my baby is HUGE..how did this happen

[Herc's Mom]

HI....I'm new here...

Having gotten my new french baby last August my husband and I were thrilled with the cute little guy and he mended our broken hearts after losing our little yorkie of 11 yrs...however......at 8months old he is HUGE. Approx 14 inches tall and long....Not exactly the cuddly, little lap dog we were expecting. We love him regardless but are very disappointed that he is not small enough to be able to travel with us under our airline seat.

I have asked the breeder for parental info and was told both parents were less than 28lbs...my baby weighed 28 lbs at 4months !!!! And he is all head and muscles !! Not an ounce of fat as he runs our 15 acres with a husky and a german shepard.

Did I get snookered ? Did I find the missing link ?

[Pink Lady]

Hi Herc's mom! I am asuming that you didn't meet the parents of your pup then? I guess this is the only way to get a good idea of the size that the pup will be, obviously size cannot be guaranteed as pups will vary abit in a litter. I met both parents of my Frenchie and as they and their ancestors were all show dogs there was a pretty good chance that he was going to be under the maximum allowed size for showing. My pooch is 10 months and he weighs around 26lbs and I'm expecting him to put on a few more pounds over the next couple of months. 28lbs at 4 months is mega, are you sure he is a frenchie and not crossed with another breed? What a shame that you can't take your pup with you on flights as you had hoped but if he's healthy and happy then that's the most important things.

[franp]

Actually it is a cr*p shoot.. as to the size of your dog..

There are however som ways to help insure that your dog meets the breed standard...
Going to a reputable breeder is the first way.. A breeder that shows thier dogs.. that breeds to standard.. Did the breeder you got your dog from actively show? are either the sire/dame champions?? How big are they?

What is the background/pedigree on your dog? does it happen to contain many dogs from Russia/ the Eastern Block? The dogs from that part of the world tend to be much bigger than dogs from Western Europe ;Canada and America.. In fact ,in America, a dog can not be shown if it is over 28 pounds..

I have seen on occasion , a dog from a Reputable breeder, from dogs of proper size go over weight..But more often than not, they are the appropriate size. IF they go over, it is by a couple of pounds..

[Herc's Mom]

thanks !

I specifically went for a non-show dog background. He is AKC...
And drop dead gorgeous....of course I'm prejudiced....
I have been approached by strangers with ...
"If I get a female can we.....I'll buy a female tomorrow if we can...."
Of course I do not encourage anyone....I'm just not sure it would be a good thing.

Bottom line....a joy and a blessing

;~) R, H's M

[Dara]

My Cali is 17 weeks now and he has changed so much since we got him, he still has the puppy face but I have noticed that his lips are starting to spread:o

[franp]

thanks !

I specifically went for a non-show dog background. He is AKC...
And drop dead gorgeous....of course I'm prejudiced....
I have been approached by strangers with ...
"If I get a female can we.....I'll buy a female tomorrow if we can...."
Of course I do not encourage anyone....I'm just not sure it would be a good thing.

Bottom line....a joy and a blessing

;~) R, H's M

Well, if he is from a kennel that does not show.. then they are not reputable breeders..
People who do not show are not breeding to better the breed..they are breeding just to breed..
And sorry to tell you this. but any puppymill can be AKC.. all that is is a pedigree..

[BrindleMama]

Did your breeder give you a ballpark weight when he was a puppy? Ours gave us a guesstimate based on the parents size and the size of the puppies in a previous litter from the same paring. She said he should be around 24 lbs. full-grown. He's five and a half pounds at 11 weeks ... so we will see!

[loff]

My little one is not so little ether so your not alone. I also got him as a pet quality dog so it's no big deal to me except, like you, I had visions of plane travel. My vet said that my Jethrow Bodean sized sweetie is not a freak and actually may be spared some of the back troubles that many have due to his slightly longer back. If you look on the French Bulldog rescue web site, you'll see lots of larger ones. Would he be a good candidate for breeding, no. Is he a happy healthy nutty little frenchie, you bet.

[Oscar]

So how much does he weigh now at 8 months old?

[BrindleMama]

My guy is now four months old and is 15.5 lbs. He's packing it on!

[Bam Bam in Sa]

My Bam Bam is just 15 pounds at 7 months ,so when the breeder told me he's the runt she wasn't kidding. I guess I could take him in my lap in a plane but it wouldn't fair to the other passengers since passing gas is Bam Bams second favorite thing next being scratched.

[bonaparte]

Our Frenchie's mom weighed 18 lbs. And his dad weighed 22 lbs.
Bonaparte is 4 years old and weighs 35 pounds. He's a big, beautiful Frenchie and not fat. We wanted a small dog, but wouldn 't take a million dollars for this beautiful guy. His mom is from Hungary and I've heard that Frenchie's from Eastern Europe are often large.