Lolas size

I have been reading some peoples concerns about their cavaliers size,I was a bit concerned about Lolas size also. She is 2 1/2 now and ive weighed her today and she weighs about 14lbs!!! But she is small framed and always has been since a got her as a puppy at 9 weeks.
She did have a very fussy diet when we first got her and she would only eat small amounts and went off her food every now and again.
That all seems to have passed thanks goodness now and she eats very well.
My main concern is just how little she is really she has no signs of illness at all she is very bright and active and has loads of exercise bless her. But i think i just get a bit worried sometimes when i see other cavies and they are twice her size. People stop to make a fuss of her and when they ask how old she is their always shocked that she is 2 and not like 10 months or something.

She is no way skinny she fits her skin body fine and you cannot feel or see her ribs ar anything she just looks small.

Probably me been paranoid

Has anyone got any views on Lola or is she ok?

Thanks alot
sharon (lolas mum) xxx

I have two girls... both around 20 months, but one, Tilly, is weighing in at 18lbs (8.2 kg) and the other one, Fern, is tiny at 12.7lbs (5.8kg).

I have had Fern tested for all sorts of things that may be causing the problem and nothing is showing up. She eats the same amount as my larger one. They (technically) have the same excercise amounts, but Fern is hyperactive compared to Tilly. Fern seems perfectly healthy, very petite, in fact she still looks like a 6 month old. She has the look of a young dog that is yet to fill out. No one believes that Fern is older by 3 weeks.

My vet and I have now decided that we weigh her fortnightly (to make sure she isn't losing weight) and see how she goes.

Lola's Mom; Please look at my answer to size question in thread above yours. Our Abigail is 9.9 pounds at 6 months; doing well, healthy, eating etc. Both breeder andvet say that she will be about 14 pounds as an adult. The breeder asked if we minded smaller dog and since she will meet breed standards no problem for us. both sides of her background heart and eye healthy at 6 and10 years.

Since then I've seen larger cavaliers for same age. Our dog trainer called ours the more monkey type( whatever that means). I think she meant ours would be slightly more difficult to train but we seem to be doing well on that score.

The only difference is that we still feed her 3 times a day so she sleeps through the night.

Heather R

I have one at each end of the scale. Belle is tiny, only about 12 lbs at her weigh in last week and Prince is a whopping 29 lbs. He is obviously overweight and is on a diet and they both gets lots of exercise. Belle is 4 and Prince is 5. Belle just has a small frame and like your girl, she doesnt feel skinny, she is just svelte so im not worried.

Ilsa is also a tiny little thing, at 4 years she weighs 5.5 kilo about 13 pounds.
She was the runt, and when she was a puppy I spent a fortune getting every test available, she was also skinny and I was worried she wasn't digesting her food. She was just fine, she has SM but is healthy active and beautiful. She also meets regulations to travel in the cabin on airplanes. I can take her on buses and trains in her bag.
It is funny, there is an 6 month old new cavalier puppy on our block, she's already bigger then Ilsa, maybe even twice as big!

I think she's perfect,beautiful and lovely in every way, I wouldn't change her for anything.

If you're worried get a full workup, (we even had an ultrasound on her stomach and intestines) blood, urine, etc. But if she's healthy, everything's fine, she's just small.

Jen and Ilsa

My Pippin is quite small and people always think he is a few months old! He's almost five years old.

He was a little sick when he was a pup,but he is small framed,so I think he was always going to be small.

DJ my rescue boy is four months younger than Pippin but way bigger and stronger than him and Gus is fairly small-average but bigger than Pippin too.

People always fuss over Pippin and think he is the baby of our cavs!

Thats him above,pic was taken when he was four and a half,he has the tiniest little face!

14 lbs isn't tiny in this breed -- it is above the bottom of the breed standard, which in the UK is 12-18 lbs and in the US is 13-18 lbs. So this is a normal size for a cavalier; she isn't small. I have a 12.5lb, 13.5 lb, 15 lb and 16.5 lb cavalier -- so two smaller than yours but both those are still within the breed standard. Unless your vet thinks she is overly thin and underweight for her frame, she is a fine size.

Karlin said:

14 lbs isn't tiny in this breed -- it is above the bottom of the breed standard, which in the UK is 12-18 lbs and in the US is 13-18 lbs. So this is a normal size for a cavalier; she isn't small. I have a 12.5lb, 13.5 lb, 15 lb and 16.5 lb cavalier -- so two smaller than yours but both those are still within the breed standard. Unless your vet thinks she is overly thin and underweight for her frame, she is a fine size.

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Couldn't have said it better! As long as she is healthy and eating well there is nothing to worry about - good things do come in small packages!

A Big thank you

I have read through all your messages and just wanted to thank you all. I do feel alot better now.
Lola is a lovely dog we all love her to bits and take her with us everywhere, she is very active and eats everything i give her so i guess i was just a concerned mummy.

Karlin thanks for the info im so glad she is above the bottom weight that makes me feel better. The vet has always said shes fine,but like our human kids we just worry about them.

Thanks again
lolas mum xxx

My Dixie is 14 lbs. too. Her mom was 13 lbs. Dixie looks great and is very active. She does agility and needs to be very fit. I think she is perfect...

I have a range in weights for my dogs also. Riley at 6 years old is my smallest at just under 13 pounds, Madison weighs in at about 16 pounds, Oz at 17, and Oliver is 26 pounds - not overweight just a big dog, long legs, etc. Maybe some sloppy breeding in his background somewhere. He's also very heavily ticked, but he was my first cavalier and I adore him.

Hi Shivers

I have an on going battle with Poppy and her diet ,just curious what and how much you are feeding Prince.

Well none of mine are to be called small I think
Qwick is the largest one but by now he's fine (he was overweight a few years ago) he's now weighing 23 lbs (10.5kg)
Qwebble gained quite some weight after being spayed beginning of last year.. she's weighs around 18 lbs now and Qnotje is just a little less then Qwebble, my guess she's around 16-17lbs now.. (and she's only 10 months and rather skinny)..
So no small ones here but sometimes I do worry that they might be oversized Although their heights are very conform the breeding standards..

Qwick is the only 'bigger' one but he's bigboned as well and the vet says he's looking great recently

Hi Brian

In the morning I give both dogs their dry dog food (about 2 handfuls) and they eat it supervised so I know Prince isnt eating Belle's. He eats quite fast and she eats very slow.

Then in the evening I have cut out dog food and I give him vegetables instead. So far he has been having green beans and peas (cooked), just in this past week. I plan to experiment a little more with the veggies and see what else he likes. I also give him apple pieces as a treat and cut way back on actual dog treats.

Plenty of exercise and a strong will also required He does still try to eat everything in sight but its for his own good so we have to be strict. Hard to resist the sad eyes all the same

lolas mum said:

you cannot feel or see her ribs

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You should be able to feel but not see ribs.

Dylan is a good weight according to his vet. I can feel his ribs. He's 15lb/7kilo

Jasper use to be what I would call skinny, he was about 15 pounds at about 2 yrs, but when he got to about 4 yrs - 5 yrs he started to fill out , he is nearly 9 and about 18 pounds, he is not a big breed he has a quite small head but looking at him against other cavs he is quite long legged, also from looking at him when we saw his parents his dad was chunky, he`s more like his mum, she was quite small, people still think he`s a younger dog to look at.

I must say i would love Bailey to put on a few kilos, but it just doesn;t seem to happen... We were at the vets this morning (as she is poorly again ) and she was weighed... in the past 6 weeks she has put on 110grams and is now weighing in at 3.96kg. So at just over 9 months old my poorly pupster is still yet to get past the 4kg mark - so frustrating!!:bang: