collie people? a little whinge... puppy growth rates

NeverSayNever

NeverSayNever

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 July 2008
Messages
4,437
Location
uk
Visit site
any collie folk about to offer a listening ear?

Im a little fed up :o Im on my 8th collie... they are all ISDS lines and as you will know there is a huge variation in type. I have friends with absolute donkeys who at 16 weeks are the size of my adults:eek: grown up they reach about 28kg, which is what my old Labrador was! Ive always gone for a smaller build dog and my adult bitches range from 11.5-13.5kg, whereas my 2 dogs are about 18kg.

Ive just been to get my new pup chipped at the vet and been told, yet again, that she is not the weight she should be ‘according to the chart’ for her breed/age. (Never mind the dog infront of your eyes who isnt skin and bone and is a picture of health.)

Every single pup Ive had over the years has led to comments of ‘oh arent they small’ etc. however I dont believe in pumping them full of high protein puppy foods that accelerate growth and prefer them to mature more slowly, like a nice cheese:D

just venting really.... :o
 
Owning a breed with a hell of a lot of coat, colour, size variations, I feel your pain!!!
People always remark on how G is small. He's about 31kg, he is not oversized and he is nice and fast and agile...how the breed (any herding, working breed?!) should be IMO.
 
I have an 8 month old collie and she's tiny, her dad was huge her mum average but my girl is now weighing in at about 14kg, the comments I get do sometimes get to me, "she's too thin, feed her tripe" "shes skin and bones" "what are you feeding her, feed her more" I also spoke to my vet who says she's on the slim side, but she's packing some muscle and there's nothing wrong with her and to keep doing as I am ... so I will

She's badly bred, mum being a 'spayed' rescue who went on to have pups *rolls eyes* a cross between a Merle and tri so my girl is a complete mish mosh which I think is cute and rather unique.
I even get folks at dog training who speak directly to her saying things like 'oh its ok, you don't know your not perfect'

She's bl*$dy perfect to me!! *end rant*
 
I have the problem of owning a breed that should be very moderately sized (less than 23" tall, less than 24kg weight) but for which everyone has a mental picture of being a huge fuzzy wolflike thing, frequently confusing them with the comparatively gigantic malamute. A lot of people express disappointment at how small my dogs are in real life when the dog is at max height and the bitch well over height. :rolleyes:

Scuzzbutt dog hit 28kg a while back without me noticing. :o He's back to 25 now and looks his best at 24 which is in easy reach now they're coming back into work.

If I were to have a collie (never :p) I like a tall lean leggy dog with a very short coat. I think it's actually quite nice to be able to pick and choose the type, sibes have only one purpose and thus one type (in theory if not in practice).
 
JeanetteM said:
I have an 8 month old collie and she's tiny, her dad was huge her mum average but my girl is now weighing in at about 14kg, the comments I get do sometimes get to me, "she's too thin, feed her tripe" "shes skin and bones" "what are you feeding her, feed her more" I also spoke to my vet who says she's on the slim side, but she's packing some muscle and there's nothing wrong with her and to keep doing as I am ... so I will

She's badly bred, mum being a 'spayed' rescue who went on to have pups *rolls eyes* a cross between a Merle and tri so my girl is a complete mish mosh which I think is cute and rather unique.
I even get folks at dog training who speak directly to her saying things like 'oh its ok, you don't know your not perfect'

She's bl*$dy perfect to me!! *end rant*
Click to expand...

janette if she is 14kg at 8 month i dont think thats tiny at all. My adult bitches are all about 47cm at the wither. To give you an idea, the KC says they have to be over 43cm to measure into ‘large’ category for agility and there are some who measure into medium, so my girls are well in. However my bitches are 11.5 - 13.5kg as adults and I assure you they arent underweight !
 
I own one of the large collies and people are forever telling me she can't be a pure Border as she's so big. She's 26kg and my friend has one who is 13kg. Such a huge difference within the breed!
 
I too prefer the smaller BC. Star only weighed 12.5 kgs at a year old she now weighs about 13.5 kgs at 2.5 years old, Skye was 14.5 kg until she was 4 years old, then she went up to 15 kgs, she weighs 16 kgs at the moment, but I think she's a bit podgy and needs to loss some. Teagan weighs just over 15kgs and Bertie 16 kgs. Linus is the donkey here and weighs over 20 kgs.
 
Maybe we just have big collies at training then, cos my girl is half the size of every other collie there lol and she is teeny, just measured and she's 38cm
 
JeanetteM said:
Maybe we just have big collies at training then, cos my girl is half the size of every other collie there lol and she is teeny, just measured and she's 38cm
Click to expand...

ooh 38cm is little height wise though to be fair, mine are all about 47.

This is Star who is 20 months, 47cm and 11.3kg ! She is about a year old here but hasnt grown since
Star1year048.jpg


she is front left here -

DSCF2478.jpg
 
Last edited:
My two male Collies are 21kg which i was told is fairly average.A friend has a one year old who is tiny but she is fast and agile so don't worry about size too much as it is the ability to do the job that matters.I know some farmers like big sheepdogs to manage fiesty sheep,but equally i have seen smaller dogs who are just as adept at handling sheep.
 
I have had quite a few collies all ISDS reg, and they vary greatly in size and coat colour my youngest six months is well grown and very active. Fed adult chickens working crunch, small amount of tinned meat and a duck egg, and looks fine to me, as long as they are fit and well don't worry, like you think you can overfeed pups.
 
mon said:
I have had quite a few collies all ISDS reg, and they vary greatly in size and coat colour my youngest six months is well grown and very active. Fed adult chickens working crunch, small amount of tinned meat and a duck egg, and looks fine to me, as long as they are fit and well don't worry, like you think you can overfeed pups.
Click to expand...
I also like short coated collies, bitches, as cleaner around farm.
 
absolutely ! you want different things from working dogs; small and agile for some things and bigger and stronger for others. Hill work demands a different type of dog for example. I love this about the breed and hate what the KC are doing to it. I just wish some vets would realise this too instead of going by a ‘chart’ and trying to fit them all into one standard.

mon - my latest is a smooth coated bitch :D By Scrimgeours Laddie if you know the line.
 
My girl is about 20kg and I would say a medium size - personally I'd rather they were on the skinny side and mature at their own rate as a pup than try to speed up their growth etc as feeding to encourage fast growth is just going to lead to joint problems due to the accelerated growth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top