Do Rotties Have Growth Spurts?

[mercedes]

Just wondering. If they do, do they grow really fast (like 10 lbs in a week or what?) Just want to know if Mercedes might have one. If so, around what age?

[Sharon Marples]

No direct answer to this question except YES, they will have growth spurts. Every dog is individual, no one can tell you when the spurt will happen or how long it will last.

All you can do is monitor your puppy closely and when it looks like she is losing a bit of weight, she is probably going through a growth stage and you'll have to increase her food. But you still need to monitor closely because pretty soon that spurt will stop and she will start getting too much weight on her! :D

I've had this happen with our puppies off and on until they are at least a year old.

Hope this helps,

Sharon Marples

[cpalenchar]

I have no idea about growth spurts.

But-- I would like to say--- I hear a lot of stress from you about mercedes being small. Don't worry okay! :) If she's small that's GOOD--- smaller dogs (on average) live longer, are more active, more agile, etc! If she's out of standard-- don't breed her (which of course you wouldn't for other reasons....) .... but that doesn't mean she won't be perfect whatever size she is!!!! :) And... even if she doesn't make it past 60 pounds, or even less--- I am *sure* she will be more than enough dog for any purpose you have in mind for her. :)

-chloe

[JeanT]

I agree with cpalenchar. Mine have all been outside of standard large and it is not good for them in older age. I saw a perfect, slightly small for standard size female. What a beauty! And she will almost certainly live longer than mine, and she definitely will be more agile for a lot longer.

[Luvs]

Mercedes, they definately go through growth spurts. I don't know about 10 pounds in a week but it seems like our puppies grow almost overnight. I have really noticed this with Keil more than Akasha. Of course he is much larger than her anyway.

Chloe, I agree with you 100%! Akasha was the smallest puppy in her litter and it doesn't bother me in the least. I love her size! She is much more agile than her brother (who was the largest in the litter). I wanted a puppy that would best fit my personality and size had nothing to do with why I chose Akasha. The same thing with Keil. His size had nothing to do with why we got him. His personality fit my daughter perfectly. We had originally wanted a different male from the litter but the breeder thought that Keil would fit what we wanted better and she was right on!:D

[mercedes]

I really don't care what size she will end up being. I just wanted to know if they had growth spurts (like kids do) and if I should feed her more or what, but the feeding thing has been answered.

[MontanaRott]

Lets talk growth spurts! Guerin went to the vet one month ago, and weighed 26.6 lbs, today he weighed in at the vets at 39.5lbs! And he is still ribby! I bet your girl will take off and just grow like weed. We have noticed he gets a little softer poo and losses his appetite just before a noticeable growth spurt.

[Wrath]

Starting around 4 or 5 months, Jaxom was putting on roughly 10 pounds a month. Last time we weighed him he was pushing 90 lbs and he's capping off at about 25-26 inches at the withers. He's still a bit skinny, but has been bulking up so he should be looking pretty good. We'll probably take a field trip to petsmart tomorrow and weigh in again, assuming it doesn't take a vacation to Oz in the next couple of hours.

[MontanaRott]

Sharon Marples had posted a while back that 10+/- a month is a good average. Seems Guerin and Jaxom are right on track. Good luck with the tornado situation.

[SABELLESMOM]

I'm not sure, but I'm hoping this will help you feel comfortable about your little girl.

When Sable was just about a year old when I first decided to show her. In our first show was another quality bitch the same age (12 mos) and very nearly the same size (just 22 inches). "Trudy" was bulkier and we came in second to her both days.

Since that time, Sable has gotten taller and substantially more muscular. Trudy, while still maturing, remains much closer to the same as when we first met her. Both are now about 20 months. To me, every now and then, I can still see a growth spurt.

Some lines take longer to mature, I think. Be patient with your girl. Chances are she's just fine.

[MontanaRott]

I have seen that with a friends lab, he was smallish for such a long time then at about 18 mo thru 2 yrs he really grew into himself.