[sarah]

I keep getting told at the dog park "oh gee, your Lab is a short one!" and I always just shrug and say "I guess so"

Anyway, tonight I measured her and she is exactly 21 inches tall. The breed standard on my club website http://www.labradorclubnsw.com/standard.html says that the breed standard height for a ***** is 21.5 - 22 inches so she is just shy of the standard and at almost 15 months ... do you think she'll have a slight growth spurt still?

So at least now I can tell them "Actually, she is almost the perfect height according to breed standard" rather than feel like she is "inadequate"

How tall are your labs?

 

[patm]

It seems like alot of labs nowadays are tall and heavy compared to breed standard. Skippy is very tall - 25 inches and weighs 110 lbs, so he is not heavy - he is built more like a bloodhound, and falls short of "standard" in many ways. Emilu is 21.5 inches and weighs 79 lbs. She is a much better conformation type lab , a tad on the heavy side.

 

[sarah]

Milly has just hit 60lbs. I am not sure what the ideal weight is of a Lab --- does anyone have a website that advises of the standard weight of a *****? If I had a guideline I would be happy.

We cannot see Milly's ribs and you can feel them *just* so maybe she's a tad heavy?

 

[Garth]

Milly has just hit 60lbs. I am not sure what the ideal weight is of a Lab --- does anyone have a website that advises of the standard weight of a *****? If I had a guideline I would be happy.

We cannot see Milly's ribs and you can feel them *just* so maybe she's a tad heavy?

Here's the link to the ANKC link to the standard but it doesn't mention weight.

http://www.ankc.org.au/home/breeds_details.asp?bid=18

This is the page from my Labrador bible re the British standard. That's the standard we judge our dogs on here not the American one which is slightly different.

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z71/MRX-011/?action=view&current=img082.jpg

Sarah, try & get a copy of this book. I don't know if it's still in the shops but you can get it on line.

http://www.amazon.com/Labrador-Retr...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237291542&sr=8-1

As for this:

We cannot see Milly's ribs and you can feel them *just* so maybe she's a tad heavy?

Nope. If she's in good condition that's how she should be. If you can see the ribs, then she's too thin.

I never measured how tall Jo was but he was a big dog. When I was showing him, he was always one of the biggest dogs in his class. I'm 1.72m tall & he used to stand on his hind legs & put his front feet on my shoulders. That was usually his way of saying, I want to picked up & carried around like a baby dad & sucker dad always obliged Oh, & he weighed 35kg!.

 

[sarah]

thanks Garth I will try and grab that book!!

even from this link you posted http://www.ankc.org.au/home/breeds_details.asp?bid=18 she is still just under ideal breed standard height.

haha - who knows, maybe I just take small critisms of my baby girl too much to heart. But knowing that she is conforming to the standard just irk's me a little. Stupid DP people!

 

[Samson]

Dylan is already at least an inch higher than Jasper !

His head will be in the clouds at this rate !

 

[MicksMom]

Caleb just measured in at 23 3/4 inches, smack in the middle of the height standard for a male (22 1/2- 24 1/2 inches). At 65 pounds, he's right at the minimum weight for a male, too. Everytime someone mentions how small he is (as they proudly tell me how huge their Lab at home is), I just politely say how he's a smidge over the minimum size according to the standard.

 

[sarah]

I just politely say how he's a smidge over the minimum size according to the standard.

Exactly what I am going to do from now on! Except say that she is a smidge under and I still expect a small growth spurt from her before her 2nd birthday

 

[Garth]

thanks Garth I will try and grab that book!!

Let me know if you can't. If you're really, really, really, really nice to me, I'll lend you my copy. As for the ignorant DP people, ask them how many of them show their dogs & what they've won recently? That should shut them up if they've never set foot in a show ring before.

 

[sarah]

Let me know if you can't. If you're really, really, really, really nice to me, I'll lend you my copy. As for the ignorant DP people, ask them how many of them show their dogs & what they've won recently? That should shut them up if they've never set foot in a show ring before.

Yes but we haven't shown or won anything either!!

It is amazing but over the past 12 months I swear the Labs at our dog park have gotten taller!!

 

[Garth]

Yes but we haven't shown or won anything either!!

I know that but you can just bring it up in the conversation. That way you'll soon find out if you're talking to an experienced breeder, show handler or just another armchair expert who thinks they know everything but don't.

I recently ran into a woman with a Pug at the park where I walk my dogs. That day I didn't have the dogs with me but we got talking & I asked her if she showed it. She said yes & told me to go to the QLD Pug Club (that I didn't know existed). One day, I might check it out just for fun.

 

[2labs4kids]

Kayla is 22 inches to her shoulders and 27 inches to the top of her head. I don't know exactly how to measure. She weighs about 65 pounds.

 

[TobysTrix]

Chamois is 23.5" at the shoulder and weighs between 70 and 74 pounds, so she's on the slightly large side for female labs. Toby is a monster lab, WAY out of breed standard at 29.5" at the shoulder and 117 pounds the last time we weighed him, and we keep him lean since he's so large (better on his joints). We had no idea he'd get that huge. I wish I had $1 for every time someone told me "wow that's the biggest lab I've ever seen". I'd be rich.

 

[Luvmydog2much]

Ruby is 22.5" tall and Gin, her daughter is creeping up, just about a 1/2" shorter!

 

[luke from georgia]

luke and taylor are taller than the standards. they both came from lab rescue, so who knows if they are even full labs. it's all relative, so maybe that lab owner is used to seeing taller labs. standard or not, milly is a cutie, and she is loved, so next time someone says, "oh gee, your Lab is a short one!" give a big smile and proudly say, "thank you!"

 

[millstonekennel]

Samantha is 65# and 21 inch
Max is 80# and 24 inch
Blu is 75# and is 23.5 inch
Tobey is 80# and is 24 inch
Hunter is 90# and is 24 inch
Jack is 80# and is 23.5 inch

 

[Baloo317]

You should be able to easily feel ribs, just not see them. I also watch for the "fat roll" when they sit, if they're a little over weight they'll have a roll just on top of their back legs while sitting.

Baloo is 23" right on, which is half a inch above the minimum standard for dogs. He also weighs 70 pounds, which is within standard although a little on the low end, and people still comment about how small he is, and ask what he's crossed with. (These are usually lab owners, sheesh!)

 

[MidwestGirl]

I don't know for sure. I will have to measure her tonight and let you all know. She does have the more slender features.

 

[Emma the Lab]

Emma is right above 21". She weights about 57 lbs.

 

[Meg]

Gauge is taller than average at about 25" (he weighs about 80 lbs). He has a very lean look to him and we constantly get comments about how tall he is or asked what he is mixed with.