Holy wowsers!

[Luke and Abbys Mom]

She weights 17.6 lb's!!!!! Luke only weighed 13.7lb when he was that age! Her feet are almost as big as Luke's feet are now and he is 1 and a 1/2 and weights 37.8lb's now. She is going to be a monster! Luke has his boosters done same time today... Both are very healthy happy dogs according to my vet lol Not like I didn't notice when it sounds like a herd of elephants running through the house! amazing how much noise two dogs can make when they are playing!

 

But wow 17.6lb's how big do you guys think she is going to end up being?

 

Tara

[Guest LJS1993]

She weights 17.6 lb's!!!!! Luke only weighed 13.7lb when he was that age! Her feet are almost as big as Luke's feet are now and he is 1 and a 1/2 and weights 37.8lb's now. She is going to be a monster! Luke has his boosters done same time today... Both are very healthy happy dogs according to my vet lol Not like I didn't notice when it sounds like a herd of elephants running through the house! amazing how much noise two dogs can make when they are playing!

 

But wow 17.6lb's how big do you guys think she is going to end up being?

 

Tara

 

 

You can't always go by that in many cases. Are we talking two purebread BC's? Or does she have some other breed flowing through her veins? If she is pure BC, I doubt she will be bigger than 40lbs. If she is bigger than 40lbs and is pure BC, she must be out of shape in that case. Freckles, our pure female BC, is a big for a female from what I understand and she is at a solid 38lbs. I would say she will be around 35lbs to 38lbs if in shape.

[Michelle K]

If she is bigger than 40lbs and is pure BC, she must be out of shape in that case.

 

I'm just curious. Why do you say that? There was a pure BC (ABCA registered) in our agility class that wasn't overweight. She was just taller than most I've seen and around 48lbs. Thanks!

[sandyleew]

Taz is 48 lbs and she is very lean. She is 23" tall. Not all BCs over 40 lbs are overweight.

[books]

I've seen quite a few bitches over 40lb. It certainly isn't out of the norm at all.

[Bill Fosher]

My Molly's fighting weight was about 43. No vet called her overweight at 48, but I knew she was.

[Guest LJS1993]

Are those dogs the norm of the breed? If so then I am mistaken. If not, then this person could be the owner of an unusually large female BC. What I am saying is according to the norms, that dog might not be the monster it looks like it may be. According to my vet Freckles was supposed to weigh in at 50lbs at her complete maturity. However, it was pointed out to me by numerous individuals on this board that his predictions were unlikely and that the normal weight was in the mid to high 30lb range for a larger "bitch" as the proper canine term calls them. Am I mistaken?

[Michelle K]

Now, I could be wrong, and I hope someone will correct me if I am, but one of the links off of USBCC ( http://www.bordercollie.org/bcchar.html)

states:

"Since a "good" dog can be judged only by its herding performance, there is no "breed standard" of appearance to which Border Collies should conform. In general, they are of medium size (25-55 pounds), with coats that may be smooth, medium, or rough."

[Guest LJS1993]

Now, I could be wrong, and I hope someone will correct me if I am, but one of the links off of USBCC ( http://www.bordercollie.org/bcchar.html)

states:

"Since a "good" dog can be judged only by its herding performance, there is no "breed standard" of appearance to which Border Collies should conform. In general, they are of medium size (25-55 pounds), with coats that may be smooth, medium, or rough."

 

 

Interesting indeed. I have and will try to find sources which I have read that claim females are in the 25lb-40lb range with the males only rarely entering the 50's. I will try to find those sources. However I will say that some guy came on here awhile back claiming his male dog would be used for agility and was about 50lbs. That person was told his dog was "fat" and out of shape.

[Michelle K]

Interesting indeed. I have and will try to find sources which I have read that claim females are in the 25lb-40lb range with the males only rarely entering the 50's. I will try to find those sources. However I will say that some guy came on here awhile back claiming his male dog would be used for agility and was about 50lbs. That person was told his dog was "fat" and out of shape.

 

Oh, really? I don't remember seeing that. I'll see if I can find anything else as well.

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

17.6lbs at 3 mos is definitely big for a pup but not unheard of. My male, Tank, was around 15lbs or so at 3 mos old. My newest pup, Stella, will be 3 mos on the 28th and she is just 8lbs right now (11wks).

[Guest LJS1993]

Well here are some sites. However you can never prove their validity: I'm trying to find a more professional site.

 

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/dog_breed_profile.asp?dbid=32

 

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bordercollie.htm

 

** above link puts "bitches" in the 40's at most.

[Luke and Abbys Mom]

Yes Bree is a pure bred registered ABC. My vet actually has a grown female BC who weighs 45 pounds and is in shape she is also a reg ABC. Luke is actually the smallest BC I have ever had or been around. I have a good vet/client realationship and go in to BS all the time so I am forever weighing my dogs... Luke ranges from 36 to 38 pounds and his current weight is 37.8lbs, a pound up from two weeks ago. My old Luke (Lukes name sake) who has been gone for 8 years now was as lean as they come and he weighted in at 49lb. The old boy I have now (Jake) who is 11 this year when he was young and lean weighted 45lb I will admitt he is a bit on the chubby side at his old age. Luke's mom is a smaller dog like him, but his dad was big... Both of Bree's parents are WAY bigger then Luke's. Their weight I have no idea but they both towered over Luke when I was there getting Bree and taking their stock dog clinic.

 

I didn't mean to start an argument with this topic, I just thought that was big for 3 months old compaired to what Luke was at 3 months.

 

Tara

[Wendy V]

I own a very tall female that weighs in at 51 lbs. I also own two males that are 52 and 55 lbs. None are overweight and all are in good working condition. Land of the giants, I recken.

[Maralynn]

Interesting indeed. I have and will try to find sources which I have read that claim females are in the 25lb-40lb range with the males only rarely entering the 50's. I will try to find those sources. However I will say that some guy came on here awhile back claiming his male dog would be used for agility and was about 50lbs. That person was told his dog was "fat" and out of shape.

 

It's not just the weight, but the weight that would be ideal for that individual dog. It all depends on size and bone structure. Missy is 38# and at her ideal weight and Kipp is 28# and at his ideal weight. Both are purebred BC. Kipp would be extremely overweight at 38# but not according to the "ideal" you posted. He is a smaller dog and lighter-boned.

 

At a healthy weight, you should be able to easily feel your dogs ribs and see a tummy tuck. If you can't do this your dog is overweight. If you can, then your dog is probably close to it's ideal wieght.

[Michelle K]

I didn't mean to start an argument with this topic, I just thought that was big for 3 months old compaired to what Luke was at 3 months.

Tara

 

No argument here. Simply educational.

 

LJS, I found this one, but, like you, not sure on the validity... http://www.5stardog.com/dog-breeds-border-collie.asp. Everything else that I'm finding states in general and doesn't break it down between males and females.

 

Good point, Maralynn.

[Guest LJS1993]

Yes Bree is a pure bred registered ABC. My vet actually has a grown female BC who weighs 45 pounds and is in shape she is also a reg ABC. Luke is actually the smallest BC I have ever had or been around. I have a good vet/client realationship and go in to BS all the time so I am forever weighing my dogs... Luke ranges from 36 to 38 pounds and his current weight is 37.8lbs, a pound up from two weeks ago. My old Luke (Lukes name sake) who has been gone for 8 years now was as lean as they come and he weighted in at 49lb. The old boy I have now (Jake) who is 11 this year when he was young and lean weighted 45lb I will admitt he is a bit on the chubby side at his old age. Luke's mom is a smaller dog like him, but his dad was big... Both of Bree's parents are WAY bigger then Luke's. Their weight I have no idea but they both towered over Luke when I was there getting Bree and taking their stock dog clinic.

 

I didn't mean to start an argument with this topic, I just thought that was big for 3 months old compaired to what Luke was at 3 months.

 

Tara

 

There is no argument with mean intentions going on in this thread. I like to call it healthy debate and discussion. Why be on a discussion board if you cannot discuss aspects of the breed?

[Shadows Mom]

Shadow will be a monster.. 30 pounds at 3.5 months (approximately, may have been nearer the 4 month mark)hehe... and everyone insists shes skinny. 4.5 months now and shes ~33 pounds. I personally think all her weight is in her feet... or at least it feels that way when she pummels me in the middle of the night!

[Bill Fosher]

It's pretty hard to generalize about size in a breed that is selected for working ability. The selection pressure for a particular size that is engendered by the show ring is absent in working border collies, so you end up with big ones and little ones and in between ones.

 

Here's my current pack:

 

Fern, bitch, 7 months, approx 28 lbs.

Nap, neutered dog, 5 years, 44 lbs and a little chunky

Joe, neutered dog, 6 years, 40 lbs and fit

Tweed, dog, 7 years, 44 lbs and fit

Bess, spayed bitch, 8 years, 45 lbs and "built for comfort."

Molly, spayed bitch, 15 years, 48 lbs, old and unfit.

 

Bitches over 40 lbs are not unusual, but there are more under 40 than over, and I've only heard of a few fit bitches over 50.

 

I'm not sure about this, but I have the impression that cattledog lines are slightly larger than sheepdog lines.

[Lyric]

For some comparison, Kyrah was a little over 20 lbs at 4 months. She just turned 1 year and now weighs 27.5 lbs. Most of the growing she did was just legs. So you may not have a monster on your hands.

[Luke and Abbys Mom]

I'm not sure about this, but I have the impression that cattledog lines are slightly larger than sheepdog lines.

 

 

Hmm that is interesting. Bree is of cattle dog lines.

 

Tara

[silhouettestable]

I guess I may have a couple of those "monster" dogs too when my pups grow up. They're just shy of 6 months now. I weighed them at 5 1/2 months for deworming and Rain was 31 pounds and Storm was 40-44 (my bathroom scale likes to sometimes jump up and down a bit). I measured their height recently and Rain was about 18" and Storm 20". I can feel the ribs on both of them, albeit a little easier on Rain. Storm is carrying a little more fat than her proportionately, but he's also got a much heavier build. Very thick legs, huge feet and a big head. Weighed on the vets scale the last time (June 29, at about 3 1/2 months), Rain was 21 and Storm was 26.6

 

Re: the comment about a 50 pound BC being overweight, that would entirely depend on the body structure of the dog. If it's fairly tall, long and lean it could easily carry 50 pounds and not even show it, but if it's a teeny weeny little dog packing all that weight around then sure it would be overweight. My Lightning's a 60 pound BC/lab mix, 24" tall if I remember right from whenever I measured him, and he's in great shape. All rock hard muscle without any extra fat. He's always doing something; running, playing, wrestling, frisbee, playing ball, swimming, agility, and training for sledding. We've just started up our morning runs on the training cart again now that the weather's starting to cool off.

[Guest LJS1993]

I guess I may have a couple of those "monster" dogs too when my pups grow up. They're just shy of 6 months now. I weighed them at 5 1/2 months for deworming and Rain was 31 pounds and Storm was 40-44 (my bathroom scale likes to sometimes jump up and down a bit). I measured their height recently and Rain was about 18" and Storm 20". I can feel the ribs on both of them, albeit a little easier on Rain. Storm is carrying a little more fat than her proportionately, but he's also got a much heavier build. Very thick legs, huge feet and a big head. Weighed on the vets scale the last time (June 29, at about 3 1/2 months), Rain was 21 and Storm was 26.6

 

Re: the comment about a 50 pound BC being overweight, that would entirely depend on the body structure of the dog. If it's fairly tall, long and lean it could easily carry 50 pounds and not even show it, but if it's a teeny weeny little dog packing all that weight around then sure it would be overweight. My Lightning's a 60 pound BC/lab mix, 24" tall if I remember right from whenever I measured him, and he's in great shape. All rock hard muscle without any extra fat. He's always doing something; running, playing, wrestling, frisbee, playing ball, swimming, agility, and training for sledding. We've just started up our morning runs on the training cart again now that the weather's starting to cool off.

 

 

Note BC/LAB mix at 60lbs. Is there a pure BC that is at the 60lb mark and in shape that has been on this forum?

[Brandon M]

Interesting indeed. I have and will try to find sources which I have read that claim females are in the 25lb-40lb range with the males only rarely entering the 50's. I will try to find those sources. However I will say that some guy came on here awhile back claiming his male dog would be used for agility and was about 50lbs. That person was told his dog was "fat" and out of shape.

 

yeah I remember that post, the dogs name was Turbo. I think he may have been 60lbs. He was pretty obviously overwieght though. He looked like he should be around 40-45lbs in good shape.

[silhouettestable]

Note BC/LAB mix at 60lbs. Is there a pure BC that is at the 60lb mark and in shape that has been on this forum?

 

I don't expect that there are many. That's why I did state that he's a mix. What I was getting at was that it's the build and how the weight is carried that makes the distinction between being overweight or not. Many labs I've seen can tend to be overweight, I'm sure my BC/lab mix could easily carry more if I exercised less/fed more, but 60 pounds seems to be his ideal. My pups Rain and Storm that I mentioned before are purebred BC's and they're going to be big (I think), considering that at almost 6 months without being overweight they already weigh as much as many adult BC's. When I was inquiring about the puppies and asking about the parents, I said that I was looking for larger and sturdier built BC's (for sledding), and the lady I adopted from told me that the mom was not real tall but "built like a tank." I visited their mom again a couple of weeks ago and Storm's already caught up to her size.

To be honest, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see Storm finish off close to Lightning's height/weight. He is so solid (in bone, not fat) and if he jumps, bumps or otherwise slams into me when playing, he feels like a ton of bricks.