Why is my 1.5-year-old Labrador so small? Is his growth normal?

Puppies grow at different rates and even though the parents are large and stocky not every pup may get their build. Make sure you are giving Max a good quality food and that you are feeding enough at each meal. If he's very hungry and eats all the food quickly then you're probably not feeding enough at each meal. I feed twice a day and give a biscuit or two for treats. Controlled exercise daily will build muscle and swimming is a great exercise also. Max will reach his full size by the time he is two years old, perhaps slower than the others. He's a handsome boy and is just at an awkward stage right now. In addition please have a stool sample checked by your veterinarian to be sure there are no parasites effecting his growth. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Max.

There are a few possibilities. He could still be recovering from the parvo disease and will start gaining weight soon. He could be a mixed breed and just have a small adult size that he's getting to (and from his picture, he doesn't look like a pure lab to me, although it's impossible to tell from looks alone), or he could have an endocrine issue that he preventing him from growing normally. If he is otherwise normal, I would recommend giving him another month to work on growing, otherwise, schedule a vet visit to talk about possible testing. Good luck! He's quite a cutie.

Were you able to see the parents and the other puppies? Some dogs just have a smaller than expected body frame. She doesn't appear underweight. Female labs can range between 55-70 pounds. She may gain some more weight as she continues to fill out into adulthood, and that would put her at the low end of normal.

I am sorry to hear about your concern with Dolly. I am not famliar with the Mastador breed, but if she appears smaller than the other puppies it is possible she could be a runt. In puppies that have poor growth, we also become concerned about health conditions such as liver shunts, which can cause poor growth/weight gain. I would recommend having Dolly examined by a vet to ensure she isn't underweight and that she is a healthy puppy. It could be that one of her parents was smaller and she has taken on the traits of this parent while the other puppies have taken on the traits of the larger parent.

He should be ideally around 6kgs. 2.3 kgs is underweight and should be ideally checked by your local veterinarian to determine if there is any underlying health problem impairing his growth rate. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

It's difficult to say exactly from your description, or even just by looking at any dog. If you're wondering if he has congenital hypothyroidism, which is also called "dwarfism" or "cretinism," there is a relatively simple blood test that can be submitted by your vet to determine his thyroid function. A low functioning thyroid causes dogs not to grow to normal stature.

This is a common question we get from people who want their dog to be very big. The answer is that you should not be trying to make her grow too much too fast. Labradors vary in size depending on their genetics, so I can't give you an exact height that she should be, but she appears at a normal height for five months old. I know that my answer is very different than what you are expecting and it requires some further explanation. Below is a link to an article that does a great job of explaining how you should feed a large breed dog and why giving them too much nutrition can cause health problems later on. https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/04/09/slow-growth-diets-for-giant-breed-puppy.aspx I hope that helps and all is well with Olie.