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Weight Question...

I have 2 cavaliers. a 4 month old male who is 11 pounds and a 3 month old female who at the vet today was 3 pounds even... is it normal for a cavalier to be so small? Has anyone else had one this tiny at this age?
 
Welcome to the board :D

3lb at 3 months is very small - what size was the dam? Was the breeder deliberately breeding for tiny Cavaliers?

Although the breed standard states 12 {or 13lb, depending where you live} to 18 lb, most Cavaliers are in fact bigger than that.


If your wee girl doesn't seem to grow very much, it would be worth asking your vet to investigate - there are a couple of conditions that could cause the puppy not to grow very well, one being porto systemic shunt where a blood vessel doesn't close off properly - this can be corrected surgically.

Is she eating and pooing normally?
 
I've heard that a guide to how large an adult dog will be is to double their weight at 12 weeks....so your 4 month old will probably be in the 20-22 lb range. Let's assume your 3 mo old will gain a couple pounds (hopefully) in the next month, she may only be in the 10 lb range as an adult. That's just a guide and there's no way to predict for sure but she sounds *very* small. Has she had any health problems? Is she active? Does she eat well? How are her poops? Is your vet concerned?
 
Hi there..
Yes!!! Izzie was 3.78lb when she was almost 4 months. I went through the same exact thing and what made it worse was one day at the dog park we met a cavalier that was a month and a half younger than Izzie and was twice the size!! I took her to the vet for another reason but also then asked about her size. They told me its nothing to worry about and that dogs grow at different rates.
Izzie is now nearly 9 months and weighs a healthy 14lb. Her growing spurt has been in the last 2 months - 6-8 months.
So personally i wouldnt worry too much, just monitor her closely. I think females sometimes are a lot smaller anyways and the thing I loved was that she could travel so easily everwhere I went!
Enjoy her while she is so dinky.. I struggle to carry Izzie around now :(
 
Our Abigail was 4 pounds at 10 weeks and her breeder said that she was and would be on the small size as an adult. Now at a year she is about 12 pounds. Our vet said not to worry.

In her puppy class there was another cav, same age, about 1/3 bigger than ours. Unless vet says differently, don't worry. I'm glad she is smaller. She doesn't try to jump on furniture and is easier to pick up etc.:lpy:

Heather R
 
Thanks so much for the responses! I feel a lot better now. I talked to the breeder and she basically said that I was crazy and that that was the normal size... even though all 3 of Lexy's litter mate sisters are well over 7 pounds now. I think she is just trying to deflect a few health issues such as Lexy's hernia away from herself. Our vet hasn't commented on her weight, but he has told me that she is now very healthy and happy. When we got her from the breeder she had TERRIBLE worms (4 different types), a hernia, and hip displasia. She was in so-so shape (even though the breeder said she was in PERFECT condition). After telling her all of the health issues after the first vet visit (3 days after getting her) she informed me that these must have shown up AFTER we got her...:? or that the vet was lying. Since this is the vet that kept my entire families dogs alive FOREVER I seriously doubt he's lying to be about her visible hernia.

Anyway, sorry to rant on. I'm just so frustrated with the breeder.

Thanks again for all of the responses. As long as Lexy is happy and healthy I don't care how small she is :-D
 
It is possible she is small because she has not been particularly well reared. I would have concerns about the worm infestation, that does not happen overnight. Puppies should be regularly wormed or they do not thrive.

Hernias are not uncommon, but the breeder should have told you about it.

The breed standard allows for a big difference in weight ( in the UK 12- 18 lbs ) and even show dogs are often larger than that.

Some very small puppies can get a sudden growth spurt & finish as large adults, while some big puppies will stop growing early and end up as fairly small when mature.

Now that she is with you, being well cared for and checked over by a good vet, I would not worry about her size as long as she is eating well and appears to be happy and energetic.
 
I feel a lot better now. I talked to the breeder and she basically said that I was crazy and that that was the normal size...
:eek::eek::eek:

This is analarming response from a breeder who is homing dogs with so many health issues. Hip dysplasia is potentially quite serious -- has your vet gone through the implications of this with you? This may need fairly involved surgery or may also lead to a crippled dog or a shortened life. And also the breeder is simply wrong -- 3 lbs at your puppy's age is extremely small and I'd be a bit worried your vet doesn't appreciate this, if not very familiar with cavaliers. I would certainly want to talk to a vet familiar with this breed and the size they should be -- 3lbs is more the norm at 8-9 weeks and even 4 bs would be especially small. You need to be sure there isn't an underlying health issue. It may be that the pup was the litter runt and will just be small, and is fine and healthy, but I would want to be sure of this -- maybe the worms also stunted her early development and she will now catch up. Hernias are common in the breed so not really a major concern 90% of the time. Often they are fixed at the time the dog is spayed/neutered if they haven;t gone away by then.

As you also have concluded, I would certainly not be consulting this breeder on health or development advice! :(

I'd return to your vet with further questions and also I'd want a lot more information on that hip dysplasia diagnosis especially as it looks to be extremely early onset of what is generally a progressive condition.

See:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_hip_dysplasia.html

Be very careful in how you feed the pup as well with this condition!
 
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