When do Cavs reach their adult size?

[Daisy's Mom]

I've seen a couple of topics about the rate of development of Cavaliers vis-a-vis their coat and ears, but I'm wondering about their size. When do they usually reach their adult size? Believe me, I know that's a hard question because when someone asks me questions like "when did your kids say their first word," I kind of stammer and hem and haw and say "the normal time?" I wrote some of it in their baby books, but I just don't remember timing of things like that off the top of my head.

But if any of you specifically remember about how old your dog was when he/she quit growing, could you post and let me know?

Daisy is 5+months old now, and she's getting pretty long and tall, though she is still really thin (kind of that gawky pre-teen stage). I was just wondering if this might be her adult size now in terms of height and/or weight. I don't know exactly how much she weighs, but I'm guessing around 10-12 pounds. I'm sure she'll fill out more, but I'm kind of hoping she won't get much longer or taller.

I went to a dog show a couple of weeks ago to kind of remind myself of how adult cavaliers look (just for fun). It seems like Daisy is already kind of a typical height, but it's hard to judge because the adult dogs have all that hair that Daisy doesn't have yet.

This is the first puppy I've had since I was a kid, so I just don't remember how long they keep on growing.

Thanks!

[Lani]

I'm interested to know too. Lucky is just at 16 weeks old today. We had a vet visit for his rabies vaccine and he weighed in at 10.5 lbs. That seems a bit heavier than other dogs I've seen on here. That said, the vet is very happy with his weight because he's not fat at all. Just long. But he's gained 1/2 lb in 9 days.

I did a posting in the beginning of September called "Adult Size" (I think) and one of the things that someone mentioned is that litter size can play a role in how fast they develop, especially in the beginning. I found the answers I got really helpful, so if you haven't already you might want to check out that link.

[Karlin]

The breeders on the list can be precise on this one! But generally your cavalier will keep growing and filling out up to around a year or 18 months for girls and up to two years or so for boys, I have read from breeders in the past. Most of their height will come by the time they are 9 months or so, I found -- and most of their weight by one year. My two boys changed little in weight from about a year onward.

They often get lanky then fill out. More info here on puppy size and adult size:

http://cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=31

[Daisy's Mom]

Yikes! That makes me wonder how big she will get!

I do think she has really spurted up in height and length lately and I hope it's just a matter of filling in now. But if she will keep growing until 12 years or 18 months, we have a long way to go. I may be having Lassie or Rin Tin Tin on my hands here! Her parents were right around 15 or 16 pounds, so I hope she won't surpass them.

[KingstonsMom]

Kingston weighed 8 pounds at 3.5 months old. He just turned 5 months old and now weighs 10lbs. His mother weighs 14lbs and father weighs 17lbs. It seems like your pup is growing at a pretty normal rate.

It'd be interesting if we started a thread for our dogs' weights, especially if people kept track of their growth rate month-by-month. Then we could see how our own dogs compare!

[Lani]

I'd be interested in participating in a growth tracking thread.

I think it would be pretty intersting to see how some fast everyone grows up and when they stop growing

[Nisha]

Most of their height will come by the time they are 9 months

oh thats good..i dont want mine to grow much bigger height wise!

[Cathy Moon]

It's really neat to watch their faces mature and fill out as their bodies fill out and their coats come in. I think Geordie continued to change in subtle ways until almost age 3. Cavaliers are adorable as puppies, but stunningly beautiful as adults!

[Charleen]

Cathy - Pippin did too. He just turned 3 years old on August 31st and in the last month I have noticed he is starting to get side whiskers (either side of his mouth) that are lighter ruby in color. He is really starting to look like a lion with a big mane around his face.

Here is Pippin as a Puppy. I can't remember how many months old he is in this picture.


Here is Pippin on September 4th. The whiskers I am referring to just showed up at the corners of his mouth on his lower cheeks. You can see them also in the avatar that I posted.

[Daisy's Mom]

Ohhhh, Pippin is so beautiful, both then and now!

I'll try to weigh and measure Daisy tonight so I can post her current 5 1/2 months stats to see how she compares. It's amazing to me how much she has grown in 3 months.