# My Goldie is.... small?



## Rei

Hi, i dont know if its really a problem but I wanted your opinion, my Goldren Retriever is a 4 month and 1 week male, but he is smaller in size than other Goldens / Labradors around here which are 3 months...
Also he is pretty skinny and thin.

He is full health and very happy puppy but i wonder why he is so small in size and skinny?

I feed him TWICE as much as the vet and the things written on the ScienceDiet food recommend but he just doesnt gain weight... I even tried giving him fresh buns and bread but he still won't gain weight.

how can i make my goldie chubbie?


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## Pointgold

Don't. Chubby isn't good, lean is, while your puppy grows. As long as there are no intestinal parasites or other medical causes that are actually causing him to be malnourished, if he is healthy, don't push him to gain weight. In the long run, he'll be much healthier.


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## FlyingQuizini

He shouldn't be chubby. That wouldn't be healthy for him.

If he's been seen by a vet and is a healthy dog, don't worry about it. Some dogs are just smaller than others. My Quiz is a 4-yr-old adult male and he weighs 40 lbs. He's just small.

Can you post a picture?


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## Carraig

Has he been wormed lately? That can keep a puppy slender.

People food is not for dogs, even to put on weight. You want a good quality puppy chow, and you'll find lots of recommendations here from other owners and breeders.

It shouldn't be so much a matter of whether he is as big as other Goldens, but whether he is the right weight for his body structure. Some grow more slowly than others, and the last thing you want is an overweight dog because you try to make him grow bigger than his genetics dictate he should.

How big is he and how much does he weigh? How about some pictures so everyone can see how cute he is?


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## Jersey's Mom

If your dog has been cleared for parasites and other health problems, I really wouldn't let this bother you. Not only are some dogs simply smaller than others, all dogs grow and mature at different rates. If you are in contact with your pup's breeder, you can try asking them if this is typical for their lines. As others have said, don't go making him a porker... that will cause much more harm than good in the long run. Plus, it'll only cause him to grow width, not height. Good luck with your new pup. Look forward to seeing some pictures!!

Julie and Jersey


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## paula bedard

My Sam was the runt of his litter. Very small and thin. It took him about 6 months to start to fill out. He was a large full sized adult.


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## Bogart'sMom

I call Bogart my skinnyButtBoy! He is always smaller then other male Goldens. But a Golden Breeder told me that is he is right in the standard with 24" everyone else is too tall. With all the training treats that he's gotten any other dog would have blown up like a balloon, not my Boy though. He is 2.5 years old now and weights in at 72 Lbs. He is not hyper active but normal to mellow for his age. He has filled out now a little but still has to grow up a little more. I agree overweight or fattening up is not a goal to go for with a normal puppy.


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## Rei

ok i took this one just now and just checked his weight its 30lb [14 killograms].


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## goldenmomof3

Pointgold said:


> Don't. Chubby isn't good, lean is, while your puppy grows. As long as there are no intestinal parasites or other medical causes that are actually causing him to be malnourished, if he is healthy, don't push him to gain weight. In the long run, he'll be much healthier.


I couldn't agree more. My first thought was intestinal parasites - sometimes things like giardia do not show up when tested for it.

Has he had loose stools? Don't worry about comparing him at that age - some are slower to grow than others.


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## mylissyk

he's a beautiful puppy, if he were standing up in the picture it would be easier to tell, but I think he looks just fine!


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## LibbysMom

He looks a lot like Libby in build when she sits in a similar position. She is going on 10 months and only 40lbs. The vet said not to worry since she is healthy -- so as long as your boy is healty, I wouldn't worry about it too much.


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## MILLIESMOM

_Looks good to me, my first golden Brandy was a scrawny one then all of a sudden she filled right out. Millie weighed 56 pounds it seems forever but at seven years old she is now a nice 63 pounds and very fit._


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## Swampcollie

Rei said:


> ok i took this one just now and just checked his weight its 30lb [14 killograms].


He's right where he should be for his age.


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## Pointgold

Swampcollie is right. At 16 and 30 pounds, he is by no means small. I think that because there are so many oversized Goldens, a lot of people don't recognize the correct size. I'd like to see a pic of him standing viewing him straight on from his front...


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## Ash

Pointgold said:


> Swampcollie is right. At 16 and 30 pounds, he is by no means small. I think that because there are so many oversized Goldens, a lot of people don't recognize the correct size.


Amen to that. I fully agree.


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## jak_sak

I found this growth chart in the forum and online as well...just quoting that here...

7 wks. - 8-10 lbs.
9 wks. - 10-14 lbs.
12 wks. - 15-17 lbs.
* 16 wks. - 25-26 lbs.
* 20 wks. - 32-43 lbs.
6 mos. - 40-50 lbs.
12 mos. - 65-70 for males and 55-60 for females
2 yrs. - 55-68 females and 65-80 males


For 17 weeks, he should be around 25-30. He is 30. In fact he is on the upper scale of the weights. Yay!!


Cheers..
-JI


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## lovealways_jami

AND...I DONT THINK YOU SHOULD FEED HIM ANY KIND OF BREAD? 
Please correct me if Im wrong, but doesnt that cause bloat?


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## Rei

ok no more bread for Rei. and what is bloat? my english isnt perfect.


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## joco

hi, i'm sooo glad i found your post....our new pup, Jake is 14-15 weeks old...and he could be your pup's twin...he looks just like him. I was starting to worry, but i think they are just slow to grow. Thank You!!


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## NuttinButGoldens

He looks good to me.

Gilmour is 21.2 pounds at 16 weeks.


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## pburchins

Actually, I think he looks pretty good. His head looks great and I think his body is just growing on a different time line. I assume bloat is when his tummy gets big because of the yeast growing in his belly. I have heard you are not suppose to feed them pizza crust because of this. By the way, he is going to be a gorgeous color. I can see the coloring of gold in his ears already. He will mature to a beautiful gold I bet.

My old Golden loved pizza crust and pound cake. Man, he would the amount of drool he would lay down for pound cake was amazing. My wife would make it for his birthday every year ! 

We have the opposite problem going. I am afraid Riley might be too big at 13 weeks and 28 lbs. Here is his photo as of today.....


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## tippykayak

lovealways_jami said:


> AND...I DONT THINK YOU SHOULD FEED HIM ANY KIND OF BREAD?
> Please correct me if Im wrong, but doesnt that cause bloat?


Bread definitely does not cause bloat. Bloat is caused by having too much volume (usually air) in the stomach. It's usually related to stress, extreme overeating, or a situation that involves gulping air. If a dog ate a spectacular amount of bread, I suppose he could become bloated, but a couple of rolls wouldn't do it.

On the flip side, there's no reason to feed a dog much bread. Puppies who are kept on the lean side of healthy experience fewer growth-related problems on their way to adulthood, and adult dogs who are kept lean live longer and experience some of the age-related health problems much later in life or not at all.


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## RummysMum

I'm not too keen on ScienceDiet, the ingredients are like that of a lower quality food with a higher price tag.


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## iluv2worship1

My dog looks like yours (maybe a little bit bigger) and is 7 months! I'm kind of concerned actually.


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## slip_kid

NuttinButGoldens said:


> He looks good to me.
> 
> Gilmour is 21.2 pounds at 16 weeks.


similar to us, he was 18.5 at his shots last week, and he's 15 weeks today.


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## Jesse3

My Jesse will be 6months on the 4th and he's 40 lbs. He seemed to really jump in height and weight right after he hit four months. I was concerned at first but the vet says he's fine.


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## Maya's Mom

My pup is 21 weeks and is around 30 pounds.


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## Mindy72183

Wow, when I saw that your (adorable!) pup was 30 lbs at 4 months, I am really concerned now. My little Trapper was born 4-19-09...so that puts him at 14 weeks, right? Well, I adopted him and took him to the vet who said he was underweight but he also had caccidia (sp?) which we finished the Albon for. But he is still only about 14 lbs! Yikes! What are your thoughts on that?!


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## Ipsita Girolla

I think I've got the smallest one ever..he is just 2.65 kgs around (5.8-6 lbs) at 10 weeks old today I'm really scared he isn't growing since he was 6 weeks old?


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## Sweet Girl

Ipsita Girolla said:


> I think I've got the smallest one ever..he is just 2.65 kgs around (5.8-6 lbs) at 10 weeks old today I'm really scared he isn't growing since he was 6 weeks old?


How much is he eating? If he has been with you for four weeks and is being fed enough, he should be gaining and growing. If he is not, I would take him to the vet. Something is wrong. He might have worms that are preventing him from absorbing the nutrients he needs.


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## Good as Gold

Rei said:


> ok i took this one just now and just checked his weight its 30lb [14 killograms].


My pup is 18 weeks and is 30.7 lbs. Your pup sounds very normal to me. And, there are some who feel that a target weight for a 16 week old is 22-23 lbs and a 20 week old is 28-30 lbs., in which case both our pups have jumped ahead.
I'd definitely skip the buns.... no nutritional value there.


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## Wolfeye

Your pup is fine, as others have said. My current (crossbreed) dog projects to be 67 pounds and that's fine too. Not every Golden is going to be an 86lb "giant" like my Fenris was.  Do you know his parent's weights? Sometimes if one of the parents is smaller you see that in a puppy, the "runt" of the litter.


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