# Average Growth Rate?



## BaileyzMom (Nov 26, 2015)

Curious what the average growth rate is of golden pups? Bailey came from a litter of 11 pups, 4 girls and 7 boys. She was the biggest of the girls, and weighed 6.9 at her 6 week vet visit. She weighed 11.1 today and she is just 10 weeks old as of yesterday.


----------



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Slow growth is best. She will still achieve her genetically set size. Just not as quickly. Here is a link to help explain it. 

Slow Grow


----------



## Herschel (Jan 22, 2016)

Do you mean KG or LBS? Herschel weighed 6.6 lbs at 7 weeks and now is 13.4 lbs at 11 weeks.


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Golden pups grow very quick. So make sure you don't over feed. You will probably notice the most growth between 3 and 5 months. Make sure you get lots of pics because your pup will not stay small for long.


----------



## BaileyzMom (Nov 26, 2015)

Modulo said:


> Do you mean KG or LBS? Herschel weighed 6.6 lbs at 7 weeks and now is 13.4 lbs at 11 weeks.


Oh, sorry... I am in US  LBS. I keep forgetting not everyone on the forum is in the US, and I think we are like the only country left that is using the imperial system?? LOL


----------



## BaileyzMom (Nov 26, 2015)

nolefan said:


> Slow growth is best. She will still achieve her genetically set size. Just not as quickly. Here is a link to help explain it.
> 
> Slow Grow


Thank you, Kristy! That is a wonderful resource! So according to this chart, she should be 12 pounds, so she is just under. But I notice it does not differentiate between male and female pups. All of the pups in her litter had great body structure and were nice and lean, but the boys were a good pound heavier than the girls.


----------



## Monkey&Marshall (Aug 17, 2015)

Marshall laughs in the face of that chart!  We do not overfeed, we do follow a pretty strict exercise plan from his breeder (to avoid joint damage at a young age, etc), and he is slim and trim. And he's probably over 35 pounds now, closing in on 40 I would guess. Just a big guy. His dad was big, his *bones* are big, he is just going to be a *big* dog. If he gains the "ten pounds a month", he's on course to be 100 pounds which the vet has already bet on - and his dad was 97 pounds so my guess is the genes run strong in this guy.  

I think there are so many factors that determine growth rates. There is no way I could have "slowed down" Marshall's growth!!! No way! I haven't done anything to speed it up! lol....


----------



## Elsa Cholla's Mom (Feb 8, 2016)

Elsa was about 12 lbs at 10 weeks when we got her. She was 50.6 lbs at 22 week, or just over 5 months. her mom is 52 lbs, but her dad was 80. Based on what I gathered about growth rates, she will be somewhere around 65 lbs or more full grown.


----------



## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

At 11 weeks old, Nala weighed in at 18.3lbs.

She was slender looking and was never over fed(and still isn't). Her mom is a 75lb Golden and her dad is a long-legged 95lb Black Lab. I think Nala will weigh 65lbs or 70lbs when full grown. It's all about the parents weight. Nala is tall as well, which may add a couple more pounds!


----------



## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Link is smaller compared to other 5 month old Goldens, I feel like. He's 19 weeks and is only 28 pounds, but has a nice waist and his ribs are felt but not seen. He weighed 15 pounds at 13 weeks I believe. He gained slowly until 16 weeks, but over the last three weeks he's had a little growth spurt and gained 9 pounds - I increased his food by 1/2 cup around that time. 

Zelda is a Golden mix, but she was 8 pounds at 6 weeks. She's 55 pounds at her lightest and about 62 pounds at her heaviest now.


----------



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

twixiecup said:


> Thank you, Kristy! That is a wonderful resource! So according to this chart, she should be 12 pounds, so she is just under. But I notice it does not differentiate between male and female pups. All of the pups in her litter had great body structure and were nice and lean, but the boys were a good pound heavier than the girls.


You're welcome, and you're correct, the boys will be heavier than the girls in general. It's just a nice rule of thumb to show you what a slow trajectory is. No matter what weight the puppy is when he comes home, you want to use the idea in the chart that your puppy should gain her weight at a slow rate, remembering how small they are that more than a pound and a half/two pounds a week gain a week gets to be a very large percentage of increase for their growing joints.

Just keep her moving and monitor her weight. You will have to adjust her feeding bit by bit as she has growth spurts or as you are using more training treats for working on obedience practice. It's a week by week project to keep her at the right weight but it's worth it. There may be some people who will ask you why you are starving your puppy or why she's so skinny. Don't worry about it. Tell those people that puppies are like children, a little too lean is better than a little too heavy healthwise. She'll be happier and healthier for your hard work keeping her lean from the beginning.

A little more reading for you: Extend Your Dog's Life | Prevention


----------



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Monkey&Marshall said:


> Marshall laughs in the face of that chart!  We do not overfeed, we do follow a pretty strict exercise plan from his breeder (to avoid joint damage at a young age, etc), and he is slim and trim. And he's probably over 35 pounds now, closing in on 40 I would guess. Just a big guy. His dad was big, his *bones* are big, he is just going to be a *big* dog. If he gains the "ten pounds a month", he's on course to be 100 pounds which the vet has already bet on - and his dad was 97 pounds so my guess is the genes run strong in this guy.
> 
> I think there are so many factors that determine growth rates. There is no way I could have "slowed down" Marshall's growth!!! No way! I haven't done anything to speed it up! lol....



The OP came here for input on what is best for her puppy's long term health. For anyone coming to this forum with questions about growth for a puppy, they need to know that slow growth is best and that a puppy who is gaining 5 pounds a week or 10 pounds in under a month is at increased risk for joint issues. That's an enormous percentage in weight gain over a short period of time. 

For anyone with questions on what a well bred Golden puppy should be gaining, the rule of thumb is if you bought from a breeder who is breeding Goldens to the AKC standard, males should be 23-24 inches in height at withers and weigh between 65-75 pounds -females 21.5-22/5 inches and 55-65 pounds. If they exceed the height by a few inches I imagine their weight is going to be outside the range a bit as well. However, that doesn't mean that they should gain it quickly. They will achieve their predetermined height no matter how much they eat, it will just be achieved at a later age if their calories are controlled.

From San Diego Golden Club's page: "It is important to follow these guidelines closely, because any excess food is first used for growth. That is, even if a pup is getting too much food, he may not immediately appear fat – he will simply grow faster."

Feeding Large Breed Puppies - IVC Journal

It is proven that leaner dogs live longer in general: Extend Your Dog's Life | Prevention

From Michigan State University: "Dogs with weight gains exceeding breed standards have a higher frequency of CHD as well as more severe CHD than dogs with weight gain below the standard curve.(8)In one colony of fast growing Labrador retrievers, the triradiate growth plates of the acetabula fused at 5 months as determined by conventional radiography; normal closure of these growth plates in pups growing at conventional rates has been reported to occur at 6 months." https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/hips.htm

"In fact, research indicates the amount of calories a dog consumes, especially from the age of three to ten months, can have a significant impact on whether a pup genetically prone to hip dysplasia will develop the condition." New Strides Toward Early and Exact Diagnosis of Hip Dysplasia

"The key to prevention of the various growth-associated bone disorders lies in the attempt to control for both genetic and environmental risk factors that may increase susceptibility. As discussed earlier in this article, proper nutrition of growing puppies in the form of restricted feeding through avoidance of high-calorie diets and oversupplementation are steps in prevention from an environmental perspective." Growing Pains


----------



## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

nolefan said:


> The OP came here for input on what is best for her puppy's long term health. For anyone coming to this forum with questions about growth for a puppy, they need to know that slow growth is best and that a puppy who is gaining 5 pounds a week or 10 pounds in under a month is at increased risk for joint issues. That's an enormous percentage in weight gain over a short period of time.
> 
> For anyone with questions on what a well bred Golden puppy should be gaining, the rule of thumb is if you bought from a breeder who is breeding Goldens to the AKC standard, males should be 23-24 inches in height at withers and weigh between 65-75 pounds -females 21.5-22/5 inches and 55-65 pounds. If they exceed the height by a few inches I imagine their weight is going to be outside the range a bit as well. However, that doesn't mean that they should gain it quickly. They will achieve their predetermined height no matter how much they eat, it will just be achieved at a later age if their calories are controlled.
> 
> ...


This! 

We weren't able to stay strict to the slow growth plan, but we sure tried with Noah, particuarly because he came from a back yard breeder (before we knew about the importance of clearances, etc). We want to stack all the odds in his favor in all our decisions regarding how we raise him. 

I obsessively watched his weight (and still do - at 14 months old, he's 67 lbs and 24" tall). I still adjust his food - on average, it's 2 cups of food a day - 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening. If he's had a particularly active day full of dock diving, or lots of off leash running and playing, I will increase his dinner meal a bit. 

Although he will never be bred, we are keeping him intact, and also plan to do all of HIS clearances and update K9data with that information (which reminds me, I still need to submit his heart clearance to the OFA and put it on his record). 

We saw how elbow dysplasia negtively affected our bridge girl's quality of life at the end of her life, and we want to do everything within OUR control to mitigate that in Noah. 

I'll be interested in seeing how his hip and elbows look at 2 years - we're not doing it sooner, because of our 1 year clause in our pet insurance, and we have no reason to believe that he has any issues currently. He tuck sits as his default sit, and fold back downs as his default down - never trained for that.

I love that everywhere we go he is complimented on what a great looking golden he is. That our vet tells me that he's going to be the healthiest golden in the Valley (what our area is called). We met some 3 year old goldens at a local park that I would have sworn were 7 or 8 years old in how they moved and how overweight they were, and another non golden owner came up to me to tell me he was the nicest looking golden they'd ever seen. And the local dog sporting community often comment on how nice he looks and how much they appreciate his body condition. As a golden guardian, all those comments make me very proud makes me feel like we are succeeding in our careful and considerate way of raising him. Keeping him lean is so important - not only for his joint growth, but also for his long term health - overweight dogs (by even a few lbs) are at higher risk of developing cancer as well. Again - trying to stack his health odds in his favor. 

So - thank you nolefan - for your very important post!


----------



## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

nolefan said:


> The OP came here for input on what is best for her puppy's long term health. For anyone coming to this forum with questions about growth for a puppy, they need to know that slow growth is best and that a puppy who is gaining 5 pounds a week or 10 pounds in under a month is at increased risk for joint issues. That's an enormous percentage in weight gain over a short period of time.
> 
> For anyone with questions on what a well bred Golden puppy should be gaining, the rule of thumb is if you bought from a breeder who is breeding Goldens to the AKC standard, males should be 23-24 inches in height at withers and weigh between 65-75 pounds -females 21.5-22/5 inches and 55-65 pounds. If they exceed the height by a few inches I imagine their weight is going to be outside the range a bit as well. However, that doesn't mean that they should gain it quickly. They will achieve their predetermined height no matter how much they eat, it will just be achieved at a later age if their calories are controlled.
> 
> ...


Thank you, Nolefan!

It is important to note that you never want to overfeed or have your puppy even adult dog overweigh. As mentioned it can cause Hip Dysplasia and other growth issues. I know especially Goldens and Labs are more likely to become overweight rather than other breeds like a Shitzu or terrier. I'm very picky about Nala's weight. At first I was freaking out, thinking "how can she weigh this much she's not overfed, I make sure!" But then I also have to look at how much her parents weigh. This is great.


----------



## Monkey&Marshall (Aug 17, 2015)

I think it is important to note that "breed standard" is assuming that we are talking about the AKC standard. The Kennel Club has no weight standard for golden retrievers that I'm aware of. The English type golden is generally a "weightier" dog, bigger boned, etc than it's American counterpart. 

Marshall's sire is English, imported to Canada (where he is now!) has had a great show career... and weighs in at close to 100 pounds. 

Tramin Fun in the Sun


Marsh is a big dude, much bigger than any golden I have owned/raised. There were three in his litter, and he was born much larger / heavier than his siblings! His baby pictures are easy to find him out of the three, as he is the big guy. 

Monkey weighed in at 74 pounds at his 2 year old well check and was the same weight just a few weeks ago, and at his one year old check he was right at 64. He is a perfect weight for his stature/size currently. 

I feed him high quality food, we do not overfeed, and he is a healthy weight. We are careful with his exercise to protect his joints. We just now let him go up and down the stairs at nearly 15 weeks old!! 

He is all ears and feet at the moment. 

I wasn't trying to argue that we should all stuff our pups full of food and have them grow at exponential rates. What I was trying to say was, I have done everything right - and the dog is still growing like a weed. My guess is he will slow it down here in the next two months.


----------



## LoveMyPuppies (Jan 26, 2016)

This is very worrisome. I feel like I have failed my puppy by letting him grow too fast now and he's only 15 weeks old. Is he doomed? He weighed just under 12 lbs at 8 1/2 weeks when we brought him home. He has been on regular Iams puppy food which is what the breeder had him on. Since my last three goldens had all done well on Iams and lived fairly long healthy lives, I did not hesitate to continue with it. I started him on Iams Large breed puppy food at the time we brought him home but he had some problems with loose stools. He was treated for roundworms and that was resolved but still had loose stools. He took a course of flagyl and that seemed to improve the digestive situation but my vet recommended we take him off the large puppy food since it had more fiber so he's been back on the regular puppy food most of the time we've had him. At 8 1/2 weeks he weighed about 12 lbs. At 12 weeks he was up to 17 lbs and at 15 weeks he weighed in at almost 27 lbs - obviously not following the slow grow recommendation. My vet says he's on track to top out around 70 lbs adult weight. What to do now to slow him down? Switch him to the large breed Iams again? Cut back on the amount he's getting to eat? Surely this situation can be rectified without too much harm done. Advice?


----------

