Watch O'Mara Grow
This flash movie shows O'Mara 'morphing' at various intervals
from six weeks to one year old
Right-click on the image to access the controls.
We've always recorded our puppies' weights, initially weighing them weekly on the bathroom scales, then when they're too heavy for Paul to lift (and strangely, this stage seems to be reached earlier with each puppy) monthly at the vet's.
Even if you're not particularly interested in your pup's weight it's worth making fortnightly or monthly visits to your vet's surgery simply to weigh him. Not only is it a good chance to familiarise him with the place and staff without anything nasty happening, but by weighing him regularly as he grows you'll ensure that if he needs to be weighed as an adult, eg prior to general anaesthetic, when he's apparently much too big to stand on the weighing platform, he'll be able to do so without undue stress.
The graph and the chart below show the weights (in pounds) of our seven puppies in their first year, showing that although individual weights vary, the overall growth rate is remarkably similar.
Eight year old McGinty
to eight week old Darcy:
'You've got a lot of growing to do, girl!'
DOGS
|
BITCHES
|
||||||
Wk
|
Weight in lb
|
||||||
08
09
10
11
----
12
13
14
15
----
16
17
18
19
----
20
21
22
23
----
24
25
26
27
----
28
29
30
31
----
32
33
34
35
----
36
37
38
39
----40
41
42
43
----
44
45
46
47
----
48
49
50
51
----
52
|
27
30
-----
37
41
47
56
-----
59
62
66
74
-----
78
83
-----
103
-----
113
-----
130
-----
137
-----
----
140
-----
144
-----
|
22
26
32
38
-----
44
49
54
60
-----
65
72
79
-----
88
96
-----
103
109
-----
121
-----
128
-----
142
-----
-----
144
-----
147
-----
148
|
25
32
39
-----
42
49
52
56
-----
60
66
72
76
-----
81
87
-----
110
-----
123
-----
139
-----
150
-----
156
-----
-----
156
-----
160
|
30
34
39
-----
44
50
53
58
-----
63
68
73
78
-----
86
-----
100
106
-----
118
-----
130
-----
141
-----
150
-----
154
-----
-----
159
|
23
30
34
----
37
42
47
52
-----
58
64
66
69
-----
75
78
87
-----
-----
105
-----
119
-----
-----
132
-----
-----
140
-----
|
16
19
24
30
-----
36
39
44
48
-----
52
56
63
66
-----
70
80
-----
86
-----
103
-----
114
-----
-----
123
-----
128
-----
-----
132
|
22
25
29
33
-----
37
44
52
54
-----
58
62
67
73
-----
85
-----
98
-----
108
-----
124
----
-----
-----
132
-----
-----
132
|
Wk
|
DOGS
|
BITCHES
|
|||||
Key:
McGinty
Branigan
Hogan
Rafferty
Clancy
Darcy
O'Mara
Eventual approx adult weights:
Wt (lb)
|
|
McGinty
|
160
|
Branigan
|
150
|
Hogan
|
180
|
Rafferty
|
180
|
Clancy
|
140
|
Darcy
|
130
|
DOGS
|
B
|
|||
Wk
|
Height in inches
|
|||
08
09
10
11
----
12
13
14
15
----
16
17
18
19
----
20
21
22
23
----
24
25
26
27
----
28
29
30
31
----
32
33
34
35
----
36
37
38
39
----40
41
42
43
----
44
45
46
47
----
48
49
50
51
----
52
|
15.5
17.5
19.0
-------
20.0
21.0
22.0
23.0
-------
24.0
25.0
26.0
-------
28.0
-------
29.0
30.0
-------
31.0
-------
32.0
-------
33.0
-------
33.5
-------
-------
-------
33.5
|
16.5
19.0
20.5
-------
21.0
22.5
23.5
24.5
-------
25.5
26.0
27.0
27.5
-------
28.5
29.5
-------
31.0
31.5
-------
32.5
-------
34.5
-------
35.0
-------
36.0
-------
-------
-------
37.0
|
19.0
19.5
21.0
-------
22.0
23.0
23.5
24.5
-------
26.5
27.0
27.5
28.0
-------
28.0
29.5
-------
31.0
31.5
-------
32.5
-------
35.0
-------
36.0
-------
36.0
-------
-------
-------
37.0
|
18.0
19.5
20.5
------
21.5
22.5
23.5
24.5
------
25.5
26.5
27.0
28.0
------
28.5
-------
30.5
-----
32.0
------
33.0
------
-----
------
34.0
------
------
34.0
|
Wk
|
DOGS
|
B
|
||
It's only with our last three puppies, all males, that we've measured heights regularly as well as weighing them. If you want to check your pup's height, you first need a 'measuring stick' - this can be very easily made by stapling a dress-making tape measure to a length of wood. You also need a small spirit level (or a short length of wood will do) and a helper. And a co-operative puppy. This last can best be achieved by making sure he is familiar with all three pieces of equipment beforehand. Once you have assembled all four items: measuring stick, spirit level, helper and puppy - the fun begins. Standing on a hard surface (not carpet), persuade the puppy to adopt something approximating a show-stand, with
Key:
Branigan
Hogan
Rafferty
O'Mara
Eventual adult heights:
Ht (in)
|
|
Branigan
|
33.5
|
Hogan
|
37
|
Rafferty
|
37
|
Eight year old Chewbacca to eight week old Branigan:
'You might be as big as me one day, boy,
but you'll never be as handsome!'
Note:
There is no data for Chewbacca, who came to us at the age of four,
nor for McKenna, who was ten months old when she arrived.
Eight week old Hogan to 16 month old Branigan: 'Think you're big, don't you, Bran? Just you wait!'
It's impossible to generalise on wolfhound puppy growth rates, and comparisons should always be made with great caution.
Wolfhounds come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, just like people, so don't panic if your puppy is above or below expectations, provided he is not fat and is in good health.
If you have any concerns about your puppy's development always consult your vet and/or breeder.
Mac/iPad users: Safari won't let you see the Picasa slideshow that's
embedded below, so click here to view it on the Picasa site.
Watch Branigan grow
Mac/iPad users: Safari won't let you see the Picasa slideshow that's
embedded below, so click here to view it on the Picasa site.
Watch Hogan grow
his front legs straight and parallel (we did say it would be fun!). Then while one person holds the puppy in position, the other locates the shoulder blades - two boney protrusions at the base of the neck. Once identified, lay the spirit level or short length of wood horizontally across the shoulder blades, and position your measuring stick vertically alongside the puppy. Then read of the measurement from underneath the spirit level/piece of wood - and that's your puppy's height! As you can now appreciate, our early recordings of puppies' heights are very approximate.
In spite of the widely held belief that wolfhounds continue to grow until the age of three, all four dogs that we have measured had reached their eventual adult height by a year old. That's not to say they didn't continue to develop over the next couple of years - they gained in muscle, coat and confidence, losing their lanky, teenage looks, just as an adolescent human male matures and changes between the ages of say, 18 and 28.
