# Physical maturity age for males (will he "bulk up"?)



## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Lucky is almost three years...and I do believe he still bulked in bone past the two year mark.

For him the difference between 1 and 2 years was very significant. From 2 to 3 less so.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Welcom to the forum 
It is not uncommon for some dogs to continue to mature up to 4-5 years of age. Some of us believe it is best for the dog to "grow slow". Some times diet can effect this but usually it is in te genes more tham anything else. Check with the boy's breeder and see if this line tends to mature later. And your explainations about "springing" ribs and widening were very easy to understand and correct. The only thing else I would like to ad is
:worthless

Take care and hope to see some photos of both Melody and your boy - who by the way you did not tell us his name :doh:


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Is he intact or neutered?






melodymom said:


> Dear forum,
> 
> I have a 3 year old female, Melody, that's great. I also have a young male, a bit shy of two years old, who looks and acts stunningly . However, I think he is "thin" when looked from the front, as if he is still not "fully developed" (e.g. his chest is not "wide)
> 
> ...


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## cham (Feb 21, 2008)

Mitchell is small for his age also. Thin, and narrow in appearance. He will be 2 in November, last time he was weighed, he was from a low of 55 to 63 lbs. But he hasnt really gained in mass or width. I suspect he is just going to be a smallish male. He is also very very high energy, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. He wasn't neutered until Dec of 07 so I know its not because he was neutered too young. Just his body type...


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## melodymom (Jun 21, 2008)

Wow, this forum is awesome. Three replies in less than five minutes! Never seen...

In any case, he (Hank) is intact. I am attaching one (ugly, badly taken) picture from the front, which I am hoping will give you an idea.

Thanks!

MM


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

melodymom said:


> Wow, this forum is awesome. Three replies in less than five minutes! Never seen...
> 
> In any case, he (Hank) is intact. I am attaching one (ugly, badly taken) picture from the front, which I am hoping will give you an idea.
> 
> ...


First there are NO "UGLY" pictures of any dog, never mind one named "Hank". Now I will agree it is a "bad" photo - although great special effects - but that is the photographer's goof and not the dog's. And lastly you are right, I can't see much of anything as far as the dog goes.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I think there is a good chence your boy will add some muscle and chest in the next year. The field style boys mature a full year later than show lines- we have had several generations of both. My Finn put on most of his chest and his plumy tails and pantaloons between two and four. Finn was 60 lbs at two and 72 lbs at four- back then, we were always trying to get him to gain weight bc he had a crazy-fast metabolism. (Now, not so much!)


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## melodymom (Jun 21, 2008)

This is one other picture I could find. Fuzzy but it shows the full dog, somewhat from the front. Thanks! --MM


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

He is SO pretty. He doesnt look too skinny for his age- just really nice.


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## mist (Jun 23, 2007)

Gracie didn't bulk up till she was four, she was always so skinny before, he looks adorable to me


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Hello and Welcome,
He is a very handsome boy and like everyone said, he may continue to bulk up and every dog is different. That last picture of him is great and shows his feathering very well.


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Jack really did not mature until he was 3 years old, Rusty still looks like a puppy compared to Jack, Rusty is 1 and a half years and got a lot of maturing to do.


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## GoldenSmile (Apr 10, 2008)

Steel's 1 1/2 years and I don't expect him to mature for another year or so. I can see him starting to get the dense muscles in his chest... but it's slow going. I was also told, like some of the people here, that a dog growing too rapidly due to too much protein in their diets will hurt the dog's joints. They also say that neutered dogs tend to be bigger than unneutered dogs.  Just food for thought.


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## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

I think after 2 the only bulking up you will see will be from exercise - lots of fetch.  

Griff will be 2 in September and he's not really full in the chest either but he's not gotten the amount of running I would like to see him get because I haven't gotten him out there much.

Some of it is just plain genetics. If his parents have a slim build so will he. 

My Jake got pretty broad in the chest but it was because he was compensating for bad hips. This is him at around 5:


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## melodymom (Jun 21, 2008)

Thanks to everybody who chimed in. In summary, there were quite a few that suggested that there's still some growth to be had, whereas there were others that stuck to the two-year milestone. But even then, the good effect of exercising was acknowledged.

On this last point, I have a couple of follow-up questions. What is "appropriate exercise level" for a male of about 2 years old? I would like, if at all possible, specific suggestions on length-of-time and how strenuous the exercise should be (e.g. would walking with him for 20min daily do it, or you are talking running for an hour or throwing the ball for an hour daily?)

Thanks in advance. You are wonderful.

MM


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

melodymom said:


> Thanks to everybody who chimed in. In summary, there were quite a few that suggested that there's still some growth to be had, whereas there were others that stuck to the two-year milestone. But even then, the good effect of exercising was acknowledged.
> 
> On this last point, I have a couple of follow-up questions. What is "appropriate exercise level" for a male of about 2 years old? I would like, if at all possible, specific suggestions on length-of-time and how strenuous the exercise should be (e.g. would walking with him for 20min daily do it, or you are talking running for an hour or throwing the ball for an hour daily?)
> 
> ...



Walking for 20 mins a day would be an absolute MINIMIM and if he's a busy dog, that likely won't get you very far in terms of wearing him out and helping him to relax around the house. If your only option is to leash walk him, I'd aim for two 20 min walks dailys at the minimum. They also need to run, so some sessions of ball tossing in the yard or local park are also great. When you're doing running exercise, or even walking on hot days, watch for the tongue. When it starts to widen at the bottom so that it looks like a wooden spoon, it's time to call it quits, especially in the beginning before the dog has built up much endurance.


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## norabrown (Jul 20, 2007)

He's beautiful. I see what you're saying about being thinner in the chest, but give him time. He will probably still thicken up a bit. And not all Golden's come in the same shapes and sizes.


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## gggirl (May 8, 2008)

He is so cute and looks great to me. Like others say give him some more time.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I think too it depends a bit on the body type, how much they widen out. Field varieties tend to be "more slender" than show varieties. My females are opposites.

Maxine (11 1/2) is the show variety, Teddi (1 1/2) the field. Now we keep Teddi VERY slender because of her hips, but you can still see the confirmation difference.


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