# Border collie growth rates..



## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Sorry if this is in the wrong section etc.
Libby is 25 weeks old she weighs 14kg, she eats well, although she is nervy, just wondering if her weight is ok, im used to big strapping GSD's and compared she looks so tiny, She is on Burns kibble, wormed reguarly etc, is this a healthy weight for her.
Thank you millions
xx


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

Collies seem to stay looking like puppies for a long time, then suddenly mature.
Quite often they look like a bag of bones, but that's just Collies, some never put on much weight.
I like my pups to have a bit of condition on them until they are about 9 months so they have reserves if they become ill. Some you just can't though and Collies
seem to be one of these breeds


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Aw thanks Rona, she is a right little skinny minnie, all legs bless her, no thickness to her at all, but she seems happy, Maybe its her nervous energy she expends when she is out with me
xx


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

We had a little collie for 15 years and she was always skinny.
Try and get a little more weight on if you can, always easy to get it off again later


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

rona said:


> We had a little collie for 15 years and she was always skinny.
> Try and get a little more weight on if you can, always easy to get it off again later


Do you think she is too skinny in the piccie Rona
xx


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

I'm not a Collie expert and it's difficult to tell from a photo, as I said, a lot of Collies pups are this way. If you think she's too thin then try and get some weight on her, it can't do any harm at her age, as long as she doesn't get fat.
Sorry I can't be more precise. 
Hopefully a Collie person can give you an opinion


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

No Rona you have been great thank you.
I think i get neurotic sometimes, because she is my tiny tiddly pup.
xx


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

I've been meeting a Collie pup on my walks over the last few months, and it was tiny and skinny for ages. I didn't see it for about a month and the next time I did, it looked almost fully mature and is an absolute beauty, still skinny though


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## Road_Hog (Dec 8, 2008)

sketch said:


> Sorry if this is in the wrong section etc.
> Libby is 25 weeks old she weighs 14kg, she eats well, although she is nervy, just wondering if her weight is ok,


 That's quite normal weight for a BC, their main growing period is from 4-9 months. Female Border Collies usually weigh under 20KGs, so she has another 3 months to put on a few kilos. They're not big dogs, my BC is only 19.5KGs and at nearly 16 years old she's carrying a little bit of fat. Where as my BC/GSD X is about 28KGs and quite a bit bigger than the BC. It's also normal for them to be a bit nervy, it is a trait of the breed and because they're quite active they are naturally sleek. If you ever want a fat dog then get a Lab.


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## Badger's Mum (Mar 23, 2009)

Road_Hog said:


> That's quite normal weight for a BC, their main growing period is from 4-9 months. Female Border Collies usually weigh under 20KGs, so she has another 3 months to put on a few kilos. They're not big dogs, my BC is only 19.5KGs and at nearly 16 years old she's carrying a little bit of fat. Where as my BC/GSD X is about 28KGs and quite a bit bigger than the BC. It's also normal for them to be a bit nervy, it is a trait of the breed and because they're quite active they are naturally sleek. If you ever want a fat dog then get a Lab.


 My lab's not fat


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## Bobbie (May 3, 2008)

My BC weighs 18kg he is about 5 years old my rough weighs 23 kg and is 3 years old. If you are worried I would as the vet nurse when you go into weigh him.


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

She is lovely really active, has a few nervous issues but she is coming on leaps and bound to be truthful. she is always up to something, but she does amuse herself to, chasing and jumping onot her toys, playing with the boys.
JUst wanted to make sure im on the right track with her, she is only on two meals because she stopped eating her lunch time meal a little while back
xx


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## GoldenShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

Try asking Maggies' Mum, think Maggie is 8-9 months old now, so she can probably help you out if she see's this 

She is one beautiful looking doggy, love the lighter bits of fur on her legs!

Edit to say, she looks OK to me weight wise. Seems females should be about 20kg maximum when fully grown, which means she is 70% the way there, so she isn't doing too badly in the maths way..?


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Aw thank you.
I just want her to be healthy, if she is always going to be little i dont mind that one bit.
He colouring i dont know what thats all about, she has cream on her cheeks, inside her ears on her tail underneath, then has Tan on one front leg and back legs haha.
she is a little super star, such a Diva, she doesnt take any crap off the boys either bless her. She is getting more confident each day, but still is very cuddly.
xx


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## Badger's Mum (Mar 23, 2009)

sketch said:


> Aw thank you.
> I just want her to be healthy, if she is always going to be little i dont mind that one bit.
> He colouring i dont know what thats all about, she has cream on her cheeks, inside her ears on her tail underneath, then has Tan on one front leg and back legs haha.
> she is a little super star, such a Diva, she doesnt take any crap off the boys either bless her. She is getting more confident each day, but still is very cuddly.
> xx


My working cocker's on the skinny size she's 11 month's now and just started to fill out. your girl look's great


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Aw thank you.
she is my forst BC, well i say that, i had what looked like a BC years ago, but i had him from a house and not a farm, so he could of been just a heinz 57 lol.
Libby is my first Bitch, so will naturally be smaller, i know that, so i wasnt sure if she was ok, under weight etc, the only thing i can be sure of is she is far from chubby ha ha, she eats well, albeit only twice a day.
xx


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## Badger's Mum (Mar 23, 2009)

sketch said:


> Aw thank you.
> she is my forst BC, well i say that, i had what looked like a BC years ago, but i had him from a house and not a farm, so he could of been just a heinz 57 lol.
> Libby is my first Bitch, so will naturally be smaller, i know that, so i wasnt sure if she was ok, under weight etc, the only thing i can be sure of is she is far from chubby ha ha, she eats well, albeit only twice a day.
> xx


Badger cut herself down to two. I grew up with bc's. Dog's are like human's all different's size's. I eat like a horse and never but anything on, My sister just look's at food and the pound's pile on


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

I eat whatever i want, but think its walking 3 dogs that helps me out haha, i am always doing something with one of them, but stayed logged on my puter and just come back on whenever.
They are all flat out right now, i like calm peaceful dogs
xx


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## GoldenShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

sketch said:


> Aw thank you.
> I just want her to be healthy, if she is always going to be little i dont mind that one bit.
> He colouring i dont know what thats all about, she has cream on her cheeks, inside her ears on her tail underneath, then has Tan on one front leg and back legs haha.
> she is a little super star, such a Diva, *she doesnt take any crap off the boys* either bless her. She is getting more confident each day, but still is very cuddly.
> xx


Good on her, lol! She is a very pretty little lady, I bet she'll look gorgeous when she's all grown up :blush:


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

Skye will be 4 years old on 13 January and she weighs 14.6 kgs. Teagan (8 years old) weighs about 16 kgs (she hasn't been weighed for a while), but she weighed just under 15 kgs until she was about 2 years old. Boomer and Bertie weigh about 18 kgs.


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## astro (Jan 20, 2009)

Awww, she's a gorgeous collie!
I have two myself, both smooth haired so I can see if they are too skinny right away: my female is 3 years old. A petite girl, she weighs 15kg. There doesn't seem to be an ounce of fat on her. She looks very athletic.

My male is 2-1/2 and is the larger of the two. He weighs 20kg.

They both have 2 meals a day (canned Chappie), but I supplement with Beta dry food as treats at various times during the day.

I had a problem about a year ago with their food and my male had started to lose weight...I started to see his ribs appearing underneath his skin; plus, looking at him from above, he had that corset-look, so I knew it was time to do something about their food (after ruling out worms, etc.)

I can't see Libby's ribs in the photo, but it wouldn't hurt to beef her up a bit as already mentioned. It helps if they have some extra weight on them if they ever become ill...


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

I go all paranoid when someone says aw isnt she tiny......Whether they are used to seeing me walk one of the boys and this prompts the reaction i dont know.....she always leaves some of her food at meal times, she just seems to eat what she wants then walks away. I am always in the room at meal times so none of the boys steal hers, they are pretty good.
Im just wondering how to get some extra food down her ?
xx


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

sketch said:


> I go all paranoid when someone says aw isnt she tiny......Whether they are used to seeing me walk one of the boys and this prompts the reaction i dont know.....she always leaves some of her food at meal times, she just seems to eat what she wants then walks away. I am always in the room at meal times so none of the boys steal hers, they are pretty good.
> Im just wondering how to get some extra food down her ?
> xx


What food have you got her on?


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

rona said:


> What food have you got her on?


They are all fed Burns Kibble, they dont get many treats because i dont really buy many, when training they get toy rewards as they love toys, very toy motivated. I have to be careful as the boys are skeletally big lads, and dont want them getting chubby, especially kane as he breaths and puts on a kilo lol
xx


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

sketch said:


> They are all fed Burns Kibble, they dont get many treats because i dont really buy many, when training they get toy rewards as they love toys, very toy motivated. I have to be careful as the boys are skeletally big lads, and dont want them getting chubby, especially kane as he breaths and puts on a kilo lol
> xx


Well burns is known for keeping a dog slim, so you are just going to accept how she is 
She doesn't sound underweight from all the info the Collie people have put here


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## mollythecollie (Aug 29, 2009)

she looks great to me  you could adding some meat to the dry food to encourage her to eat more. I wouldnt worry too much though. My collie was very slinky until she was six, now we need to make sure she doesnt have too many treats as shes getting a bit podgy!


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Aw thank you.
I dont mind her being tiny at all, but you know when you think, "Ok lets get some advice" just to make sure on things.
Right now she is still teeny enought to be the lap dog she chooses to be haha, she is either laying by my foot, or loves nothing better than sitting on me, Kinda hard to do with one of the GSD boys, although they do do it..
Ill just monitor her, maybe add some meat to her dinner see how she goes, and if not then she is just destined to be an Ickle pickle bless
The piccie was taken a few weeks ago, but has only put in 1/2kg since then.

xx


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## mistymilo (Aug 4, 2008)

Yo be honest she looks fine to me, Bcs arent suppose to carry much weight. Mine all vary in weight with Rory being around 23kg but he is solid and the largest of ours and Amber is roughly 15kg and is the smallest.

When Sky was roughly Libby's age I did worry about her weight also because you could feel all her ribs but she was eating ok (she is a bit picky with her food) she was just burning it all back off. She is very active and never keeps still. She has now matured and in my opinion looks fantastic, though she will always be very slim.


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

mistymilo said:


> Yo be honest she looks fine to me, Bcs arent suppose to carry much weight. Mine all vary in weight with Rory being around 23kg but he is solid and the largest of ours and Amber is roughly 15kg and is the smallest.
> 
> When Sky was roughly Libby's age I did worry about her weight also because you could feel all her ribs but she was eating ok (she is a bit picky with her food) she was just burning it all back off. She is very active and never keeps still. She has now matured and in my opinion looks fantastic, though she will always be very slim.
> 
> View attachment 36255


Your right sky looks Fantastic...
How old is Amber your little teeny 15kg one, bet she looks so cute being so little.
I think sometimes seeing her, like now she is asleep by Dalton his muzzle is bigger than her head, she looks very cute being teeny, obviously health is more important than her size, and part from being nervy she plays, eats, sleeps, poops and pee's well, she never has a runny bum, and only poops 3 times a day, sorry too much info i guess haha
xx


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## suewhite (Oct 31, 2009)

Dont worry I have always had BC and the times people would ask if I fed them as they were so skinny one person even accused me of starving one of them,but once they got to middle age they seemed to put a bit of weight on.We spend alot of time in Wales and the working Collies are thin but they are on the go all day,I think they just burn it off with there nervous energy


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

suewhite said:


> Dont worry I have always had BC and the times people would ask if I fed them as they were so skinny one person even accused me of starving one of them,but once they got to middle age they seemed to put a bit of weight on.We spend alot of time in Wales and the working Collies are thin but they are on the go all day,I think they just burn it off with there nervous energy


She is always doing haha, she keeps me on my toes bless her, but in a lovely way, she is getting her adult coat (which looks curly) so i think she will look fuller when she gets it all. Her adult coat is so black, that sounds silly, but her baby coat looks like a browny black, if this makes sense, and its so shiny, cant wait to see her fluffy coat all through.
athough she has a few issues, she has such a lovely character coming out, she really has stolen a place in my heart this little missy
xx


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## mistymilo (Aug 4, 2008)

sketch said:


> Your right sky looks Fantastic...
> How old is Amber your little teeny 15kg one, bet she looks so cute being so little.
> I think sometimes seeing her, like now she is asleep by Dalton his muzzle is bigger than her head, she looks very cute being teeny, obviously health is more important than her size, and part from being nervy she plays, eats, sleeps, poops and pee's well, she never has a runny bum, and only poops 3 times a day, sorry too much info i guess haha
> xx


Amber was 2 in October so she wont grow anymore unless she gets fat (that will not be happening). As long as Libby is happy and healthy I wouldnt be worried, she will soon mature.

Attached are pics of Sky when she was 4 1/2 months old just to show you how out of proportion she was (her ears were to big for her head) and a pic of Amber.


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

mistymilo said:


> Amber was 2 in October so she wont grow anymore unless she gets fat (that will not be happening). As long as Libby is happy and healthy I wouldnt be worried, she will soon mature.
> 
> Attached are pics of Sky when she was 4 1/2 months old just to show you how out of proportion she was (her ears were to big for her head) and a pic of Amber.
> 
> ...


Aw they are both beautiful.
Amber is so cute, darling little face, you just want to cuddle her.
And sky has amazing eyes, she is gorgeous too.
Libby cant decide what to do with her ears yet, when she pricks them both they are Hooge haha.
xx


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## mistymilo (Aug 4, 2008)

sketch said:


> Aw they are both beautiful.
> Amber is so cute, darling little face, you just want to cuddle her.
> And sky has amazing eyes, she is gorgeous too.
> Libby cant decide what to do with her ears yet, when she pricks them both they are Hooge haha.
> xx


Thank you  Dont tell Amber that, she adores cuddles and would sit and be fussed all day. Sky is my crazy girl always on the go ad never a minute to spare but I love them both.

Im sure Libby's ears will soon settle.


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

At the moment she favours one ear up, and one down haha
xx


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## mistymilo (Aug 4, 2008)

Awww bless her!! they will soon sort themselves out


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

This was Skye at 26 weeks.


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## dvnbiker (Dec 2, 2009)

Well I have three BCs, JC smooth coat 6 years old and weighs about 16kg, Kai who is crossed with a springer and weigh abouts 20kg and my baby girl, Wren who is 22 months who weighs just over 15kg.

I always go by their ribs, if I can feel them I am happy but I dont want to see them. If I cant feel them then they need to lose weight. Both kai and wren compete in agility so I keep them lean anyway. 

Wren was very skinny until she had first season when she was 12 months, shortly after that she started to fill out and mature and now looks a lot more in proportion. She has a very full coat now and makes her look bigger than she is - get her wet and she looks like a drowned rat :blush:


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Oenoke said:


> This was Skye at 26 weeks.


Aw wow Skye is lovely. She looks much more grown up than Libby, lib looks teeny compared to Skye.
Maybe as a few have said she will just be a tiny pupster.
xx


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

dvnbiker said:


> Well I have three BCs, JC smooth coat 6 years old and weighs about 16kg, Kai who is crossed with a springer and weigh abouts 20kg and my baby girl, Wren who is 22 months who weighs just over 15kg.
> 
> I always go by their ribs, if I can feel them I am happy but I dont want to see them. If I cant feel them then they need to lose weight. Both kai and wren compete in agility so I keep them lean anyway.
> 
> Wren was very skinny until she had first season when she was 12 months, shortly after that she started to fill out and mature and now looks a lot more in proportion. She has a very full coat now and makes her look bigger than she is - get her wet and she looks like a drowned rat :blush:


Have you any piccies of your BC's, im on a roll; now. and fascinaed by all the different sizes of BC's in gerneral.
Libster is my little pickle
xx


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## dvnbiker (Dec 2, 2009)

Yes of course here are a few:










This Is JC on the left, Wren aged 7 1/2 months in the middle and Kai (my collie x springer)










This is Wren aged 10 weeks.

If you want to see more collie sizes this is wren's breeder's site index1 Harrjak Dogs 2004


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Aw they are beautiful i bet your very proud of all of them. I really love Border collies now, they have such wicked personalities, I love my GSD's too, i would have oth breeds again
xxx


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

Oenoke said:


> This was Skye at 26 weeks.


Skye looks so much like our old Collie that we lost a few years ago


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

rona said:


> Skye looks so much like our old Collie that we lost a few years ago


I'd love to see some pics.


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

Oenoke said:


> I'd love to see some pics.


I'm afraid we haven't any on computer, she died 6 years ago and we hadn't gone digital then


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

rona said:


> I'm afraid we haven't any on computer, she died 6 years ago and we hadn't gone digital then


Aw thats such a shame, you must miss her still
xx


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

rona said:


> I'm afraid we haven't any on computer, she died 6 years ago and we hadn't gone digital then


That is a shame. Was she a blue and white, like my Skye?


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

sketch said:


> Aw thats such a shame, you must miss her still
> xx


She was a little rescue dog and didn't have a very good start in life, she was a difficult dog. Lots of noise and aggression 



Oenoke said:


> That is a shame. Was she a blue and white, like my Skye?


She was actually black and white, but her shape and face were just so similar


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

Sorry for hijacking your thread Sketch.

Rona, this is what Skye looks like now at nearly 4 years old (13 January).


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Oenoke, Hijack away I love seeing piccies, whoop more please everyone
xx


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2009)

Yep, the coat is heavier but the body shape and spookily the face is so much like Lucy


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

rona said:


> Yep, the coat is heavier but the body shape and spookily the face is so much like Lucy


Its weird isnt it how you can see someone elses dog and see yours in it.
My now friend saw Dalton for the first time and had to sit down, she was in shock, it turns out her old boy was D's Grt grt grt grt uncle...spooky
xx


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

rona said:


> Yep, the coat is heavier but the body shape and spookily the face is so much like Lucy


Aww, I bet she was lovely, everyone is always saying how pretty Skye is.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

I hope you don't mind a small hijack on this thread - I'm a bit worried about the growth of my collie pup. She's a Welsh, so likely to be smaller than a standard BC, though both her parents were quite big for Welshes. At nearly 20 weeks she is 7.8k and around 13 1/2 inches to the shoulder. She's not thin, vet says good body condition, just smaller than I'd expected her to be at this stage. I had got her to be a 'large' agility dog, but my other dog, a 'medium', still towers over her - I had expected them to about the same size at Kite's age. Her paws are the same size as the older dogs', though of course I know that's not a definitive guide to adult size. It's early days yet, and of course I love her no matter what size she turns out to be.


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Burrowzig said:


> I hope you don't mind a small hijack on this thread - I'm a bit worried about the growth of my collie pup. She's a Welsh, so likely to be smaller than a standard BC, though both her parents were quite big for Welshes. At nearly 20 weeks she is 7.8k and around 13 1/2 inches to the shoulder. She's not thin, vet says good body condition, just smaller than I'd expected her to be at this stage. I had got her to be a 'large' agility dog, but my other dog, a 'medium', still towers over her - I had expected them to about the same size at Kite's age. Her paws are the same size as the older dogs', though of course I know that's not a definitive guide to adult size. It's early days yet, and of course I love her no matter what size she turns out to be.


Hijack away, hopefully someone will be able to help you too
xx


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## Mese (Jun 5, 2008)

She's gorgeous hun , she looks perfect from the piccie ive seen 

I have a supermodel skinny minni BC too , Gypsy
My vet thinks she's a prime example of a healthy BC , even though im constantly asking him if he thinks she's underweight (he always says she's perfect )

this is my angel


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

I just tried a site where you put in the date of birth, weight and expected adult weight. It managed to calculate "Your dog was born on Wednesday and is 2000 year(s), 4 month(s) and 14 day(s) old".
What a waste of time that was. And she's certainly not two thousand years old!


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Mese said:


> She's gorgeous hun , she looks perfect from the piccie ive seen
> 
> I have a supermodel skinny minni BC too , Gypsy
> My vet thinks she's a prime example of a healthy BC , even though im constantly asking him if he thinks she's underweight (he always says she's perfect )
> ...


TBH i love all your 3 chick.
Gypsy is a little pickle like libby haha, we measured her this morning she is 17" to the shoulders haha, I have gotten over my paranoia now, i think she will just be a tiny titch, but that will make her even faster for agility i reckon.
xx


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

Burrowzig said:


> I just tried a site where you put in the date of birth, weight and expected adult weight. It managed to calculate "Your dog was born on Wednesday and is 2000 year(s), 4 month(s) and 14 day(s) old".
> What a waste of time that was. And she's certainly not two thousand years old!


yes those sites are pants chick.
xx


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

Hey Sarah. 

Young worky type collies tend to be pretty skinny generally. Among collie owners there is the well known dilemma- "keeping weight on my working youngster?". So don't worry you are not alone. 
It's also supposedly said that nervy types can be more skinny in some cases. 

I wouldn't worry yourself too much. So long as she is eating well and is happy enough in herself. She looks fab and a very pretty little girly to me


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## sketch (Sep 19, 2009)

lemmsy said:


> Hey Sarah.
> 
> Young worky type collies tend to be pretty skinny generally. Among collie owners there is the well known dilemma- "keeping weight on my working youngster?". So don't worry you are not alone.
> It's also supposedly said that nervy types can be more skinny in some cases.
> ...


Aw thank you Lemmsy.
I have tried feeding her chicken for treats when training to get extra calories in her, but then she eats less in her meals, she never eats her full quota of food already, so feeding her chicken in between she eats even less...
So we have gone back to just giving her her meals normally again. Its like she gets full and has no room for anything else haha.
She never refuses her meals, but stops when full and isnt greedy in any way.
So maybe this is just how she is supposed to be.
Like you say Libby is nervy anyway isnt she, so maybe burns off excess energy/fuel she eats.
Like right now she is amusing herself throwing a tennis ball up and down the hall, the boys are flat out, she comes to show me then plays agina haha, so she will never be a cubby puppy will she.
thanks again hun
xx


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