Trustability of Online Puppy Calculators (projected Adult Dog size)

[Desrae]

My Belle is about 18 pounds, she's got a small frame, and we struggle with her plumpiness all the time. Cavaliers tend to be a little obese, unfortunately. My Bobby is around 25 pounds, and when we saw his dad, I literally joked he was a St. Bernard, he was soooo big!!! lol. Bobby is a good size and despite his wonky knee, is really healthy (pray to God it continues).

Bless them, some of the bigger cavaliers do take up a lot of the lap. If mine are positioned on me the wrong way, I actually start to ache (have a touch of arthritis anyway).

[Sydneys Mom]

My Belle is about 18 pounds, she's got a small frame, and we struggle with her plumpiness all the time. Cavaliers tend to be a little obese, unfortunately. My Bobby is around 25 pounds, and when we saw his dad, I literally joked he was a St. Bernard, he was soooo big!!! lol. Bobby is a good size and despite his wonky knee, is really healthy (pray to God it continues).

Bless them, some of the bigger cavaliers do take up a lot of the lap. If mine are positioned on me the wrong way, I actually start to ache (have a touch of arthritis anyway).

Several years ago, we ran into some very nice people who thought Sydney was a St. Bernard puppy! Plus, it doesn't help that he happens to have an extremely thick coat which makes him look even bigger. It's too bad that cavaliers get a bad rap if they are larger than the "norm". Sydney was always a big boy and except for hypothyroidism, he was healthy. He was heart clear at 8 1/2 yrs is now 11 1/2 yrs and only started on his heart meds this year. That's why, for him to lost 3 lbs in less than a year was a concern. But he is a trooper and is doing really well.

[lucidity]

I don't trust online calculators either, lol. If your dog came from a reputable breeder, they would be better at estimating the adult size/weight of your puppy because they have info on sire/dam and other ancestors; plus info on littermates.

My Lyra is about 9.5lbs at 6 months old. She was 7lbs at 4 months. We're guessing that she'll be anything between 12 and 15lbs full grown.

[JessieAndMe]

Chauncy is currently 7 weeks and he is 27 ozs. You say that Jessie was tiny too, was he about the same weight when you brought him home?

Wow, he's only a little poppet Bless his cotton socks.
Jessie was a little bigger, but very lean. I worried about how lean he was at the time, as he was only having one meal per day of
puppy food before we brought him home, and two meals of a popular kids wheat cereal at the breeders. We started feeding him the
recommended three puppy meals per day, along with treats occasionally, and he grew rapidly.

Strangely, every Cavalier I've come across in Australia, is quite large. The breed seems to be more of a medium build dog,
so it makes me giggle to hear them being called lapdogs, Jessie doesn't even fit on my lap now!

Without sounding totally ridiculous, do you think the breed standard also depends on the country and how the breed first
migrated, here especially. I've read websites that have mentioned what the standard is at 15 weeks, and Jessie is like a miniture
horse in comparison.

[dozyrosy]

No, the Cavalier breed standards are fairly consistent. Weight range should be 10/12/13 lbs to 18 lbs. (Dogs are generally expected to be heavier than bitches.) US breed standards also include size as well as weight. I believe other countries are based on the UK standard. See here for UK and US information or check out the various Cavalier club websites.

All my Cavaliers except my current "baby" have been on the large side, and they still think they're lap dogs. My heaviest Cavalier was around 30-32lbs but was also very heavy boned. As a little pup he had huge "carthorse" feet; his breeder told me he'd grow into them and he did just that. But I don't believe it matters how much they actually weigh as long as their weight is correct for their size/build (i.e. they're not fat!) We had an interesting thread about how to judge this a month or so back.

Rosemary

[Chauncy]

Hello I agree with you that there is just "more to love and cuddle with" when it comes to dogs as loving as Cavaliers. By nature they are just so sweet and loving, it is live having a live teddy bear if they do get to about 30 lbs. If Sydney needs to be back to 30 lbs to get back to a healthier state, then I pray that he be able to gain those pounds very quickly!

Just reading some of the various posts regarding best size, size, "ideal size," etc. The reason why I told Lani what I did was because I know that when it comes to all aspects, mere preferences cannot be avoided or denied when it comes to practically every aspect of life. When it comes to dogs, the preference of some is to have a Cavalier that can fit onto their lap. For others, it is to have a larger Cavalier that will be a live teddy bear (ideally between 20-40 lbs). For those who have chosen the hobby of Showing their Cavaliers, they prefer for their dogs to fit the "AKC standard." I humble opinion is that it all just comes down to preferences.

At the end of the day, I think the most important thing is that our beloved Cavaliers are as healthy and happy as can be! Good health and happiness are going to forever be blind to the size of our dogs

There is nothing wrong with a 30 lb cavalier. Though cavaliers are known to be on the small side, there is a large population of cavaliers that are on the larger side. Sydney was 30 lbs, and with illness has lost 3 lbs. His cardiologist is concerned with the weight loss and wants me to make sure he doesn't lose any more and she would be happy if he gained the 3 lbs. back.

And just think, at this size, there is more to love and cuddle with.

[Chauncy]

I love how I'm learning so much just by having posted my very first question in the Forum This is such a great way to learn compared to reading books and such online!

You got me curious, was Belle also very tiny when she was born? Smiles, yes, may God Almighty continue to give Bobby (and Belle) good health!

My Belle is about 18 pounds, she's got a small frame, and we struggle with her plumpiness all the time. Cavaliers tend to be a little obese, unfortunately. My Bobby is around 25 pounds, and when we saw his dad, I literally joked he was a St. Bernard, he was soooo big!!! lol. Bobby is a good size and despite his wonky knee, is really healthy (pray to God it continues).

Bless them, some of the bigger cavaliers do take up a lot of the lap. If mine are positioned on me the wrong way, I actually start to ache (have a touch of arthritis anyway).

[Chauncy]

I didn't know that Sydney had hypothyroidism It is extremely understandable why his doctor wants for him to gain the pounds back too. I bid Sydney the best of health

Several years ago, we ran into some very nice people who thought Sydney was a St. Bernard puppy! Plus, it doesn't help that he happens to have an extremely thick coat which makes him look even bigger. It's too bad that cavaliers get a bad rap if they are larger than the "norm". Sydney was always a big boy and except for hypothyroidism, he was healthy. He was heart clear at 8 1/2 yrs is now 11 1/2 yrs and only started on his heart meds this year. That's why, for him to lost 3 lbs in less than a year was a concern. But he is a trooper and is doing really well.

[Chauncy]

Thank you! I just phoned the breeder and she projects that Chauncy will be about 9-10 lbs full grown. Thank you for pointing me in that direction

I don't trust online calculators either, lol. If your dog came from a reputable breeder, they would be better at estimating the adult size/weight of your puppy because they have info on sire/dam and other ancestors; plus info on littermates.

My Lyra is about 9.5lbs at 6 months old. She was 7lbs at 4 months. We're guessing that she'll be anything between 12 and 15lbs full grown.

[Chauncy]

I think you have a very good point in that you entertained the thought that perhaps per country, the "norms" for Cavalier size vary. Around here, at least for all the places I've lived here in the U.S., whenever I have seen Cavaliers out on walks or in dog parks, I have seen them range from about 11-17 lbs. So I think you may have a point there.

That is so cute that Jessie was on a kids wheat cereal For a blip there, I had a funny vision of Jessie as a baby sitting properly at a table and having wheat cereal out of a lovely porcelain bowl.

Wow, he's only a little poppet Bless his cotton socks.
Jessie was a little bigger, but very lean. I worried about how lean he was at the time, as he was only having one meal per day of
puppy food before we brought him home, and two meals of a popular kids wheat cereal at the breeders. We started feeding him the
recommended three puppy meals per day, along with treats occasionally, and he grew rapidly.

Strangely, every Cavalier I've come across in Australia, is quite large. The breed seems to be more of a medium build dog,
so it makes me giggle to hear them being called lapdogs, Jessie doesn't even fit on my lap now!

Without sounding totally ridiculous, do you think the breed standard also depends on the country and how the breed first
migrated, here especially. I've read websites that have mentioned what the standard is at 15 weeks, and Jessie is like a miniture
horse in comparison.