What Is The Average Weight For An 8 Month Old Lab?

[blacklabrador]

Don't worry so much about weight as profile and feel. If you can feel the ribs and see a waistline, you're pretty much ok. 23 kg sounds like a mid-range weight for an 8 mo lab bitch, presuming she has a fair amount of bone.

As for the exercise thing . . . I sold a lovely Lab pup to a family with instructions to constrain activity until about a year . . . gentle walks only . . . blah, blah, blah. What did they do? Of course, took him out horse back riding, on a regular basis, starting at around six months. I was horrified and shocked. Sent him in to be rayed at 1 year. Guess what. 2:1 hips and 0:0 elbows. As good as any of my dogs. I asked our vet, who has a history working with Guide Dogs. He said, straight ahead exercise generally doesn't do harm and may do good. Twisting and bumping and jumping are what you need to avoid

As there are often many factors influencing joint problems including genetics, you cannot conclude from one dog that large amounts of exercise don't cause problems.

Running after a horse on trail rides or in paddocks with stopping and starting and varied gaits is not the same physically as pounding along at the same gait on a lead - particulary if the pup is walked on the road.

Kylie if you walk your dog that much you are going against the advice of most breeders of labradors and other large dogs. My animal chiropractor recommends the same. No more than ten minutes at a time walking on lead.

If you are determined to do your own thing regardless of the advice that you've been given then I just hope that your dog doesn't end up suffering as a result. What you do now could influence your dog's joint health later on. Arthritis is a very painful conditition.

[Kylie and the black Lab]

I thank you all for your advice.

I have also emailed our breeder and they advised the following:

Slow gentle walks for max 30 mins with training incorporated are OK.

Based on what they have said and all of your advice, we have altered Jedda's walks to the following:

20 mins morning + 15 mins play time in yard

20 mins evening + whatever play she wants.

During her walks she stops at every corner, stops to sniff things and "talk" to other dogs and she is always walking on a combination of grass and a footpath (moreso grass).

Blacklabrador - you don't have to be so stroppy. I am only asking questions so I can do the best thing by my dog. I have always had Rotties in the past and walked them for up to half an hour - none of them had arithrytis.

[sandgrubber]

It would be great to have some science-based advice on the exercise question. Has anyone seen any peer reviewed studies on the subject?

I always end up confused when I advise puppy buyers. The vet I trust most on the subject is at odds with run-of-the-mill breeders advice. The worst skeletal problems I've had were a pair of lovely girls who played hard together but were not walked until they were older. But other pups who've had playmates have been fine. And several pups who have been walked from four months were fine. But I don't walk dogs hard and a lot of it is off lead. Maybe the anti-walking advice came from experiences of power walkers????

Eight months is past the main period of bone calcification, and in the way I understand it, is near the time when you can begin shifting from building bone to building muscle. Or are newly calcified bones more fragile? I don't know.