size / vet

[grumpylilmoose]

Brought Connor to the vets, 11 weeks old
3.20lbs

He's eating good but is he an okay size?

[Jess041]

If you look at the 4th chart on the link below, he should be between 5-8 lbs to be "in-size" at 11 weeks. So he's probably going to be a very small sheltie. As long as the vet says he's healthy and he continues to grow and gain weight, eating well.. I wouldn't worry about it.

http://bowlingsite.mcf.com/size/size.html

[Jaynie]

Welcome to the joys of having a tiny Sheltie! It's not something that responsible breeders actually breed for, and it's a little rarer that dogs that are out-size (over 16 inches).

My first Sheltie was purchased before I had a good working knowledge of the breed and indoor dogs in general. All the dogs I had growing up were outdoor dogs that lived on my parents' farm.

I got Neechee at 6 weeks old (WAY too young) and the day afterwards at the vet, he weighed 15 ounces! He was only half-way weaned, so I had to partially bottle-feed him.

As an adult, he weighed a whopping 12 pounds and stood 12.99999 inches tall. He was very delicately boned - his front feet left a footprint about the size of a quarter.

His small size made him portable, inexpensive to feed, and easy to crate (he lived in the cat's crate until about three months old. He traveled well, and lived to be 17.5 years old!

Congrats on your new baby! It sounds as if he's not going to be quite a small as Neechee. I have a soft spot for the little guys!

[take4roll10]

My girl was 3.5 pounds at 10 weeks old and as an adult is 13 1/2 inches and 14 pounds.

Seems like your little guy might be a little undersized for a sheltie, but I wouldn't worry too much as long as he is playful, eating, growing and your vet says he is healthy.

[ute_fan]

I haven't measured my little Callie in height, but she's about 17 months old and only weighs 14 pounds -- and has stayed that weight since about 10 months.

She's definitely on the smaller side, but I love it as she's the perfect lap size dog. My daughter-in-law has a more normal size Sheltie, who's about 28 pounds and maybe 3-4 pounds heavier than the vet would like her to be. It's interesting when we get the two of them together to see the differences.

Sasha (DIL's dog) is slightly taller and longer, but not as much as I would have expected. The main difference is that she's MUCH broader. I don't think it's just because she's a little chubby -- she's just thicker. Her paws are also almost twice the size of Callie's dainty little ones.

Interesting to see the difference in dogs of the same breed. Sort of like comparing me at barely 5' tall to my sister's nephews on her husband's side, who are 6'7" and tower over me.

[Jaynie]

The difference in scale of my first Sheltie vs. my current Sheltie almost gobsmacked me.

My little guy was always tiny, and for almost 20 years, I saw few other Shelties in person, so he was what was normal to me.

Then along came Bela. She is only 20 pounds, 14 inches tall, and is on such a different scale size-wise. Her feet would make two of Neechee's. But seeing her beside her foster mom's other dogs, she was positively tiny.

When I took her to my vet for the first time, my vet shook his head and said, "Where do you keep getting these little ones?" (He had always wished he could clone Neechee because he was "portable".)

[Tagg]

My daughter's bitch is about 13 inches and 16lbs. She is absolutely healthy, hearty and full of beans. As long as your pup is a healthy one, don't worry about size.