# Small paws as puppy, but big dog?



## henrybug (May 12, 2014)

Hi! 

Has anyone had a puppy with small paws, but ended up growing up to be large? I have heard from various sources that puppies grow into their paws, and their paws don't grow much. Has anyone had experiences where the paws continue to grow along with the dog?

My new pup is underweight (11 wk old, 9.6 lb) with very small paws, but his parents are big (~80 lb). I am wondering if there is still a chance that he will grow up to be like his parents.

It would be great to see some photos of large goldens who started out with small paws. 

Thanks!


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

Those are actually some normal puppy paws IMO. But you should hope he doesn't grow to be 80 lbs. 75 is the max weight even for a male within the standard. Their paws do grow quite a bit as they age. But when they're puppies it seems like the paws grow first. Are you sure he's getting enough food, doesn't have worms or any other problems that could cause him to be underweight?


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

This is Bentley at 6 wks and the other one was in Jan when he was 115lbs. He's heavier than that now (long story) but we're on a strict diet to get weight off. He will always be large, like his dad.


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## henrybug (May 12, 2014)

ArchersMom said:


> Those are actually some normal puppy paws IMO. But you should hope he doesn't grow to be 80 lbs. 75 is the max weight even for a male within the standard. Their paws do grow quite a bit as they age. But when they're puppies it seems like the paws grow first. Are you sure he's getting enough food, doesn't have worms or any other problems that could cause him to be underweight?


He's definitely getting fed enough, but unfortunately he doesn't ever finish his food. He eats less than a cup of food a day, and refuses the supplements I provide him (Such as K9 Puppy Gold). I have tried feeding him peanut butter to add some calories but he is not gaining much weight.

The vet has not checked for worms yet, apparently the stool sample doesn't come until the 16 week checkup (according to the vet). I should ask him to do it sooner. For what it's worth, his poo looks quite normal to me.


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## henrybug (May 12, 2014)

Bentleysmom said:


> This is Bentley at 6 wks and the other one was in Jan when he was 115lbs. He's heavier than that now (long story) but we're on a strict diet to get weight off. He will always be large, like his dad.


Wow he's precious!!! He is such a sweet furball at 6 weeks. Do you by any chance remember Bentley's weight at 11 weeks old?


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

Maverick had pretty normal sized paws, but today sits just shy of 90lbs and is very tall. He's a big Golden.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

So many people who would come up to pet Molly as a puppy would tell me that she was going to be a big girl because her paws were huge. She did have pretty big paws but she ended up being on the small side at 50 lbs. I think paw size has more to do with substance than adult size -- some Goldens are bigger boned than others. The bigger pawed puppies may have more bone but will not necessarily end up taller or bigger. That's just a very uneducated guess/observation!


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

When Max was a puppy, people would joke with us, "wait until he grows into those paws." His paws always seemed too big for his body. He is very big now and his paws are proportional to his body. But the paws did keep growing along with the rest of him. They are even bigger now.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

henrybug said:


> He's definitely getting fed enough, but unfortunately he doesn't ever finish his food. He eats less than a cup of food a day, and refuses the supplements I provide him (Such as K9 Puppy Gold). I have tried feeding him peanut butter to add some calories but he is not gaining much weight.
> 
> *The vet has not checked for worms yet, apparently the stool sample doesn't come until the 16 week checkup (according to the vet)*. I should ask him to do it sooner. For what it's worth, his poo looks quite normal to me.


Where are you from? The normal protocol here in Dallas is to get a stool sample immediately from the puppy and make sure there is no parasitic disease going on. I cannot imagine waitiing 16 weeks to check something that important out! By all means take a sample in and have the vet check it out! 

My Yogi has huge paws, yet at 19 months he's on the smaller side for goldens at around 61 lbs. His parents are all within conformation size too- daddy is a GCH. If only I had collected $1 for every time someone told us he was going to be a large golden .


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## RetriverBoys (Mar 29, 2014)

His paws look pretty normal to me chase is 7 months and weighed In yesterday at 52 lbs they look similar to those paws at 16 weeks


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## cris (Jan 24, 2014)

Agreed with Dallas' Gold post - get a stool sample done. The norm here is to get puppies checked out as soon as they get to their homes (8 wks). Stool samples are done to make sure there are no parasites or diseases you would need to start treating asap.

Max has always had big paws, bigger than the golden we see every once in a while at the dog park, but I'm okay with that  He'll grow to whatever size he gets to, big boned or small boned he's still a handsome looking boy.


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

Vhuynh2 said:


> So many people who would come up to pet Molly as a puppy would tell me that she was going to be a big girl because her paws were huge. She did have pretty big paws but she ended up being on the small side at 50 lbs. I think paw size has more to do with substance than adult size -- some Goldens are bigger boned than others. The bigger pawed puppies may have more bone but will not necessarily end up taller or bigger. That's just a very uneducated guess/observation!


Agree 100%. Angus (Puffy) had HUGE paws even as an 8 week old pup - easily larger than my adult golden Axl at the time. Now, at two years old he is around 90 lbs but on the short side - a bit shy of 24" and about a half inch shorter than Ax. He just has massive bone structure. His paws, leg bones, ribs, and skull are all easily twice the size of Axl's.


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## henrybug (May 12, 2014)

Thanks for all the responses- I will ask the vet for a stool sample sooner. I doubt he has worms though, since he has been dewormed on schedule. Additionally, it just so happens that ALL his litter mates are the same size as him (despite parents being huge) so he's not a runt or anything. 

He hit 10 lb today, though!  So proud. (although he had eaten before I took the measurement so maybe not...)


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## cris (Jan 24, 2014)

I would just make sure he's gaining enough wait as to not see his ribs. He generally should have a thin layer of fat over them. From that picture it seems that he's doing well 

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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

My puppies at 11 weeks were roughly 14 pounds (females). I think it depends on the parents...the parents might have been big and tall that were 80 pounds? For instance longer legs.


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## henrybug (May 12, 2014)

kfayard said:


> My puppies at 11 weeks were roughly 14 pounds (females). I think it depends on the parents...the parents might have been big and tall that were 80 pounds? For instance longer legs.


How big are those pups now?


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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

Well they are only 12 weeks right now  but, I expect them to be around 62-64 pounds.


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