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Golden Retriever Puppy Way Too Small!


greyseas
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Hi guys!

I'm a recent, and new owner of a Golden Retriever puppy Oscar :) He is currently 9 weeks moving onto 10 and he is absolutely tiny...way too small for a Golden at this age. He is only 2.3kg!!! He eats fine and is very energetic and acts like any puppy (and is adoorable hahah) but I can't seem to understand why he is so tiny. Has anyone else had a golden/large-breed dog be that small and grow up nicely?

When I took him to the vet for a vaccination on Monday, he said that despite being small he looks good and healthy and had everything in order.

We took him to the vet again today as his right paw looks crooked and points outwards (like his doing one legged ballet) and she's suggested we do some x-rays for the leg (possible closing of a growth plate). His foot looks ok after naps/a good nights sleep but after a day of playing and running it looks quite the sight! Today we had a different vet who has also recommended a blood test as she is worried that he may have a congenital condition, as he is so small and I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience?

We are extremely worried about him and are hoping for the best! :( I'm hoping it's nothing and that he is just a very late bloomer! (I feed him 1/2 a cup of supercoat puppy, 3 times a day). He is having both of them done today as we want answers quickly and this will set us back about $600-700 (blood test, xrays and consultation) and despite the money, our family feels it's better to be safe then sorry, especially since he's one of us!!

I've attached some photos of young Oscar at 8 weeks!

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Edited by greyseas
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cute puppy but my male golden retreiver weighed 8 kgs at 8 weeks (he is very big though) and my female from memory around 4.5 kgs.

My first point of call would be to contact his breeder and see what he/she recommends you should do

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He was in a litter of 10 pups so that may have been a contributory factor to his size? I did get him from a breeder and I am in the process of contacting her now, to see if she has any insights into this! I knew he was a small puppy and have been doing further research - the vet agrees with me when I say he is pretty much half the size he's supposed to be! Really hoping everything is ok

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He was in a litter of 10 pups so that may have been a contributory factor to his size?

No. My last litter of labs was 9. There where a couple of pups smaller than the others, but only marginally. IMO your pup is more like a third the weight he should be - not half!

Are you sure he is a purebred and isn't crossed with something smaller (ie he has a pedigree, not just a breeder saying he is purebred?)

I was thinking the same thing because of his face.

greyseas - When you picked him up where there other pups? How much smaller was he than the other pups?

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Are you sure he is a purebred and isn't crossed with something smaller (ie he has a pedigree, not just a breeder saying he is purebred?)

I was thinking the same thing megan he looks very small. greyseas did you get him from a registered breeder? if not I'm afraid you won't get much help from the person who bred him.

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I really hope that your breeder is of some help because I would say that your puppy should weigh at least 7 or 8kgs for his age.

He is very cute but JMO there has to be a problem and I hope that you manage to have some kind of diagnosis today.

Good luck

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Ive talked to the breeder (who is registered) and I do have the registration/pedigree papers for the parents who are both purebred golden retrievers so am sure he is not a cross. She lived much too far out for us to visit but I got regular updates on all the puppies and on pickup day we both drove half the distance for me to pick him up! I have also seen photos of both parents and they both look strong and healthy although unfortunately the mother passed most probably of a snake bite when the puppies were only a few weeks old so they've had to hand raise them ad on the litter's 6week vet checkup the breeder told me they were on the small side but still within the average weight range. She is also very worried as it is first unhealthy puppy but has guaranteed me first pick of her next litter in the coming year if something was to happen..which I hope is nothing :( Oscar has definitely grown since the photos I've posted but is still very small but fingers crossed he is a very very late bloomer. No news as of yet about the bloodwork but most probably tomorrow morning and the vet herself couldn't see anything out of the ordinary in his X-rays so is getting them looked at by a radiologist

Edited by greyseas
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If the puppies where a few weeks old when they lost the mother it shouldn't make any difference to the size because you can wean them from 2 weeks in needed. We once had a bitch run dry when the litter were 2 weeks and had to be weaned early. They were Border Collies that were very small born 170g-220g and they still made about 3-4kg at 8 weeks.

I would be interested to know how small these puppies were born. As they gain a percentage of their birth weight each day, it takes a lot longer for small born puppies to get to normal weight for their age. I have seen Border Collies that weigh anything from 3kg to 8 kg at 8 weeks, all end up normal size dogs so size now does not tell you much about how big they will end up.

Fingers crossed that this little one is just off to a slow start.

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