# Field Golden Growth Chart



## Canadian (Sep 23, 2019)

Hi everyone,

Many of the growth charts seem to represent the growth and adult weight of show goldens but I was just wondering if someone had seen a growth chart that represents a field Golden a little more accurately. All around growth charts seem to be a little all over the map with some saying the average weight is between 80-90 and others saying 40-50. 

As I understand they develop quite a bit differently in many respects (coat, size, rate of growth, etc) and I've been struggling to find one that either explicitly states that it's for field goldens or is even angled more toward them. 

Thanks!


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I don't know if there are growth charts for field Goldens. I will say this: I "underfeed" my field Goldens purposely to prevent rapid growth expecting adult weight to develop slowly but normal. If other field people do the same this would very much skew data.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

As far as size and coat goes, I have bred for the qualities that I desire in my own field dogs.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I think it would be more practical talking to your dog's breeder (assuming it's a field breeder who competes with his dogs). He knows his dogs growth rates. He knows what the top weight will be, he knows the checkpoints along the way.

Note though - this breed is one of the few that has weight written in the AKC breed standard. And these weights and height measurements are exact for AKC and CKC.

There _should not_ be so many sizes of dogs in the breed. What that means is dogs who whether they are too big and heavy or two small and light, are not bred to breed standard.

For a golden bred to breed standard - male dogs should be between 65 and 75 pounds. 

The last time I had an adult dog who weighed less than 65 pounds, he was dying from renal failure and wasting away.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

I don't know of any growth chart but, like many breeds, there are many oversized Goldens. 

Reputable breeders of field goldens could give an educated guess on their pups.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

SRW said:


> but, like many breeds, there are many oversized Goldens


Oversized would be male dogs in excess of 24" at the withers, and more than 75 pounds. 

Or bitches in excess of 22.5" or more than 65 pounds. 

Undersized would be male dogs less than 23" at the withers and less than 65 pounds at full mature weight.

Or bitches less than 21.5" or less than 55 pounds.

https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/GoldenRetriever.pdf


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

I can't believe you'e found a growth chart showing 80-90 pounds being an appropriate weight for an adult male Golden - or 40-50 being appropriate for a male either.

Have you discussed this issue with your breeder and your vet? The reason I ask is because even with human babies, a pediatrician will generally tell the parents of a healthy newborn that they track growth at each visit and over the long term, they want to see a steady and even curve of growth as they increase. If you follow the same common sense idea with tracking a puppy's growth, it should be pretty easy to start with an 8 week old puppy and keep things within bounds of good health. A good breeder should have her puppies in good shape to send home not too thin and not too roly poly, then if you follow the idea that they should really only be putting on about 1-1.5 pounds a week and keep an eye on the puppy's body condition , it should be easy to figure out what is appropriate for that puppy. Check weight twice a week so you can bump up or down food and treat intake as needed, it's a lot of attention to detail, but worth the hassle in the long run.

https://cvgrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NEW-Slow-Grow-2017.pdf This is a pretty good explanation of the ideas. Even if you don't worry about specific weights, just start with the weight of the puppy you brought home and keep those weekly gains going forward under control and watching body condition, that puppy should end up being appropriate weight for his genetics at one year of age. Dogs are like humans, they are better off being a tiny bit too lean than a tiny bit too chubby. With help from the breeder and the vet you should be able to figure it all out and have a reasonable plan.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Small thing about Rhonda Hovan's slow growth thing - I've seen puppies look not that great while fed that diet and I would not be happy at all if my pup weighed only 22 pounds at 16 weeks primarily because of him being underfed! That's malnourished.  

I just took my pup in for shots and he got his weight checked at a few days shy of 16 weeks and he weighs 31 pounds. I literally was relieved because that puts his weight track in line with his dad and brother at the same age. 

Additionally the exercise requirements in the method are in excess of what is practical for a young puppy. 

There is just NO WAY it's OK to walk a 16 week puppy for 2.5 miles every day. Not without negative effect to growing bones. And again, not without the pup looking malnourished if you continue to underfeed them.  And have to add, my pup's breeder would be furious if she found out that I was walking my pup over a mile at this stage. Which right now, he gets 1/2 to 1 mile walks. 

Oh, and speaking to other people about what they are doing... we all add vitamin C to the diet on a daily basis - particularly with pups who are going through a big growth period (between 10 weeks and 4 months).

If it helps... the below is a visual. 

My thing is I don't want to see bones any more than I want to feel a lot of padding, I don't want a tuck up, and visually you should see weight being more related to the size of the pup vs pup carrying too much extra weight for his size.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Kate, did you read my post for clarity? I explained the article I linked: "This is a pretty good explanation of the ideas." I gave the caveat that these weights depend on how much the puppy weighed when brought home at 8 weeks, told him that it needs to be done with advice of the vet and the breeder so he has knowledge of the genetics of the pedigree behind the puppy and the body condition score assessment with help of the vet who sees the puppy in person. 

I am aware that the average person who raises puppies with the intention of showing them in conformation typically brings home a heavier puppy and then feeds those puppies with an eye toward them being on the heaviest end of the health spectrum. Since this poster was gearing his question toward the idea that his interest was toward more athletic dogs, I was emphasizing the idea that keeping them leaner is best. Study after study shows that a dog who is fed a high quality diet and given proper nutrition will live a longer and healthier life if kept on the lean side of normal. For growth disorders like panosteitis which Goldens are at risk for, the prevailing thought currently is that it is linked to genetics and diet: slow growth is recommended. I don't know what else to say, I'm so glad that your dogs haven't had problems, but I think that it's important to make sure that the average Golden owner is aware that leaner Goldens have fewer joint and health issues and it's recommended for avoiding certain cancers. How else would you advise people except to keep their puppies lean and healthy? Most pet owners in our country have become so accustomed to seeing dogs in over weight body condition that when they see a lean dog they think it's being under fed. It's not what is best for our Goldens to be over the ideal body condition score. Here is a link to Purina's explanation and I guarantee that most people think that their ideal weight dog is underfed: https://www.purina.co.uk/dogs/healt...and-weight-management/dog-body-condition-tool

The OP didn't ask about exercise, so it didn't occur to me that we should debate that part of the article but we can certainly do that too. My take on this is that free, off leash exercise is best for puppies where they can set the pace and exertion level. I am not a fan of forced marches on leash over hard surfaces for any length of time. I don't have a problem with two mile off leash hikes depending on temperature and terrain and speed when a puppy is pushing 6 months old but it wouldn't be something I'd do daily. Swimming and retrieving in shorter sessions is a great form of exercise when combined with hikes.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Kristy - I can't speak for other people. Have definitely seen pups who are overweight. But speaking for myself, I do believe in a practical feeding schedule and checking weights to make sure a pup is staying on track and not gaining too much weight, etc.

With Bertie - his typical adult weight was between 68 pounds and 72 pounds. And with him being slightly longer in body, he carried that weight well. He is currently 78 pounds thanks to him putting on middle-aged to older dog weight (he just turned 7). We are working on getting that weight trimmed down to a more ideal 72-73 pounds for him. 

Jovi weighs the same (67 pounds at his last weight check), but thanks to him being more cobby in shape (not long in body at all) and more bone than his dad, he looks like a heavier dog and per his breeder and Bertie's breeder needs to lose a couple pounds for the conformation ring. 

It's assumed - thanks to some people out there (I know of one out east who I raise an eyebrow over while looking at her rather fat dogs) that dogs are supposed to be kept heavy and at the top weight of the weight scale written into the breed standard. 

But believe me, coat and proportions... and assumptions... can add some visual weight to a dog. Which, btw, is why many of those visual condition things like the one on Purina use a hound or lab type dog as an example and not a coated breed like a golden retriever. 

Pano - I'm not really sure I understand why some dogs get pano and others do not. I assume like many, that it's related to weight and rapid growth. That's why while my pup is growing at a 2-3 pound a week pace, I'm adding vitamin C and glycoflex, just in case. 

I'm just pointing this stuff out. I think since this is my third pup that I'm raising on this forum that people can tell that I'm very concerned about keeping the growth slower and steady, but I am just not a fan of the Hovan thing because I think it's too extreme both in respects of diet and exercise for growing puppies.

I believe in common sense and moderation. And absolutely don't overfeed them! (Glee is a picky eater like his dad was, so he gets fed anywhere between 1.5 cups to 2.5 cups a day)

*only commented because I think some people follow directions to the very dot vs adjusting depending on their pup. 

There was one pup on this forum a long time ago whose owner followed the Hovan method and main thing I remember is the pup ended up having major issues with something later on. This was one of those pups who I looked at and thought he looked malnourished.


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

Its best to look at the parents. I have a field dog but both parents are within the weight standard for goldens. Mom is 55lbs and dad is 72lbs. I expect him to end up between 65-70lbs. I haven't weighed him in a while but I'm guessing at 5.5 months he's between 45-50lbs. I only say that because he's about the size of my under-standard female that weighs 50lbs.


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