• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

how much does your cavi weigh??

shell1805

Well-known member
i was just wondering what everyones cavi weighs?? bentley was 11.3 (now i cant remember whether the vet weighs in lb or kg) but he shouldnt weigh over 10 so we're on a major health kick as he's only goingto be 2 in july and i dont want to risk his health.

however i was curious as to how much everyone elses cavi weighs.......???

xx
 
Your vet must be weighing in kilos, 11.3 lbs would be a very small full grown cavalier.

Guinness weighs 13 lbs (about 6 kilos), but he's only 10 months and still has some growing to do.
 
My girl is really petite, she's 10lbs now. She is 1 year, 3 months old. Not sure if she will get much bigger, she's been around the same weight for about 3 months now. Her parents are both of normal cavalier weight (16 &18lbs if I remember correctly). She was the smallest in the litter. Her siblings are all around the 14-15lb range.
 
Last edited:
Cassie is 4.5 kilos at 19 weeks, Barney is around 12.5 kilos.

Please don't go by the charts as Cavaliers vary a lot in size. Barney is on the taller end of the scale, if I went by the charts he'd be like a rake!!

You should see a waist and be able to feel the spine and rib cage without the protruding.

Having said this a recent study says that dogs at the lighter range or "normal" weight are living longer.
 
Yes I agree... every Cavalier is different.

As long as there is a visible waist and you can easily feel the ribs and spine they are fine!!
Ruby weighs 10.2 kg- she has lost some weight and although Id like to get her just under 10 kg for the summer for her own sake she certainly looks good!
Charlie on the other hand is only 7kg- he is visibley thin and I would like to get some weight on him still but the fact that he isnt gaining to me says he isnt ready yet and ive stopped obsessing about it now. He will gain in his own time im sure!!
 
I agree-It really does vary! My girl is small at 10 pounds but she's always been petite. She is the perfect weight for her frame, she still has a little filling out to do.
 
Jasper is now 9.2 kilo, the heaviest he has ever been, he is now 10 yrs old, I have noticed over the last two winters he puts on weight and then loses it in the summer when we are out for more walks in the good weather, I have always been very careful with his food intake, but I guess as they get older and less active it`s easy to put the weight on. He has quite a height to him compared to some cavaliers so does not look over big.
 
Mine range from 5.5 kg (12 lbs) up to 12.3 kg (27 lbs). Riley is almost 8 years old and very petite. Oliver is my big boy - long legs, long body but not overweight at all. Maddie and Oz are both around 6.8 kg (15 lbs). So there's a lot of range in cavalier sizes.
 
Our Abigail at almost 2 years weighs in at 15 1/2 lbs. We are trying to get her down to 14 3/4 as she is small in size and her waist is a bit hidden:lpy:

Heather R
 
thank you everyone for your replies. it would seem all cavi's vary. however i think bentley may need to go on a diet as i cant really see a waist (no matter how much i try to convince myself!!! icon_whistling) and i think, though he doesnt look huge, a few inches lost wouldnt do him any harm. he seems to like carrot sticks so ive swapped him to those as a treat as apposed to the dog tibits. though i think i may have found where these extra few inches may have started from. i caught hin the other night wih him head in his food bin which he had managed to open, the little monkey that he is. i wonder how many times he has done that!!!!
 
I know this is a common concern, but still I hate these questions as it implies cavaliers should be a certain weight. As others note, there's a very large variation even within the breed standard of 12-18 lbs. The tendency in the show ring has been for many cavaliers to either hit or exceed the upper limit for a while now, especially males. Most healthy males are larger than breed standard, amongst UK show dogs and US show dogs, going by breeder discussions, and some have raised whether the breed standard should be changed, especially as most breeders feel cavaliers at the bottom weight are not great breed examples, too small framed without enough bone or good build -- unlike say chihuahuas or papillons this isn't a dainty breed as the breed standard makes pretty clear. I've seen concern that some are breeding such small slight dogs that B&Ts look more like short-faced longhaired dachshunds. You'd really see very few showring cavaliers under about 16lbs, male or female.

Many researchers currently believe it is better for the breed to be larger rather than smaller, and that something in a dog being smaller probably means a greater inclination towards SM because the condition only occurs in miniaturised breeds. Some trigger is thus set off genetically, most likely, by breeding a downsized dog.

Unfortunately there are scores of breeders who aim for extra small undersized dogs as if this is a selling point (and even charge extra for their unhealthy approach to breeding) -- it never should be as some natural cases aside, smaller dogs tend to be extra small for health reasons or breeding choices that a good health-focused breeder would not make. A breeder well-informed on SM and research findings will be unlikely to have small size as a positive. At the same time there's no direct correlation in individual dogs, and both larger and smaller cavaliers have SM -- and most cavaliers will probably eventually have SM as even the main vet for the UK Kennel Club, himself a geneticist, now seems to recognise (asked about incidence in cavaliers, he noted at a recent breeder seminar that reports he is getting indicate now that in cavaliers 60% or more will end up with SM). But researchers generally have noted that smallness brings consequences in bone development -- every choice brings unintended conequences many poorly understood -- and seems potentially linked to selecting for increased risk of SM -- as does a very short muzzle.

A vet can help determine if an individual dog is within a healthy weight -- what other people's cavaliers weigh is pretty irelevent. :) As noted, an individual dog should have a clear waist and its ribs should be easily felt but covered with a smooth layer of skin and some fat (eg not bony). Breeder Laura Lang's page on correct body shape and what to feed is very good on this issue. (y)

In rescue over the past many years I've had cavaliers as small as Penny above :), and as large as 40+pounds, all in good weight for their build. Penny actually was pretty underweight when she came in and is still filling out and of course is still young.
 
My cavalier is 5.6kg and he's just over 8 months. I'm not sure how much my mums cavvie weighs, she's 3 weeks older than mine but she's huge in comparison.
 
Many researchers currently believe it is better for the breed to be larger rather than smaller, and that something in a dog being smaller probably means a greater inclination towards SM because the condition only occurs in miniaturised breeds. Some trigger is thus set off genetically, most likely, by breeding a downsized dog.

Unfortunately there are scores of breeders who aim for extra small undersized dogs as if this is a selling point (and even charge extra for their unhealthy approach to breeding) -- it never should be as some natural cases aside, smaller dogs tend to be extra small for health reasons or breeding choices that a good health-focused breeder would not make.

Like Karlin I have very strong feelings about this issue as many know.

Deliberately breeding to downsize ie pocket, teacup etc should be outlawed, often so called breeders will use 2 very small for breed examples to attempt to breed miniature, pocket or teacup size.

Obviously this is because they are in demand and command a great deal more cash for the exceptionally small examples; all because of the *ignorance* of the general public on how genetics/dog breeding works and some strange notion that the smallest or biggest is best - it ain't!!

The problem is that many already "undersized" dogs are just that way because of genetic faults/defects, to then put 2 such examples together as sire and dam is asking for trouble. The breeder can end up with pups then sold to an unwitting general public whose lives are abnormally shortened because of hereditary defects or who live pain filled lives. Don't put your money in the pockets of these charlatans!

A truly committed breeder breeds for health, "type" and with an overall aim to improve the breed above all else; and certainly never for financial considerations.
 
Cavaliers definitely do vary in size! Our male Cav Max is a healthy 17 pounds for his frame, and he is 15 months old.

My female Lexie however is 14 months old and varies between 6 and 1/2 and 7 pounds (yes that is POUNDS, not KILOS)

She's completely healthy our vet says, just small. We had a lot of issues with the breeder. She didn't worm Lexie and when we got her from what we though was a reputable researched breeder, Lexie's stomach was so swollen she couldn't use her back legs (we thought she couldn't walk). The Vet guesses that the stress of her puppyhood along with being a runt contributed to her small size. Thankfully she is perfect now!

We did report the breeder and had the option to return Lexie to get a "healthier breed standard puppy" but obviously that was never an option. It actually worked out well because she is about the size of my sisters papillon and they are best friends (not that I would ever encourage breeding of small cavaliers for any purpose)
 
Back
Top