She was 8 weeks old when I got her, a
week older now, but the weight and height (8 lbs, 10 inches) are from
last week. Sorry for the confusion, it's hard to think straight with
her biting me the whole day :)

"queenmother" wrote in message ...

I'm a little unclear on the age also. It started out as a two month old
puppy and ended up as four weeks.

Sorry, I meant 8 weeks. She's actually a week older now, but the 8
lbs. weight is from last week.

Even at two months, it appears it was sold to the original owner at no older
than six weeks. (And *why* doesn't the breeder have the papers yet? This
guy sounds like a real sleaze. OTOH, he does agree to get them to him
eventually.)

I couldn't care less about the pedigree, to be honest. I mean, it's
not something you expect when you adopt a dog from a rescue. But
dropping by to pick it up seems like a good excuse to take a look at
where these puppies were born and what the parents look like.

Even at two months old, I'd listen to my vet. It's probably fine. The
puppy has had a rough start but should catch up pretty quickly. And outside
of what is being done with treatments and good food, you're pretty much
going to get what you get at this point.

She does seem healthy otherwise, so I guess I should hope for the
best.

Thanks for the input.

"George Patterson" wrote in message
om...

Sorry, I meant *8* weeks old. She was 8 weeks old when I got her, a
week older now, but the weight and height (8 lbs, 10 inches) are from
last week. Sorry for the confusion, it's hard to think straight with
her biting me the whole day :)

This sounds *awfully* small to me.
In perspective, a sheltie puppy should be under 10 inches at 10 weeks to
achieve an adult size of 16 inches or less. A golden adult should be around
22-24 inches, with the bitches being on the smaller end. Hopefully, your pup
will have a growth spurt and will not end up being terribly small. I'd be
concerned if she doesn't start to catch up in height in the next month or
so, though, because there can be health problems (such as liver shunt) that
can cause a puppy to be abnormally small. At this point, no reason to worry,
if she's otherwise improving healthwise with vet care - it could just be she
got a crappy start (lousy breeder, worms and illness) and just needs a
chance to be healthy.

Christy

"Christy" wrote in message
...

"George Patterson" wrote in message
om...

Sorry, I meant *8* weeks old. She was 8 weeks old when I got her, a
week older now, but the weight and height (8 lbs, 10 inches) are from
last week. Sorry for the confusion, it's hard to think straight with
her biting me the whole day :)

This sounds *awfully* small to me.
In perspective, a sheltie puppy should be under 10 inches at 10 weeks to
achieve an adult size of 16 inches or less. A golden adult should be
around
22-24 inches, with the bitches being on the smaller end. Hopefully, your
pup
will have a growth spurt and will not end up being terribly small. I'd be
concerned if she doesn't start to catch up in height in the next month or
so, though, because there can be health problems (such as liver shunt)
that
can cause a puppy to be abnormally small. At this point, no reason to
worry,
if she's otherwise improving healthwise with vet care - it could just be
she
got a crappy start (lousy breeder, worms and illness) and just needs a
chance to be healthy.

Christy

A typical collie puppy is roughly about 15 - 25 lbs at 8 weeks. They are
lighter boned than goldens but are about the same height. So I agree that 8
lbs at 8 weeks is really small. Back when I lived in Pittsburgh, I did meet
a purebred golden bitch who was tiny - about 15 inches as an adult - sheltie
sized. As far as I know, she was healthy just very small.

Chris and her smoothies,
Zeffie (19 lbs at 8 weeks - ended up 22.25 " tall) and Pablo (26 lbs at 9
weeks - ended up 26" tall) and Bode the silly mixed-breed pup

"Chris Jung" wrote in message ...

A typical collie puppy is roughly about 15 - 25 lbs at 8 weeks. They are
lighter boned than goldens but are about the same height. So I agree that 8
lbs at 8 weeks is really small. Back when I lived in Pittsburgh, I did meet
a purebred golden bitch who was tiny - about 15 inches as an adult - sheltie
sized. As far as I know, she was healthy just very small.

Beau was about 14lbs when I got him at 10 weeks-- about average for
Catahoula puppies that age, (good considering it was Annie's first
litter and it was a decent size--6). They also tend to finish growing
around 8-10 mos. Beau grew into a normal sized male (74#--24.5").
His littermate Cajun (the only tailed pup in the litter) finished at
26" and pushing 90#. His 3/4 brother, Jake (my brother's little guy)
was that size at 8 weeks. Now at 12 weeks he's a pound bigger than
Beau was at the same age.

Their breeder thinks Jake *might* get as big as Beau, but she's not
certain. I actually think Jake won't be quite as beefy--maybe the
same weight, but built different-- he's already leggier than Beau
was-- I think he'll end up a little taller than Beau is. I'm also
pretty jealous because Jake is from the breeding I wanted a puppy from
and he's got great movement already-- something you don't often see in
tiny puppies. He's got a neat personality to top it off... even if
Beau does have a nicer head G

FWIW, Jake is also getting neutered soon, which may or may not affect
his long term growth. (Jake looks like Beau in a ninja suit-- Jake's
all black with some faint brindling on his legs, dark eyes... and a
small kink in his tail so his tail sticks straight out all the time,
but he can still kidney bean as well as Beau... Jake also has a
permanent cowlick on the back of his head).

-Amanda
http://www.uberpest.com