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Reaching adult weight?

13K views 30 replies 17 participants last post by  lfung5 
#1 ·
My puppy is 6 months old and seems to be almost his adult weight. 3 weeks ago he weighed 10.5 lbs - his mom was 10lbs and his dad 12 lbs. he seems to have gained weight again -at what age do they reach their adult age?

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#3 ·
I read somewhere . . .don't remember which book . . .that your can quadruple a Hav's weight at 8 weeks, or double their weight at 16 weeks and it will be a very close approximation of the adult weight. Isabella has only grown a pound since 6 months though.


Robin, Isabella and Raider
 
#6 ·
Well, you can't always tell by the parent's weight and size. Kodi's dad is about 11 pounds, and his mom is about 12. Kodi is 16.5, and slim.

He reached his adult weight around 10 months, and at 3 1/2 he weighs the same. That said, I do watch his weight, because he works hard.
 
#8 ·
Something else worth noting is muscle weighs considerably more than fat. If sedentary parents produce an offspring with a more active lifestyle, it will weigh more just by virtue of the fact it's muscular frame weighs more.

In humans, females typically stop growing in height when they reach sexual maturity . . .males as they near the end of adolescence. Not sure if there's any correlation in our fur babies . . .but that appeared to be the case with Isabella and this appears to be the case with friends with dogs but this is, if course, strictly anecdotal. It would be interesting to see a growth chart of an early neutered pup compared to his parents.

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#10 ·
Benny IS a big boy! :)

I haven't seen any scientific studies, but suspect growth hormone fed to farm raised animals headed for the food chain could possibly play a factor. There's no question people are larger and it's not all due to sedentary lifestyle as we're being lead to believe. Excessive weight is becoming a problem in every career field in countries where growth hormones are heavily used.

So it's conceivable even animal products in dog food or hormones in meat in homemade prepared food, could be what's making our dogs larger. Because genetics, as we know by the care we take in choosing our dogs from sound lines, plays a tremendous role in offspring results . . .but environmental factors can certainly affect weight.

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#11 ·
While I do agree with you about the problems with growth hormones in our food supply (one of the many reasons my family eats organic) I DON'T think Havanese have gotten larger as a breed. In general, I think many breeders are breeding more toward the bottom of the "ideal" size range. There have always been large Havs. Kodi is considerably larger than his parents (or any other dogs the Kings have bred) and he has always been fed organic food, so no growth hormones there!
 
#13 ·
Krandall, since muscle is much more dense than fat so takes up less space and Kodi is slim, naturally his weight would be more than a comparable sized but much lighter sedentary dog simply because of his wonderful agility training. My comment about growth hormones wasn't in the least directed toward you, but rather pondering out loud on factors I think (again, I have no scientific data) COULD play a role in larger people and larger dogs.

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#15 ·
Raider was weighed earlier this week (11 weeks 2 days) and was 1.77 kg (3.9 lbs) His mother is small, father in the median range. Raider was the smallest in his litter, just to give you an idea. Most Havanese weigh somewhere between 4.5 kg and 7.25 kg (10 lbs to 16 lbs) but as you can see Havanese come in all sizes.

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#17 ·
Quincy will be 8 months old on the 18th and when I got on the scale with him here at home, it looks like he's at about 15 pounds now (maybe a little under because my scale isn't always as accurate as the vet's). Last month he was 13.7 on the vet's scale, so it looks like he's slowing down a little bit. He's not fat at all, very active and very muscular. And he only eats 3/4 cups of food a day. Sometimes I worry that I'm not giving him enough since he wolfs it down every time I feed him. He's eating three times a day and his food is grain free, but I mix it with about 1/2 TBS of puppy wellness canned (except at lunch). He doesn't get a lot of treats, but he does like his apple cut up and put in a Kong. His parents are both under 10 pounds and his sister is more in line with the parent's weights.
It's interesting to see all the weight variations.
 
#18 ·
I'm not t all sure the vet scales are accurate for our small dogs. I have weighed Kodi at my vet's office 2 weeks apart, and had the weight come out a full pound different. That's a big change on a little dog, and he doesn't eat enough that it could be because of what's in his stomach! I don't believe the scale. ;)
 
#19 ·
Raider was weighed at the breeder's vet last Thursday and at my own vet this past Tuesday. Both days, 3 pounds 9 ounces. I have, on occasion, however, asked the vet tech to re-weigh when I've noticed her hand on Isabella to hold her still. Just that little bit of pressure affected the scale.

I have a kitchen scale I use for baking that's extremely accurate . . .but only goes to 10 pounds. It does a nice job monitoring Raider's weight, though. I'd like to find one large enough to monitor Isabella's however . . .she has to be the finickiest eater on the planet . . .some weeks only eating three meals. She's never once eaten seven straight days in a week . . .but her vet isn't the least concerned. LOL. Raider hasn't turned his nose up at a meal yet . . .

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#20 ·
Charley is about 13 pounds and his parents are 11-12 pounds. I was concerned about his weight and have actually cut back on his food. I think he has slimmed a little bit although he wasn't overweight to start with. He'll be a year old on the 22nd and I think he had stopped growing but who knows. Anyway, 6 months is weigh (no pun intended) too earlier to tell adult weight.
 
#23 ·
I know this is an old post but am curious because Manny's weight hasn't changed in a month. I buy his flee/tick pill monthly because he was close to the weight for a higher dosage so he's been weighed every month. Last month he weighed 9lbs, 4 ozs. When he was weighed again today he's still 9lbs, 4 ozs. and is 27 weeks old today. Do they start slowing down on weight gain this young or can I expect a spurt in his weight? Over the last two weeks I've seen a noticeable increase in his height but he seems to have really slimmed down.
 
#31 ·
So he stopped gaining weight at 6 months old? I would say that is not the norm. My guys all gained steadily for at least a year. Then they filled out. Bella is the smallest at 7 lbs, Fred is 15-15.5 and Scudder 16-16.5 lbs. Fred and Bella are on the very lean side. Scudder is bigger boned but I can still easily feel his ribs and backbone.

Keep an eye on his weight and the amount you are feeding, Keep it consistent. I would only be concerned if he started losing weight. Also, check with the breeder to see if her pups stop growing early. Find out what how his siblings are growing.
 
#25 ·
My Hav is intact and extremely active. She is on the petite side with structure. This was her weight progression.
11 weeks - 4.0 lbs
8 months - 8.4 lbs
16 months - 8.6 lbs
22 months - 9.3 lbs
36 months - 10.4 lbs
Just to note, Dance has always been painfully thin until her first litter of puppies. Now she has filled out nicely and is at an ideal weight for her build. I don't expect her to get any bigger. A neutered dog might reach their mature adult weight more quickly.
 
#27 ·
My Hav is intact and extremely active. She is on the petite side with structure. This was her weight progression.
Manny seems thin to me but I'm comparing him to my Pugs who were much more substantial and "big boned" for a toy breed. I've thought about it and realize that I've cut back on his treats a lot in the past month because he's not in training right now plus he's learned to obey without the treat bribes. I think I just worry more about him because he is so little.
 
#26 ·
Kodi reached his full height/weight around 10 months. He's 5 years old now and STILL the same weight. (though he has an appetite like a Labrador… left to his own devices, I suspect he's look like a balloon and weigh twice as much!)
 
#29 ·
Kodi reached his full height/weight around 10 months. He's 5 years old now and STILL the same weight. (though he has an appetite like a Labrador… left to his own devices, I suspect he's look like a balloon and weigh twice as much!)
Manny is eating more because he loves his food now. He's pretty picky. He loves it one day then turns his nose up to it the next. Why I love the Fromm's because of the variety of proteins they make. I change up the proteins and he seems happier now.
 
#28 ·
Definitely can't go by the parents weight. Sawyer's mom was 9 pounds, dad was 11 pounds and Sawyer at 2 is 17 pounds:jaw: Not overweight at all, just big. He was always the bigger of the two puppies though, so much that he was called Tubby and his brother was Tiny. Ha. Here is a pic from around Christmas with a fresh haircut (which makes a huge difference, because his hair is much longer now and he looks twice as big around).
 

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