# When do puppies stop growing?



## linkkm

Nico is almost a year old (his birthday is September 1, 2008) - and as of yesterday, weighs 45 pounds. Height-wise he looks ok but he still hasn't really filled out yet - you can see his ribs quite a bit. 

Does anyone know when vizsla puppies usually stop putting on weight? I hope he still has 10 or so pounds to go...although that will definitely be harder for Nico to keep being a lap dog! ;D


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## tbone13

The vet will tell you they're not fully grown until the 18-24 month mark. However, most V's "struggle" with their weight. We adopted our male at a year old, he weighed 44.5lbs, I think now he weighs 48-49.

I wanted a large male, instead I got a peanut! Sometimes that's just the way it goes.


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## gunnr

You'd actually be surprised at what +/- 2-3 lbs. can do for the look of a dog. Another 10 lbs would be a 22% weight increase, which is pretty significant. 
Rule of thumb ( and we all know about thumbs and hammers ) is that the ribs should be felt, but not seen at rest, but seen when running and working. 
My experience is that they get their height first and then fill out. 18-24 months sounds like a good number.
I can't speak for all Vizsla's, but there has been a food bowl with food in it 24/7 on my floor for 23+ years, and I've never had a "fat" Vizsla.


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## wal

Hi, 
My V just turn 2. He was 48 lbs last yr, now 54 lbs.
Wal


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## virgilsmom

Our 1st V weighed 45 Lbs full grown and always wanted in my lap.

Virgil our 2nd V is 16 months & at his checkup last week he weighed 67 lbs. He's not fat just large & solid. He gets plenty of exercise since we farm & are home with him most days so he is constantly running/walking around with us. I only feed 2 times a day a little more than the bag says but once in a while he manages to crawl under a bench behind a pet house and scrunch down real low to steal the cats food that is hidden. Instead of a lap dog, I use him for a pillow.


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## DragonTheRevolutionary

nooo don't grow stay puppy forever v_____v


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## jas

mine weighs 16 kilos, and he is 6 months old. I thought he looked a bit skinny so i upped his food by about 20% and over the last week he doesn't seem to have put on anything! When i put his food down its gone in one go and takes about 2 minutes for him to eat. He never leaves anything but I'm still over the recommended amount on the feeding guidelines. Is this normal?> I hear so many people who say there dog eats at its own pace but not mine!


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## DragonTheRevolutionary

jas said:


> mine weighs 16 kilos, and he is 6 months old. I thought he looked a bit skinny so i upped his food by about 20% and over the last week he doesn't seem to have put on anything! When i put his food down its gone in one go and takes about 2 minutes for him to eat. He never leaves anything but I'm still over the recommended amount on the feeding guidelines. Is this normal?> I hear so many people who say there dog eats at its own pace but not mine!


our female eats slow but our male eats his food fast, then when he's done he looks for more to eat ;D


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## Crazy Kian

Yeah, our 5 month old will eat very quickly if he's hungry. Otherwise if he's not too hungry he will take his time and usually leave half in there.
His weight fluctuates. Last we checked about 4 weeks ago, he was 30lbs, he was 19" tall. Last weekend he decided to do the supermodel thing and throw up a few times so we fed him boiled chicken breast and white rice. I think he may have lost a pound or two cause he looks a little thinner. But he is back to normal (if he ever was) and he is on his kibble, 3 squares, 2 cups.


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## cynwagon

Since we are on the topic of food ... our Vizsla chows down on his food, and then gets the hiccups, poor fellow  Anyone else experience this? It happens when he eats and drinks really fast. He's 12 weeks.


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## Crazy Kian

Yep, all the time. We've tried scaring him but that doesn't work cause he just wants to play ;D


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## DragonTheRevolutionary

Crazy said:


> Yep, all the time. We've tried scaring him but that doesn't work cause he just wants to play ;D


lol we can scare our tobi with anything, lili's is also afraid of cameras


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## Big Rick

Dexter is 6 1/2 months now. I just had him to the vet on Tuesday and he weighs 49 lbs. He's definitely not fat. I suspect he's going to be large for a V. I read about feeding puppies that you should put down only what he can eat in 15 minutes. It takes him less than 3 minutes to eat a cup and a half of kibble. I really feel he could east a 30 lb bag in 15 minutes!!!

Update: He's now 8 months old and he weighs 55 pounds.


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## john_wi

Wow, I think I have a big dog. He seems like such a little guy to me, but he is now 8 months old and weighs about 60 pounds. I had him in to the vet mid-July and he was 58 pounds just shy of 7 months


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## scooby

I took scooby to be weighed yesterday and at 81/2 months he's 26kg ( 57lbs) so decided to strop stressing out over his erratic eating habits!!


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## englishvizsla

I too must have a big dog! He's 9 months old now and weighs 27.5 kg (just over 60lbs). He's still very lean but seems to have long legs, he's now taller than my parents 10 year old GSP! Oh well, we should have known when the breeder told us she'd saved the biggest pup for us!!


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## barrel browner

cynwagon said:


> Since we are on the topic of food ... our Vizsla chows down on his food, and then gets the hiccups, poor fellow  Anyone else experience this? It happens when he eats and drinks really fast. He's 12 weeks.


yep ours also does this she s 13wks and food doesn t stay in her bowl for long and always looking for more.... then comes the hiccups sometimes i think it s coming back out!!!!!!!


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## Lisa

My V was about 55 pounds at the end of July when he was just about 7 months. I don't think I've weighed him since. His growth has slowed right down now although I expected he'll end up around 65 pounds. When he was younger he would inhale his food in minutes. I don't think he was aware of anything going on around him. Now he'll pause and chase me if I walk out of the room. It's like "hey wait a minute I wasn't done eating". I have to go back into the kitchen so he can finish.


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## TexasBirdDog

Wow, all this talk of big dogs and here I am with probably the smallest male Vizsla ever. lol. At 16 weeks he was right about 20 lbs.

His breeder told me he would be on the smaller side. So, I don't expect him to get to the average 55-65 lbs male Vs normally get. I expect him to end up around 45lbs in the end. It doesn't bother me, though. I don't care much about what size he ends up being. I care about how he tracks and points birds and his temperament. His daddy is a Master Hunter and his mom is one test away from her Master Hunter designation. He was pointing wings at 9 wks right when I brought him home and has been retrieving his toys since then, as well!

As far as eating, when he was really young, he'd eat without leaving his bowl. Now that he's a little older and more energized, he gets distracted and wants to play. He'll literally take off from his bowl to find a toy, grab it, throw it around a bit, then go back to his bowl. It's like while he's eating he's thinking "oh, I have toys to play with! Let's find one!". Then while he's playing he's thinking "Oh, my food. Let's go eat it!". It's funny how fast he goes from one to the other.

He'll do that a few times before his food is gone, or he's gotten his fill. Sometimes he just can't stay away from the toys or stop trying to play. So, I will have to put his food in his crate with him. He's starting to learn that once he finishes eating, he can come out. Smart boy.


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