Size/weight
 

Hello everyone! :)

I just got my baby girl two weeks ago. Yesterday she completed her third month in this world, and (according to the vet who didn't take her collar off to weigh her) she weighs 3 lbs! I am a little confused because both of her parents are under 4 lbs, and the breeder guaranteed me that, like all her puppies, this one would be 4lbs full grown. Some people in this forum have told me that according to their formula she should be 7 or 8 lbs full grown, so I contacted the breeder and asked her what was going on. She said that at 8 weeks my baby girl weigh 1.5lbs and that according to her formula she should weight 4 lbs full grown and the fact that she is 12 weeks and 3 lbs doesn't affect anything. :confused:

I am so confused though! She says that her puppies grow fast and then stop growing earlier too. Could that be true? I would never stop loving Malibu but, she wouldn't fit on anything I got her (including her carrier) if she got any bigger than 5 lbs. Does anyone have experience with this kind of thing? has anyone had a puppy that weight 3lbs at 12 weeks and now weighs under 5lbs full grown?

Thank you!

:)

Well if you go according to her weight now at 12 weeks then she should end up a 6 pound girl. But I can tell you this those formula's do not always work. You have to know what is in the background of your pups line. There could possibly be bigger ones in her line and of courses sooner or later the bigger one will come out.
I know this doesn't help much but I know for a fact the formula does not always work and anyone who tells you 100% what your puppy would weigh must be better than allot of breeders I know if they are right on.

My yorkie has gained a total of 3 pounds for the whole 10 months we had her. She weighs 5.2 pounds and I can tell you her size bothers me. She's always the smallest dog anywhere we go, any dog park, any pet store she's the smallest. I think you shouldn't worry and just accept whatever weight your yorkie ends up being. Way too much is made if they get a little bigger than people expect. I saw a 13 pound yorkie at the dog park a couple of weeks ago and it was the prettiest yorkie I have ever seen.

My Sophie weighs 12lbs! Her mother was 5lbs and her father was 3lbs. They told me should would weigh between 3 to 5 pounds. When I took her to the vet he said she would weigh 10lbs. He was close. I wouldn't trade her for anything. I think it is funny how such a small dog could have such a big puppy. Sophie's siblings where small.

Maybe she is just a chubby puppy. Is she a good eater. I'm hoping that Ollie is just on the slim side. She is 16 weeks and weighs 2 pounds 6.8 oz. When they are puppies,m I believe, a lot depends on how chubby they are.

On size being larger than parents,don't forget that you can always get a thro back and yorkies used to be larger than today,we have breed them down to there current size..I saw a yorkie that was in a litter of 6 puppies,5 were under 5 lbs and this one weighed in at 12 lbs..same parents,they own the parents,yet they landed up with Moose,yep thats what they named him :aimeeyork

Welcome to YT. This is a good place to get your questions answered. I hope you stick aroun. And feel free to jump right in to any conversation.

My Pippa weighed 3lb at 12 weeks and she is 8lb full grown :eek:

Yeah, she eats a lot but she doesn't look chubby to me. Of course I would love her no matter what, but it kind of sux to buy so many things (and I know that's my fault for not waiting long enough) that would fit an up to 5 lbs dog and then have it be the one dog in the breeder's whole history to grow past that. I know it's impossible to predict, but I feel like maybe it is also impossible to tell by how much she weighs now. I am sure she would look beautiful no matter what and what is important is that she is healthy, but I already spent $1100 for her, $350 for her airline ticket, and another $1000 in pet supplies, including a lot of clothes and a nice carrier all for a dog that is supposidly only 5 lbs full grown. Plus, the reason I wanted a Yorkie was to be able to carry her around and take her on the plane with me. If she gets too big that's not happening. It just would make me sad to have to leave her at home anytime I go out, and not be able to hide her in the carrier, etc.

Cali weighed 1 lb at 10 weeks and now at 10 months she weighs 4lbs 4 ounces. Bher parents were both 5 or a little over on the female. But she was the runt. I do believe she caught up. Even at 6 lbs that is a very small dog and you probably can fit her in and take her most places. Or if the breeder says she has early growers she just may end up 4 lbs.

Aw! Thank you for your input! Yeah, I guess I will just have to wait and see. I travel a lot and I always had big dogs so I never could take them. The airlines only allow up to a certain weight to go on board with you and hotels can have as low as an up to 5 lbs policy in some countries. It's tough being alone and I just really want her to be able to go with me everywhere. She is already the love of my life!

Not a purse puppy, but still small.
 

Do you have anything in writing as far as a guarantee on size? I don't think any reputable breeder would do this, because there ISN'T any guarantee on size, no matter how well you know your line and I hope she was upfront w/ you on this, even though it doesn't sound like it. If you have something in writing, you may be able to hold her to it. It'd be nice if there was any way that you can return some of the things you bought for a smaller Yorkie and get your money back? Maybe if you can produce receipts the breeder might be willing to reimburse you for some of your purchases because you didn't get what you were looking for in size? NO, that'd be nice, but in all honesty, she should've told you not to go out buying things for an adult dog that you don't even know the final size of. That's where we ALL get into problems. You just have to trust the breeder, but more importantly watch her grow and wait to buy adult items until they are at least 10 months.
As far as the airline transportation goes, most policies are now 13 lbs and I believe that does not include the weight of the crate. The dimensions just need to be appropriate per airline so that it will fit under the seat in front of you. It quite unlikely that she'll get to be that big, but know that you should still be able to carry her around and travel w/ her just fine.

my experience has been that they are slightly larger than the chart. i would estimate your pup to get about 6 or 7 pounds, but i have heard of those that don't grow past 6 months (mine all grew up to 1 year) so that would make them smaller. my new baby girl is 2 1/2 pounds at 3 months and she is bigger than my others that stayed at 4 pounds. i am thinking she will get to be at least 5 pounds, probably 6.

i have a girl that weighs 4 pounds 12 oz. and a boy that weighs 3 pounds 14 ounces and she actually looks smaller than the boy.

if the breeder is being honest and she has kept in touch with previous litters she is probably the best person to give an estimate, but like others have said a honest breeder will only give an estimate not a absolute.

On our first e-mail to each other, the breeder did write down that the puppy is guaranteed to be under 5 lbs because of her lineage. Now, on the contract that is not stated. There is no reference to size. I wouldn't do anything against the breeder, after all, I am very happy with Malibu. She is a beautiful and sweet puppy.

To tell you the truth I just really think that maybe the vet weigh her wrong. She definetly doesn't feel like she is 3 lbs already. In case she really is 3 lbs though, I just wanted to see if there is any possibility that she will only grow 1 more pound. I just wonder if that is possible because the breeder says it is.

Thank you so much for the information you provided me! It really helps to know whether or not I can bring her with me. I really appreciate your thorough response.

Thank you! Yeah, I am pretty sure she keeps in touch with the litters once they leave her house. She did say that they grow quickly and then stop earlier than others. I am just frustrated because everyone seems to tell me she will be at least 6 lbs! :aimeeyork

i use a food scale that has a bowl on top, around $12.00 at walmart to weigh mine. i can still weigh the adults in it since they are use to it and it goes up to 7 pounds.

Remember 4 pounds means everything up to 5 pounds. So yours still has 1 pound 15 3/4 oz. of growing room and the chart predicts she will grow 3 pounds more so that is only a 1 pound difference.

If she was weighed on different scales, then her weight could be wrong. I have found as much as .3kg difference in my pup's weight on different scales. She may also have just had a growth spurt-my puppy has only grown in length since 14 weeks, not weight.

Sorry you feel the way you do.... I really doubt your yorkie will be 4 lbs.... and it very well might come from small parents but sometimes it doesn't mean much. My mom is 5 feet tall..... my sister is 5 feet 2 and my dad is 5 feet 6 inches. I am 5 feet 10inches....... figure that one..... you just never know.
But I travel with my yorkie all the time. Airline policies are below 10 lbs under the seat.... so I think you'll be OK.
I am very honest with people who buy my pups..... I only do size calculations but I always tell them there is no certain way. I always try to deter from talking about size..... and I always add a little over the charts.
Congrats on your new baby and STOP spending money now for clothes.... wiat till she's older ... like 7 months. Besides... it's summer!

That's true...but couldn't it work both ways though? And how big is your Yorkie (you say you travel with yours all the time)?

Thank you so much for your input!!!

My first yorkie grew really fast but as soon as she reached 6 months she stopped growing. She is a bit big for a yorkie, she is 9 pounds and her parents were really small. I really don't think your yorkie will be only 4 pounds but she could still end up small. You really can't go by the puppy's parents unless you know their pedigree of at least the last 3 generations because the puppy's grandparents could have been big which would be why your pup is big. It is easier to determine his weight but watching how much the gains and how long it takes him to gain. My second yorkie is not gaining very fast or much weight. I am still anxious to see how big he will get and what he will look like as an adult!!

"I am so confused though! She says that her puppies grow fast and then stop growing earlier too. Could that be true? I would never stop loving Malibu but, she wouldn't fit on anything I got her (including her carrier) if she got any bigger than 5 lbs. Does anyone have experience with this kind of thing? has anyone had a puppy that weight 3lbs at 12 weeks and now weighs under 5lbs full grown?

Thank you!"


I wonder if we got our dogs from the same breeder. :confused: ..that is exactly what I was told. I kept questioning my puppies size even before he arrived . She assured me that her dogs stop growing early and the charts meant nothing. Well he grew to alittle over 7 pounds .. everything went exactly by the chart..... :rolleyes:

CMedici -- From all the posts, it sounds like your pup may become any number of different weights when it grows up. I think the only way you're really going to know what your pup is going to weight is to "wait and see."

I'm sure no good breeder "guarantees" the size of any Yorkie. But, I do feel they can make an honest (and usually correct) estimate.

Boy - you know now that you should have waited and not bought so much ahead of time for your little Yorkie. Mine has outgrown everything I ever bought him. And - I even got him things that were "way too big" when he was younger.

---------

My cousin has two Yorkies from the same litter and one weighs 4 1/2 pounds and the other weighs 7 pounds.....(and to top it off -- the bigger one was the smaller puppy...)

Carol Jean

Thank you so much for all the inputs! Here is what the breeder wrote to me just a few days ago about this issue:

"When I got Gracie as puppy I got her for breeding purposes and wanted her a little bigger so at 8 weeks she was at least 2 to 2.5 lb - she looked alot like Malibu. When you ask me if it surprises me that Malibu is 3 lbs at 12 weeks no I am not surprised. She is right on. You keep saying double the weight at 12 weeks --- no it is double the weight at 8 weeks. I am not sure where you heard the 12 weeks but that is not what we as breeders use. In my time as a buyer, breeder etc I have never heard of using 12 weeks as your basis. Anyway, going back to Gracie. She weighed 2 to 2 1/2 lbs at 8 weeks and she is now 4 lbs. or so and Chance's puppies always grow at first and then slow down ---- soooooo I think you are spazing (as you say) for nothing. I think she is going to level off anytime now. Poo poo on the recessive gene stuff.....Chance was purchased when he was a little over a year old so I am not sure how big he was at 8 weeks. Knowing what I do about Gracie's mom is that she is abount the same size as is Gracie her daddy is small. Chance's dad is the same size as Chance and I am pretty sure that mom is about the same size as I know all of her dogs are pretty much the same size. Do not let her get overweight cause as I said before she will eat all day if you let her."

I guess I will just trust the breeder. She probably knows best.

:)

I would have had more confidence in your breeder except that she said double 8 weeks - no, no, no its triple 8 weeks (or 2 months), double 12 weeks (or 3 months). Apparently, she wouldn't agree, but I bet every other breeder does. I'm not saying that hers don't follow that pattern, but it is definitely not the rule of thumb.

confused
 

How can a breeder guarantee the size of a puppy?

Well, if it is triple the weight at 8 weeks, then my puppy should only reach 4.5 lbs. She was 1.5 lbs at 8 weeks and she has been 3 lbs for three weeks now. So maybe she doubled her weight and kept it and will only grow another 1 1/2 pounds. Everyone was saying though that given her weight now she would be big. So the breeder is still right on by saying she will be under 5 lbs.

Thanks!

When do they stop growing?
 

I just took Chance to the vet on Sat. he is 5months old and 3lbs...how big will he be?

They do seem to grow a pound more than the formula predicts. Do a search on weight chart and members posted what the weight chart predicted and how much they ended up being. you will find that helpful.

Here's one link, there's probably a hundred more, since this seems to be the first question new owners have and comes up at least once a week.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...t=weight+chart

Also keep in mind that this specific chart was done by one of our YT members based on the growth of her breeding lines..so other puppies might not exactly fit to the chart..while it's good at having an estimate, you can't go by it..every puppy and each line is different..