2 questions, my 1 year old bitch still has not had her first season, should I be worried. My second question invloves her size, at 12 months she's only 17" at the shoulder, granted she is bred from a working line and I was told that they can be smaller than show dogs, but I do worry when other dog owners comment on her size and look suprised when I tell them she's a KC registered lab, any comments.(If these questions sound stupid sorry, but I'm a novice at this dog owning lark!!!)

Thanks

IWJ  

Hi,

I have Golden Retrievers which I alawys thought were supposed to be bigger than labs.

A Golden bitch is 20-22 inches
             Dog      22-24 inches height at withers
Both breeds are slow maturing and do not finish growing until around 18months  -2 yrs
I dont know the correct height for labs but im sure John will be along shortly to give us the info :-)

Briony :-)

Hi,

Forgot to say my 1st Golden bitch did not have her 1st season until almost 18 months and just comes into season once a year never a problem with her but was slow maturing :-)

Briony :-)

Hi Guest

Like people, bitches coming into season differ with each bitch. My bitch was over 14 months old, one sister 11 months, one 7 months and the other who is 18 months has still not had her first season yet. The mother of these dogs, did not have her first season until she was 23 months old. So if your bitch is healthy I would not worry until she went over the 24 month old stage. I think also you will find that the first season will bring on a lot of maturity, you usually see this in head set and chest developement (i.e. the amount of daylight you can see between the dogs underbelly and the ground). My labs were still growing until they were 2 ish, so again don't worry. I like to see labs coming on slowly, this is better for their physical frame,

Do you know what the parents look like? This can usually give you an indication to size, but not always. I have both show and working labs, and they have very different physiques. Perhaps your should talk to your breeder.

Obviously if any of this is causing you real concern at the moment bring the dog to the vet and have her checked over.

Are they commenting on her height, or just her overall size as workings labs tend to be, how can I say this nicely :-D, slimmer - finer boned.

Helen

Forgot to add that the Ideal height(and it is a guideline unless you want to show), is 56cm to the withers for a bitch.

Yes, working bred labradors are not so "heavily boned" but the actual size/height is quite much the same. There is dwarfism in some lines which may explain the small size.

The height of a Labrador bitch in the UK is 21.5 to 22 inches and a dog 22 to 22.5 inches.

I change off of puppy food early, certainly by six months old. This does I'm sure slow done the growth rate (which is exactly the reason I do it) because I have never had a Labrador puppy reach full height much before two years old.

If your puppy is going to follow this then I would have expected she would have been nearer to 18.5/19 inches by a year old. So saying, some will always be smaller and others bigger. My Anna is nearly two inches over size whereas my old Mandy was nearer an inch small. Really, unless you want to show the exact heights is not too important and because some lines are slower growing than others she could well end up right anyway.

Working lines are often finer boned than show dogs but SHOULD still be around the same height. Too small and they would find clearing a fence more difficult.

As to seasons, most of my Labradors have been older than a year old for the first season and 13 to 14 months is not in the slightest unusual. More of a problem is my Anna who comes into season regularly every six months which seems to always be at the most inopportune moments!!

Regards, John