# Is my 9 month old, 90 pound Golden overweight?



## Dempsey2495 (May 10, 2017)

Okay, so first the important information. My 9 month old golden retriever is 90+ pounds. My wife and I haven't been worried about it at all, but after doing some research, we found that the average Golden is supposed to be much smaller at his age. I just want to make sure he's not going to have long term health issues. 

We feed him 3-4 cups of food everyday, and he is very active. And by active, I mean he typically averages 3 walks and a long trip to the park every day. I played soccer in school and my wife is a physical trainer, so we stay active and have taught him to be active with us. We're about 3 minutes from a large park with baseball and soccer fields that we visit often, so by all accounts he is very active. That said, the optimist in me says he's just filling out with a lot of muscle because of the exercising we do. When he runs, he looks like a horse because you can see his muscles very clearly. You can also clearly feel his ribs. 

The pessimist in me says that this puppy is huge and we might be doing something wrong. I just snapped these attached photos. He had a bath tonight so he's extra fluffy. I can snap some of him in better light tomorrow if it helps.

Anyone got any thoughts? Or am I the only one with a 90 pound 9 month old?


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## Goldhill (Jul 3, 2016)

Wow. Saw your title and thought that for sure I was going to see a very overweight dog. I am even having a hard time believing your puppy is 90 lbs, he looks like a very normal and healthy weight from those pictures! Just a big boy I guess?


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## Dempsey2495 (May 10, 2017)

PuppyCricket said:


> Wow. Saw your title and thought that for sure I was going to see a very overweight dog. I am even having a hard time believing your puppy is 90 lbs, he looks like a very normal and healthy weight from those pictures! Just a big boy I guess?


He definitely feels like 90 pounds when he crawls into the recliner with me or when I lift him into the bathtub (we're not friends with water just yet). He makes regular trips to the vet for check ups and we've even asked them if their scale might be off, and they assure us it's not. He's very solid in muscle everywhere, especially in his rear legs and chest. 

It's just difficult to look at the average weight charts and not think that he might can afford to lost a little weight, but he eats like crazy because he exercises like crazy.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

I thought I was going to see a overweight dog also. He doesn't look 90 lbs are you sure. He is very lean looking. He must be extremely tall to weigh that much and still look very lean. The average for a golden male is I believe under 75 lbs. my two year old girl weighs 62.


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## Dempsey2495 (May 10, 2017)

Cpc1972 said:


> I thought I was going to see a overweight dog also. He doesn't look 90 lbs are you sure. He is very lean looking. He must be extremely tall to weigh that much and still look very lean. The average for a golden male is I believe under 75 lbs. my two year old girl weighs 62.


He's definitely a tall boy.








That is him laying in the recliner with my wife about 2 months ago. She is about 5'2. He's grown since that picture was taken.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

We have a very large Golden also. At 8 months of age, Max was 99 pounds. Today, he is 140+ pounds. He is 6 years old. He is not fat or overweight. But he is huge. Big paws, legs, head and a massive chest. He is 28 inches tall at the shoulder. He was big from the beginning--30 pounds at 11 weeks. Some Goldens are bigger than others. We fed Max according to Eukanuba's recommendations while he was a growing puppy. Today, he only gets about 2.5 cups per day of Acana Meadowland Kibble. BTW, Max loves to swim, as many Goldens do. When Max sees the vet, the vets are always surprised because when they read the chart and see his weight, they expect to see an overweight dog, but are surprised to see he is not overweight. Max continued to grow and fill out until he was about 2 years old. Here are a couple of pictures of Max. First one is at one year and the second one is at 8 months. The signature picture is recent--around 5 years of age. Enjoy your Golden!


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## joro32000 (Feb 25, 2017)

Your are not alone, probably your golden is just taller than the standard. At the age of 8 months Gatsby was over 90 pounds. Now at the age of 4.5 he is slightly over 100 pounds. Pictures of him included at the age of 8 months, he is tall and has broad bones and broad head. He is on a long rope as the pictures were taken a couple of days after I took him when he was 8 months old and he was a wild animal at that time.


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## harrym (Nov 13, 2010)

Amber weighed 93 pounds at the vet's last Friday. She ranges from 92-97pounds. She is a little overweight, but she only eats 2 cups of Taste of the Wild kibble daily, plus a couple of medium Milkbone treats. She is a big dog, taller than standard. I have given her glucosamine daily since we got her as a puppy.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Has your Vet said anything about his weight?

It's better to keep a Golden on the lean side, it puts less strain on their joints and hips. 

3-4 cups a food sounds like a lot of food to me, is he eating all of his food when you feed him?
You may be able to start cutting him back to 1 cup of food per feeding twice a day. 

Take into consideration the amount of calories in any treats you give him each day too.


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## LdyTlfrd (Jan 11, 2017)

I'm with everyone else, I thought I'd be seeing a fat dog but he doesn't look fat at all. My Luna just turned 1 at the end of April & she's over 70lbs. but doesn't look fat. She is just solid & long. My vet all along has said Luna was going to be a big girl and he was right.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

I think with larger dogs it's important to keep them on the lean side, not underweight, but not one lb over. Also, neuter later (if you're going to neuter) and let those ligaments and all that stuff finish growing and maturing. Wouldn't hurt to give some MSM and possibly other supplements. Be a little more careful with running on pavement, jumping, etc. When you throw a ball, don't bounce it or cause the dog to have to skid to catch it (bad on shoulders and elbows). Lots of swimming, if you can. I mean, I wouldn't wrap him in bubble wrap, but I'd be more careful than say, a smaller, lighter dog. I have big boys also. One is athletic, but I pulled him from agility because he is a heavier dog, though also larger boned, but is just not built for it. The foundations were fun, but once he got on courses and went for it, I was like, nope, not this dog!


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## BarkWin (Apr 5, 2017)

Is he neutered? I thought I read somewhere that neutered goldens grow taller... one reason I don't want to neuter mine but then I can't send him to doggy daycare.


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## Abhishek Kumar (May 9, 2017)

He looks absolutely fine.. what a cute furryball you got..


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## sophieanne (Feb 4, 2014)

He looks great..but I would ask the vet.
HE - does he have a name  ???
He is totally gorgeous!


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## Dempsey2495 (May 10, 2017)

Max's Dad said:


> We have a very large Golden also. At 8 months of age, Max was 99 pounds. Today, he is 140+ pounds. He is 6 years old. He is not fat or overweight. But he is huge. Big paws, legs, head and a massive chest. He is 28 inches tall at the shoulder. He was big from the beginning--30 pounds at 11 weeks. Some Goldens are bigger than others. We fed Max according to Eukanuba's recommendations while he was a growing puppy. Today, he only gets about 2.5 cups per day of Acana Meadowland Kibble. BTW, Max loves to swim, as many Goldens do. When Max sees the vet, the vets are always surprised because when they read the chart and see his weight, they expect to see an overweight dog, but are surprised to see he is not overweight. Max continued to grow and fill out until he was about 2 years old. Here are a couple of pictures of Max. First one is at one year and the second one is at 8 months. The signature picture is recent--around 5 years of age. Enjoy your Golden!


Wow. Now that is a big boy. People always noted when he was a puppy about how big his paws were when he was a puppy, so it's probably just in his genetics to be a big pup, as well. I don't think he'll get to 140+ though. That has to be the biggest golden I've seen! Definitely makes me less alone with Dempsey


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## Dempsey2495 (May 10, 2017)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> Has your Vet said anything about his weight?
> 
> It's better to keep a Golden on the lean side, it puts less strain on their joints and hips.
> 
> ...


He's noted how large he is, but he has never given us any indication that he needed to lose weight.

And yes, he is definitely eating all of his food. We've thought about cutting back his food, but he does so much walking and activity that we don't want him to go hungry


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## Dempsey2495 (May 10, 2017)

FosterGolden said:


> I think with larger dogs it's important to keep them on the lean side, not underweight, but not one lb over. Also, neuter later (if you're going to neuter) and let those ligaments and all that stuff finish growing and maturing. Wouldn't hurt to give some MSM and possibly other supplements. Be a little more careful with running on pavement, jumping, etc. When you throw a ball, don't bounce it or cause the dog to have to skid to catch it (bad on shoulders and elbows). Lots of swimming, if you can. I mean, I wouldn't wrap him in bubble wrap, but I'd be more careful than say, a smaller, lighter dog. I have big boys also. One is athletic, but I pulled him from agility because he is a heavier dog, though also larger boned, but is just not built for it. The foundations were fun, but once he got on courses and went for it, I was like, nope, not this dog!


Thanks, this is good advice. When we first would go to the park, we would spend a lot of time in an in-line hockey rink, but we stopped pretty quickly because I was worried it was going to hurt him in the long run. He's never been swimming yet. We just haven't been able to find a good place to let him go at it. We are desperate to find a place because his only experience with water has been rain and baths, neither of which he is too fond of.


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## Dempsey2495 (May 10, 2017)

BarkWin said:


> Is he neutered? I thought I read somewhere that neutered goldens grow taller... one reason I don't want to neuter mine but then I can't send him to doggy daycare.


No, he's no neutered. It's honestly something my wife and I have yet to discuss doing.


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## Dempsey2495 (May 10, 2017)

sophieanne said:


> He looks great..but I would ask the vet.
> HE - does he have a name  ???
> He is totally gorgeous!


His name is Dempsey!


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## Audog (Mar 17, 2017)

Dempsey2495 said:


> His name is Dempsey!


Great name for a normal looking, big, GR. If the vet is worried about his weight, then he might be overweight, but in the pictures he looks fine.


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## LittleRedDawg (Oct 5, 2011)

So hard to tell on a long haired dog without having one's hands on them... that said 90 lbs at 9 months is growing much faster than I'd want to see any retriever breed growing. (My 2015 and 2016 models (females) were both under 50 lbs at 9 months.) I suspect he's in a comfortable 5-6/9 body condition score right now and I'd prefer to see a growing dog at a 4/9 to avoid OCD, ED, HD, and the myriad of other orthopedic diseases. 

Here's the body condition score chart: https://oregonvma.org/files/Purina-Dog-Condition-Chart.pdf

I'd switch to a more moderate adult food (e.g. Purina sport 28/16 or a maintenance diet), check the calories on the bag, and feed like you have a 70lb dog that needs RER x 1.8. Probably 3 cups a day or 1600 kcal/day max until you're confident he's at a 4/9 BCS.

Here's your RER calculator: https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/basic-calorie-calculator

Next time get pictures directly from the side and directly from above.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

The standing joke with Max was: "wait until he grows into those paws." Well, his paws finally fit the rest of him.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

I can tell you that Max had at least 90% of his height before he was neutered.


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

Dempsey looks fine. He is not fat. Keep him well exercised and don't overfeed he'll be great! Handsome boy btw.


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## BrianO (Apr 7, 2016)

You have the dog in hand and have a vet who can best advise you. Yes, 90 pounds at 9 months is atypical. Each dog is an individual. There will be dogs that are out of the typical range who are unhealthy. There will be dogs that are out of the typical range that are perfectly healthy. Are you planning on showing? This might be a problem. Do you have a pet that you love and want to keep healthy? Probably not an issue. Use your hands and pat down the dog. Can you feel the bone and muscle structure without the dog feeling boney or fat? If you are unsure, ask a trusted vet or the breeder of the dog with the dog physically present.

My pup is on the other end of the spectrum. He is 15 months old and around 65 pounds. He is within the standard, but trim. The vet says he is in perfect health. He has a different genetic code than his 80 pound male relatives. No big deal. Each dog is an individual.


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## Wolfeye (Sep 15, 2015)

Some dogs are bigger, no doubt. I recall seeing a picture of my Fenris' sire and bitch. His mom was a petite, svelte little thing, and the papa was HUGE, well up there in the hundred pound category. Fenris ended up being around 85 his whole life, within breed standard. 

As others have said, you do NOT have an overweight dog. You have a moose, but not a fat doggie.


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## IrisBramble (Oct 15, 2015)

My girl is not overweight at all and was 75lbs last time at the vet back in Feb she ranges anywhere from 70-75lbs depending the season.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Murphy was about 103 last year at this time. He too, is a big boy, with a big head. Vet said "he's a big dog" but loose five pounds. He's down to 90-92 lbs after a food change. Alot of big Goldens here!!


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

Wolfeye said:


> Some dogs are bigger, no doubt. I recall seeing a picture of my Fenris' sire and bitch. His mom was a petite, svelte little thing, and the papa was HUGE, well up there in the hundred pound category. Fenris ended up being around 85 his whole life, within breed standard.
> 
> As others have said, you do NOT have an overweight dog. You have a moose, but not a fat doggie.


85 lbs would actually be 10 lbs over standard weight.


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## Wolfeye (Sep 15, 2015)

ArchersMom said:


> 85 lbs would actually be 10 lbs over standard weight.


Yep! Yep! Yep! (10 characters!)


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

I have a hard time believing there's a purebred golden retriever out there that weighs 140 pounds and is not overweight. I've seen some BIG goldens but none of them were over ~110 pounds. 
The "90 pound" 9 month old doesn't look 90 pounds in the picture. He also doesn't look overweight so I guess keep doing whatever you're doing.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

K9-Design said:


> I have a hard time believing there's a purebred golden retriever out there that weighs 140 pounds and is not overweight. I've seen some BIG goldens but none of them were over ~110 pounds.
> 
> We have never seen another Golden Retriever as large as Max. Next time you are in California, get in touch with me and you can come by and see for yourself that there is such thing as a not overweight 140 pound Golden Retriever. Max is 139 pounds in this photo. Max always enjoys visitors.


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## tuckthepupnyc (May 13, 2017)

I agree, he doesn't look 90lbs. My guy is 72lbs at 1 year.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Max's Dad, don't you have some pictures that show him next to something to give us a perspective on his size? All the pictures just have a background of grass or fencing.


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## Goalie443 (Apr 19, 2021)

Dempsey2495 said:


> Okay, so first the important information. My 9 month old golden retriever is 90+ pounds. My wife and I haven't been worried about it at all, but after doing some research, we found that the average Golden is supposed to be much smaller at his age. I just want to make sure he's not going to have long term health issues.
> 
> We feed him 3-4 cups of food everyday, and he is very active. And by active, I mean he typically averages 3 walks and a long trip to the park every day. I played soccer in school and my wife is a physical trainer, so we stay active and have taught him to be active with us. We're about 3 minutes from a large park with baseball and soccer fields that we visit often, so by all accounts he is very active. That said, the optimist in me says he's just filling out with a lot of muscle because of the exercising we do. When he runs, he looks like a horse because you can see his muscles very clearly. You can also clearly feel his ribs.
> 
> ...


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## angelakecseg (3 mo ago)

Dempsey2495 said:


> He definitely feels like 90 pounds when he crawls into the recliner with me or when I lift him into the bathtub (we're not friends with water just yet). He makes regular trips to the vet for check ups and we've even asked them if their scale might be off, and they assure us it's not. He's very solid in muscle everywhere, especially in his rear legs and chest. It's just difficult to look at the average weight charts and not think that he might can afford to lost a little weight, but he eats like crazy because he exercises like crazy.


 LOL! Sounds like you’ve got a big boy on your hands. We have (have had) three Goldens. Our first, Titan, was all of 100 pounds full grown. He was a deep, dark red color and was beautiful. We lost him (and almost my hubby) in a car accident when he was 12. RIP TT!! ♥ Our current Goldens are of the English Cream variety. Loki is half English Cream and half American golden so he’s a gorgeous caramel color. Odin is full English cream. Loki is about 85 pounds and full grown at 4 yrs. Odin is 6 mo (today 🤗) and just weighed in tonight at 51lbs. These guys are as healthy and active as yours. Here’s my (and our breeder’s) conclusion: the average (male) golden is 75 pounds. There are always exceptions on either side of that. There are probably just as many Goldens weighing in at 50-60 pounds as there are on the other side of the spectrum- our guys - at 90-100!!! If your vet is happy and your dog is happy then that’s all you need! Good luck ♥


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