Mountain Dogs > Bernese Mountain Dog Discussions

Berner puppy size

(1/3) > >>

MarleyPyr:
Hey Berner owners.... as the proud owner of my first berner I am noticing some major differences from my pyr which is cool to experience. One of the things I am curious about is the size. I know they are large breeds - not as large as the pyr's however my girl is MUCH smaller at 5 months than my pyr...like half the size.
Is this typical? what is the average growth rate of the berners? What size are some of the other berner babies out there that are on this site?
thanks.

sc.trojans:

Berners can vary greatly in size.  Given that I am in Rescue and see a lot of backyard bred dogs, I see many that are no where near the breed standard and have no bone, looking more like Golden Retrievers.  In this breed, it comes down to how much "bone" they have - if they are slight in build, they will weigh less.  Heavy structure, more.  And then again, if they are simply long on leg (leggy) they can weigh more as well.

So the easiest way to determine is to know her parents' size.  How big is mom and dad? 

If you don't know them, then go back to 8 weeks of age (if you had her then) and tell us what she weighed.  At 8 weeks of age, a good average weight for a Berner  pup within the breed standard is 15 lbs for a female. So if a pup starts here, then at 12 weeks she'll be 23-24 lbs.  Usually there is a growth spurt at about 4-5 months, so it is hard to say. My girl, who is large for a female, weighed 40 lbs. at 16 weeks and I see this as the high end - a girl should never be bigger than mine :)  As a grown adult, my girl weighs 94-95 lbs.  Her mom weighs the same, and her dad was 120 lbs.

Hope that helps....

MarleyPyr:
hmm ok well weight wise she seems on target. She is just over 5 months and about 46lbs. She is filling out in her body but doesn't seem to be growing in her height. Maybe she will just be a late bloomer as far as height? she is looking a little stunted right now  ;)

We had the opportunity to see the mom and she was about the size of a large lab. Apparently the dad was bigger.

SadieA:
Well, this may not be super helpful as Sammy is a male, but I can tell you that from my experience with him, size as a pup does not necessarily predict size at full-grown. Sammy is just a year and three months, so he may have a bit more growing to do, but all the same... he was 20 lbs when I got him at eight weeks, which I believe to be fairly large for a pup, and at 6 months he was around 65, but now he's only 85, and has been that size for a good five months. So he way still get bigger, but it seems unlikely he's really going to be a big berner- I'd be quite surprised if he ends up at more than 100 pounds. His dad was about 100, so I'd imagine he may be around the same, which is fairly small for a male, despite his large size as a pup. He was from a small litter, though, so maybe that accounts for the size as a pup...

sc.trojans:

--- Quote from: SadieA on September 13, 2008, 03:12:09 pm --- His dad was about 100, so I'd imagine he may be around the same, which is fairly small for a male, despite his large size as a pup.

--- End quote ---

Actually Sadie....100 lbs is not small in the breed - it is dead on average and appropriate. Males should be 100-120 lbs. ideally.  Any more and they are not a "large" breed dog, but a "giant" breed and that isn't a Berner.  Females are 80-95 lbs. and also should not be any more than this.  It is commonly referred to as "over done" in the breed - not desirable, so take heart.

Your boy sounds small however - probably lacking bone and this most likely explains the lower weight.  His growth plates should be closed about now, so height should largely be finished...but he will do A LOT of filling out still up to 4 years of age.  You will see a different dog in chest width etc. at 3 years old vs. today but not much weight variation.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page