Finished Growing?

[Shandula]

I was wondering if anyone had a rough idea of when a Border Collie is "finished" growing? My poor little BC is always being asked what she is crossed with, I'm assuming because a) She's a black tri, and people have a hard time believing they come in colours other than black and white, and she's fairly small!

 

I've included some pictures of her mom and dad, and some pictures of her as she grew. She was about 6 pounds (just under) at 8 weeks, and now at almost 10 months, she is 37 pounds (I think she might be a little chunky) and ~19" at the withers. Is she finished growing, or does she still have a little ways to go?

 

Here's Dad:

 

Mom:

 

7 Weeks:

 

16 Weeks:

 

And a picture I just took a few seconds ago, at nearly 10 months:

 

[gcv-border]

What an adorable puppy.

 

I think that my dogs had probably reached their mature height by about 10-12 months, but were very lean at that age. They gained a bit more and their chest deepened. Obviously each dog is an individual, but IMHO, my dogs achieved 'full maturity' physically at about 2 - 2.5 years.

[kingfisher7151]

I would bet that she's within an inch or two of her full height, though she'll have a fair bit of weight to put on and growing out to do.

 

FWIW, 19" and 37 lbs. is anything but small to me! Our farrier was over today, and he has a female tri that's no more than 25 lbs. My mom's pup is almost 6 months old, and he weighs 29 lbs., his mother weighs 26. I haven't taken an official wicket to my dog, but he's a very average sized dog at 18" at the shoulder and 42 lbs. as a full grown, intact male.

 

People may always ask you what she is. My dog is about as traditional, rough coated, blaze faced, BC as you can find, and I'm still asked at least once a week if he's an aussie. Some people just couldn't tell a BC from a cactus.

[Maralynn]

Fwiw, I think that her weight is well within normal. My female is 37# but didn't reach her "adult weight" until she about 3 y/o. Up until then she was a scrawny 34ish #. I had a tiny male who was 18" and 30#.

 

But yeah, people often want a Border Collie to fit in a certain "box" when it comes to looks. And they sure don't!!

[Gloria Atwater]

Hi there! What a cutie she is! I am such a sucker for a tri. And yes, you'll probably spend her whole life explaining to people that border collies DO come in colors other than just black-and-white.

At 10 months she's probably got most of her height, but she may have another inch to go. However, she'll continue to mature in her frame and musculature until she's about 3 years old. 10 months is often a very gangly, growing stage.

And 37 pounds is not small! My 6 year old Gael is @ 32 pounds and about 20 inches at the withers by my (very inexact) tape-measure measurement. On her that's very svelt and speedy! Nell, her 19 month old half sister, at last weighing-in was about 35 pounds and my tape measure has her at @ 20 -1/2 inches. (Although she cringes from the tape measure because it's Not Right, so she could actually be 21 inches.) ALL of that is legs. She was a giraffe in another life. My big boy Nick is @ 48 pounds of muscle and @ 22 inches tall.

So your girl is about average for females, I'd say. Do be mindful of her putting on too much weight at such a young age. You should be able to easily detect her ribs with only light pressure on her sides. You don't want to stress their growing joints with chunkiness, especially as they learn to use their bodies even harder! Border collies have little to no sense of self preservation.

Give her pets for me!

~ Gloria

[Gloria Atwater]

Photos for examples.

The snow dog is Gael, 6 years old, @ 20 inches tall and 32 pounds.

The lanky thing in the stubble field is Nell when she was 16 months, @21 inches and 35 pounds.

And the big boy also standing in the snow is Nick, coming 8 years old, @22 inches tall and 48 pounds. So there are some body types and weight samples!

 

[Cass C]

Lily is 19.5" and 40lbs at just over two years old so 19" doesn't seem small to me.

[Shandula]

Ah thank you so much for your replies everyone! She is a cutie, whenever she is being a brat, I look back at her puppy pictures and remind myself how cute she is.

 

I didn't think she was small, but everyone says she's "so small for a Border Collie", but I'll take that with a grain of salt since we don't see too many BCs around here anyway. I had someone try to convince me she was a Bernese pup, which made me laugh. Smallest Berner I've ever seen.

 

It definitely takes a little more pressure than I would like to feel her ribs, my Aussie requires very minimal pressure, so I think I'll scale back that size of treats we use during training. I really don't like fat dogs, so I will work hard on slimming her down a bit.

[Sue R]

Welcome!

 

You can reduce the size of your training treats (which is fine as it's taste not size that they appreciate) as you say. You also need to consider that using treats (nutritious ones) may call for a commensurate reduction in the regular food you feed. I sometimes use a different kibble from my dogs' normal kibble as part of my training treats, along with some soft, high-value treats (like string cheese or Zuke's Mini Naturals). Using a different kibble, one that they also like, makes a ho-hum sort of treat a special thing, and provides good nutrition at the same time. If I am using enough treats, I reduce the regular food feed to balance his/her total intake.

 

Enjoy!

[LauraV]

This is what I love about BCs. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, hair length, etc.

[GentleLake]

It definitely takes a little more pressure than I would like to feel her ribs, my Aussie requires very minimal pressure...

 

IMO, it should require no pressure at all to feel ribs.

 

Here's the body condition chart that vets use. IMO, border collies should be on the thin side, in the 3+ to 4 range. You'll have to use your hands to show you what your eyes can't see beneath the fur, but I like to be able to feel ribs by just running my fingers over them. If I have to apply any pressure to feel ribs, the food gets cut back a bit.

 

http://research.unc.edu/files/2012/11/CCM3_032387.pdf

[Gideon's girl]

The smallest BC I know is a 17" and 25 lbs. female. The biggest is a 26" 65 lbs. male. Both of my boys are 21 1/2" and about 45 lbs.

[GentleLake]

I don't know the heights, but I had a female who was 28 lbs. full grown. One of the pups in a littler I bred was a skinny 70 lbs. at a year old. I lost track of him after that but I suspect he'd have put on a couple more pounds when he matured.

 

37 lbs. for a mature female really isn't small at all IMO. I'd consider it very average. Since she's only 10 months old, yours may go a little more when she's matured.

 

As others have said though, allowing her to be chunky isn't doing her any favors.

[Gloria Atwater]

IMO, it should require no pressure at all to feel ribs.

 

Here's the body condition chart that vets use. IMO, border collies should be on the thin side, in the 3+ to 4 range. You'll have to use your hands to show you what your eyes can't see beneath the fur, but I like to be able to feel ribs by just running my fingers over them. If I have to apply any pressure to feel ribs, the food gets cut back a bit.

 

http://research.unc.edu/files/2012/11/CCM3_032387.pdf

 

 

This. She should not be plump at such a young age.

 

If you are using food treats for training, try breaking it into tiny bits, pea-sized, and also deduct from the amount you feed her daily. Otherwise, it's like eating peanuts all day and then having dinner.

 

~ Gloria

[oerash11]

I'm pretty sure they stop growing height wise at around 10 maybe 11 months after that they only gain muscle..

 

that is at least around when pepper stopped getting taller. she is a year now and she is still just around knee high at the withers (maybe taller but not by much) however she is known to be a bc/aussie mix and that could be part of it... weight wise I would guess around 25-30lb

 

from what I know bc's can vary in size widely since they aren't really bred for looks (maybe the people who are asking are used to seeing AKC border collies and don't know any better- from some of the stories on this forum I would definitely believe that.)

[Shandula]

Using her kibble as treats (and using more toys, since she likes that better anyway) and I've already noticed a small difference in her body composition. My Aussie has a great body size, zero pressure for ribs. Just gotta get her there. She seems to put on some pounds, and then thin back out. She's been in a little bit of a funk lately, maybe she'll go into season soon.