I have been looking at puppie pics that are the same age as mine and mine look like theyre too big. Im not trying to brag...I am concerned as to why. They are 3 weeks old tonight and we just weighed the largest male and he weighs almost 2.5 lbs. We checked the scale and its reading right. They were on the large side when they were born, according to my book. Weighing in at ...females 230 gms and males 300 gms. I have absolutely no idea but hubby looked it up and says they have to go on a diet..lol. Perhaps this is why were having a hard time keeping any meat on princesses bones. Both Mother and Fater on site so I know where they came from. Common sense tells me that being a small litter [4] wuold give you larger pups. Is this normal?

If they are still feeding from mum I would not worry to much, but mum may need a break you could try giving them a milk substitute from your vet so you can shear feeding duty's with her. When they are weaned you can take more control over there eating habits, but as long as the pups are healthy I would not worry about them being to big, its the small ones I used to worry about. Its always a good idea to speak to the vet about it though

I would only be concerned if pups were not putting on weight. They are coming up to the age that they you will start to wean (I usually stat around 3 weeks, dont know about your breed) and they will start galloping about - they could all lose a little weight then. It doesnt take much for a young puppy to drop weight and I would rather have them too heavy than be worrying over them not gaining enough.

I have kept records of all my litters and it is amazing how much unweaned whelps can vary in weight, often does depend on litter size, but by 8 weeks they are all roughly the same weight range 9 to 11 pounds.  By 12 weeks they seem to be even more likely to weight similar.  These are all pups that made the acceptable height range for the breed, no real tinies or oversize.

Hi there, your litter is a little older than mine, my pups were 2 weeks old on Tuesday.  At birth mine ranged from4 oz to 6.5 oz. The biggest boy is now 21oz. A good guide is to expect them to have doubled their birth weight by 10 days old, and a weight gain of about an ounce or a little more a day from then for the next couple weeks is usual.  2.5lbs at 3 weeks is defintely on the large size for the breed, and this is certianly why your girl is looking very slim.  I would increase her food intake in quantity and qualityto make sure she does not get too pulled down by feeding, no point in worrying about the babes they are obviously doing very well.  Are either of the parents quite big for the breed?
bye
Gwen

> It doesnt take much for a young puppy to drop weight and I would rather have them too heavy than be worrying over them not gaining enough.

Agree with Fillis.  You only need a poorly puppy for weight to drop off dramatically.  I like them to have some reserves.

I agree - a puppy with sickness and the runs can lose weight dramatically - to a life-threatening degree. A little excess weight gives them something in reserve. The size/weight of pups doesn't necessarily relate to their size/weight as adults. We once had a pup that we nicknamed "Monster" (the name stuck and she is "Monster" to this day) because she was so huge as a baby puppy. Today, at nearly 10 years of age, she is a delicate flower, at the bottom end of the height range for our breed.