[UtahDobe]

I've looked over several dobe specific size charts etc, my female is a very healthy 49lbs and about 24in at the withers. I've had her since she's been 9 weeks old, she is now 15 months old, she's always had a pretty good appetite and has ate nothing but blue buffalo dry dog food. She just seems really small to me, she has no ribs showing and her hips are not protruding and her coat is gorgeous so I know its not for lack of food or lack of quality of food. She's current on her all her shots and has had two check ups from two different vets with a clean bill of health. My question is does this seem abnormally small to you guys? I honestly don't care how big she gets I just want to ensure there isn't an underlying problem that we've all missed. Thanks.......

 

[DogsR4Life]

I've looked over several dobe specific size charts etc, my female is a very healthy 49lbs and about 24in at the withers. I've had her since she's been 9 weeks old, she is now 15 months old, she's always had a pretty good appetite and has ate nothing but blue buffalo dry dog food. She just seems really small to me, she has no ribs showing and her hips are not protruding and her coat is gorgeous so I know its not for lack of food or lack of quality of food. She's current on her all her shots and has had two check ups from two different vets with a clean bill of health. My question is does this seem abnormally small to you guys? I honestly don't care how big she gets I just want to ensure there isn't an underlying problem that we've all missed. Thanks.......

What does her mum and dad look like? That will give you an idea on how tall/big she is going to be. If she got a clean bill of health then I wouldnt worry too much about her size, its better to be a little smaller than larger IMO

 

[Murreydobe]

Absolutely NOTHING wrong with a 24" bitch, that's within standard.

 

[Zora-owner]

wow they're being alot nice to you than when I posted - telling me my dog couldn't be a doberman its too small blah blah blah etc.

My girl Zora will be 8 months old on or about 1-15-12, when I got her she was 5 months old and only 39 lbs - she had broken her left front leg and was on a restrictive diet since she was only 13 weeks and was still recovering when I rescued her. I feed her blue buffalo food too - well, now she weighs 53 lbs and is 25.5" @ withers - she's a little tall but petite. No big deal. I imagine she'll top out around 55 lbs. If your girl is an inch or so shorter and a few lbs lighter she's probably built like Zora.

See attached pic, I don't want her to get any heavier because a) she's got a small frame (and by that I mean width of chest etc.) b) she's had injury to her load-bearing left front leg and c) she's a damn athlete and runs 2.5-4 miles every other day w/ me! I want her to push me like she has been!!

 

[UtahDobe]

Yeah, I was more worried about her weight than height but maybe she'll fill out? She's a very active dog as I have two kids and they play with her constantly, my wife jogs with her in the warmer months and she follows us on atvs occasionally. I'm sure all that plays a role in how lean she is, I'll get some pics up of our little monster as soon as I get back home to the PC. Btw her dad was an 85lb euro and her mother is a 70lb American dog. Btw thanks guys for the input, I appreciate it.

 

[Zora-owner]

sorry forgot the pics!

I think as long as she is healthy and not showing more than a rib or 2 (or none) she should be fine. I was in the same boat as you and my vet, who also happens to be a dobie enthusiast, said Zora is in excellent condition/very healthy and the perfect weight for her frame.

 

[KevinK]

wow they're being alot nice to you than when I posted - telling me my dog couldn't be a doberman its too small blah blah blah etc.

My girl Zora will be 8 months old on or about 1-15-12, when I got her she was 5 months old and only 39 lbs - she had broken her left front leg and was on a restrictive diet since she was only 13 weeks and was still recovering when I rescued her. I feed her blue buffalo food too - well, now she weighs 53 lbs and is 25.5" @ withers - she's a little tall but petite. No big deal. I imagine she'll top out around 55 lbs. If your girl is an inch or so shorter and a few lbs lighter she's probably built like Zora.

See attached pic, I don't want her to get any heavier because a) she's got a small frame (and by that I mean width of chest etc.) b) she's had injury to her load-bearing left front leg and c) she's a damn athlete and runs 2.5-4 miles every other day w/ me! I want her to push me like she has been!!

Well, she doesn't look purebred to me from those pics, but that's no reason to love her any less! Hard to tell from a few pics, depending on the angles, I can make my dog look like 15 different dogs lol.

24" is within the standard, and if your dog's weight matches the body size, then it's nothing to worry about. You say that you don't see bones or anything, so I wouldn't be too concerned about it..

 

[Sarahnichole]

Some people say it's not uncommon for a female dobie to max out around 60 pounds or so. If she's only 15 months old, she's still got a little time left to grow, especially if she's a late bloomer. If the vet says she's healthy, I wouldn't worry about her size too much. I have 3 dobies and they are all very different. One female is short and super bulky and definitely a heavy-weight. The other female is average height and 73 lbs. And then my male is way taller than the average dobie, but he's a light weight, just built that way. None of them are overweight or underweight or anything like that, all just different. I'd say your girl will just be a little bit petite. If she's anything like mine though, that might be a good thing. Mine refuse to be anywhere other than on me.

 

[Zora-owner]

Well, she doesn't look purebred to me from those pics, but that's no reason to love her any less! Hard to tell from a few pics, depending on the angles, I can make my dog look like 15 different dogs lol.

24" is within the standard, and if your dog's weight matches the body size, then it's nothing to worry about. You say that you don't see bones or anything, so I wouldn't be too concerned about it..

she's had dna test from MSPCA and from a Vet - both came up doberman. The vet tells me she thinks it was incorrectly bred (or accidentally from a suspect breeder) between a rust and black/tan...but other than having more tan on her there isn't one thing I can see that isn't dobie about her - last time @ vet she was standing next to an 80 lb male - exact same stance, has the gait, perfect box look - she was just improperly bred which could actually be to her advantage by mixing up the gene pool.

But to the OP's question - post a pic, most people can tell from that. When I first got Zora she had all her ribs showing and a VERY narrow waist - that is when you need to be concerned

 

[UtahDobe]

heres some pics, best I had at work.

 

[UtahDobe]

had the wife send a couple

 

[brw1982]

At 24" and 15-months old I'd think for her frame that 49-lbs is a good weight. They generally will fill out closer to 2-years of age and since she's 24", and given her frame size, she probably shouldn't carry much weight, particularly right now.

My girl Tali is 24" and 58-lbs but she will be 4-years old in May, so she has finished filling out. Your girl may still put on another 5-10 lbs over the next couple years. Fiona put on about 10 pounds more between 1.5 - 2.5 years old. Although I'm just speculating. It depends on the individual dog's genetics greatly.

Usually the females are about the size of the dam and the males are about the size of the sire.

(Your girl's such a cutie, BTW! I think she looks pretty good in her pictures! )

 

[UtahDobe]

Thanks! We love her to death, albeit being small she makes up for it in personality lol.

 

[Dobejazz]

My Toula is a petite girl at 5 years old she is still right around 50-52 pounds so I wouldnt' be concerned if she looks and acts healthy.

 

[HerMewMew]

Short story for you...
So a few months back while in pet-co a pup started playing with my Dober puppy. Kira was about 5 or 6 months at the time. I looked down and thought "cute dog." I watched them happily for a few mins and then it hit me! The pup did the "bottoms up, wiggle nub" pose & of course Kira Hime did the exact same pose! "Oh my goodness, she was a DOBERMAN PINSCHSER!" in fact it took me the better part of 5 mins. to realize that they were the same breed! The owner asked me a few basic questions about Kira and I asked a few too! The answers were fallowed with a lot of "humms" and "interesting looks back & forward" between us twords both Dobermans. Her Dober gal was a year and a half old, from a breeder in Jacksonville Florida & around 45lbs. She was very pettite and had the most dainty bone structure. Kira had her beet by a good two inches in height, weight and thickness of bone structure.I still think about the meeting and remember thinking Kira is going to be an ogre when she grew up which is not true. However I realize now they do come in every size! Maybe a show breeder would look for a smaller-shorter doberman with qualities like this to bring a Dobermans height down when breeding within standard for conformation. I mean think of all of the HUGE Dobe's we see, the opposite it around as well.

This is the exact reason I prayed for a daughter! I figured if I had a son who was 5ft. tall he would HATE ME! LoL! And would you believe my daughter might have toped off at 5ft. Just like me! Petite girls-women are cute! Petite boys would not be so happy with their height! LoL

 

[UtahDobe]

I just pulled up her vet records from last week and her measurements were 24.5in at the shoulder and 49.3lbs, she is a small dobe but after speaking to you guys and talking with our vet Dr. Carl L Pew, who is a professional dobe and bull terrier judge he said she was fine and she'd probably pack on another 10-15lbs by the time she's 3 but either way I'm not too worried about it now. Thanks though for the input, I do appreciate the reassurance from you all.

 

[mmctaq]

wow they're being alot nice to you than when I posted - telling me my dog couldn't be a doberman its too small blah blah blah etc.

No one was not nice... folks just pointed out the obvious!

 

[HerMewMew]

She is pretty golden! I was looking threw her photos! I remember a funny sentence I read a few months back... A man was writing something to the effect of, looks like my girl is going to be a "Minature Doberman" I was really wanting a bigger one!"

Don't quote me on that but you get the picture LoL

Enjoy your dainty girl!

 

[UtahDobe]

Golden?? Hmm.. Did u mix up me and Zorah-Owner?

 

[Cathy43]

I had a 23 1/2" 45lber. she was a doll and super fiesty. Nothing wrong with the small ones.