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Other Hunting => Bird Dogs => Topic started by: Blcktaildreamer on March 22, 2015, 03:52:00 PM


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Title: How big should he be ?
Post by: Blcktaildreamer on March 22, 2015, 03:52:00 PM
I have a 5 month old English setter pup he is 34.8 pounds. Should he be bigger? I feed 5 cups of taste of the wild 32% protein and he just doesn't seem to put on any pounds.

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftapatalk.imageshack.com%2Fv2%2F15%2F03%2F22%2Fefd54c27e6924b2c426bcbd2d38b7338.jpg&hash=64f6d512ab8e3ee716aa33e2a360cc861ee2ba8d)


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Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: Blcktaildreamer on March 22, 2015, 03:53:36 PM
This is him about a month ago. (https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftapatalk.imageshack.com%2Fv2%2F15%2F03%2F22%2F3b016dee5bb6fc7cdb826563b6cfb127.jpg&hash=0b35d520fcc8d3f8d550a5330891c983a04e5c0c)


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Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: mburrows on March 22, 2015, 03:55:22 PM
5 months is still pretty young. I wouldnt be surprised if he keeps growing for the next few months or so and then fills out once he finishes growing.
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: mburrows on March 22, 2015, 03:55:55 PM
Great looking pup by the way!
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: jrebel on March 22, 2015, 03:56:04 PM
Looks healthy to me.  You don't want him to be fat...you want him to be fit.  One letter difference in the word but a ton of difference in the field. 
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: vandeman17 on March 22, 2015, 04:24:10 PM
Pups are naturally skinny and burn lots of calories. He looks good to me
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: RadSav on March 22, 2015, 04:28:04 PM
When did you wean him off of puppy food?  Do you know the breeder?  Setters should be long and lean, but some are bred small and some bred large.  Your breeder should know if his adult weight should be close to 50 or closer to 80.  At five months he has a lot of growing yet to do.  In terms of physical maturity he is about the equivalent of an 8 year old boy at 5 months.  Probably not going to reach his mature height until he's 11 or 12 months.  My setters never filled out completely balanced in height and weight until almost two. To me he looks great, but if concerned I'd try to get in touch with the breeder!
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: Torrent50 on March 22, 2015, 04:50:12 PM
At that age I wouldn't worry about the weight at all.  As long as he is healthy, which he looks like he is.  It's better for them to be on the light side when their bones and joints are developing than to be too heavy.  I had an English Setter many many years ago and I don't think he started to really fill out until he was over a year old.  If it's any comfort,  my GSP just turned a year and he is still sitting at 49 pounds, where he has been for a couple of months. 

I'm just impressed you could get him to sit still long enough to take those pictures.
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: RadSav on March 22, 2015, 05:34:48 PM
I'm just impressed you could get him to sit still long enough to take those pictures.

So true!  And I don't see a single chewed up remote for the tv or $400 pair of hunting boots :tup:
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: wildweeds on March 22, 2015, 06:51:08 PM
Why does it matter? I've got one in the kennell who never tipped the scales at more than 40 pounds ever in his entire 13 years so far,and yup he was a super field trial dog who won alot and had a huge heart.It's not the size of the dog in the fight,it's the size of fight in the dog.I've got a female who is 33 pounds,small dogs tire less easily and are easy on the back when loading in the truck,my other boys are 45-50 pounds.Length of leg and conformation are more important than  weight IMO.The proper amount of weight will appear provided over feeding isn't taking place.5 cups is over feeding if you were to ask me.
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: Blcktaildreamer on March 22, 2015, 07:16:42 PM
He came from a backyard breeder so who knows. He just seems so small. I have a female English setter who is 9 and about 65 pounds I got her as a 2 year old. And my male lab is 90 pounds so I'm not really used to this little guy.


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Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: Blcktaildreamer on March 22, 2015, 07:29:19 PM

Why does it matter? I've got one in the kennell who never tipped the scales at more than 40 pounds ever in his entire 13 years so far,and yup he was a super field trial dog who won alot and had a huge heart.It's not the size of the dog in the fight,it's the size of fight in the dog.I've got a female who is 33 pounds,small dogs tire less easily and are easy on the back when loading in the truck,my other boys are 45-50 pounds.Length of leg and conformation are more important than  weight IMO.The proper amount of weight will appear provided over feeding isn't taking place.5 cups is over feeding if you were to ask me.

It doesn't matter. I was just asking. I more wanted to be sure I wasn't under feeding. He is not a "kennel" dog he is out all day while we are at work so he does get a lot of exercise. What would you recommend to feed?     


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Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: Blcktaildreamer on March 22, 2015, 07:35:20 PM

I'm just impressed you could get him to sit still long enough to take those pictures.

So true!  And I don't see a single chewed up remote for the tv or $400 pair of hunting boots :tup:

Lucky for me he likes the ol lady's rugs for chew toys. My lab on the other hand took out all kinds of stuff. He really didn't like the satellite dish and wires. 


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Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: Blcktaildreamer on March 22, 2015, 07:40:55 PM
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftapatalk.imageshack.com%2Fv2%2F15%2F03%2F22%2Fb8d0dd165397946d20f2306aafe88db5.jpg&hash=e6782f98b56153297a24e0558d7d868fa268283f)


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Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: wildweeds on March 22, 2015, 09:27:58 PM
Just going to guess but the bag probably says 2 1/2 -3 cups for the weight range of your pup.I've got some dogs that get 2 cups and some that get 4 cups and that makes em look right,give the 2's 4 and they hog up,give the 4's 2 and you can see it slip off of them.I'd also guess your feeding in the Am and Pm? or all at once? They are high energy,even though mine are in a kennell they are on the move ALL day long jumping up and down off their houses,I've got one that will jump up an down off the house 20 times in a minute given the proper stimulation which is a cat going by,they run the fence on each other and can do 24 feet lickity split.Perhaps a worming series is in order for your pup?Lot's of variables,if his gut chemistry is a tad off he may be down on the bacteria that helps in absorption,and if that's the case your high dollar feed isn't being utilized for anything more than making poo.If you fling some names off the papers or post a picture of the pedigree I can probably give a good estimate as to his full grown size.
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: RadSav on March 23, 2015, 01:42:25 AM
I was just asking. I more wanted to be sure I wasn't under feeding. He is not a "kennel" dog he is out all day while we are at work so he does get a lot of exercise. What would you recommend to feed?     

Without knowing the parents and the breeder it is just hard to tell.  I asked about the puppy food because switching to adult food before 4 months can often lead to a slower growth in setters.  Slowly tapering off to adult food by 4.5 months is suppose to help avoid joint issues in setters.  Not really a weight issue but a rate of development issue.  We have had two dogs we acquired after 6th months from bad homes.  Both were great dogs, but both suffered issues early in life.  I've always theorized that was a result of poor quality food and improper management of nutrition during their growth years.

We have always raised our springers and setters as free feeders.  Has never been an issue until after they are retired.  And then it's been a bigger problem getting them to eat enough as they hate the senior dog formulas (have tried dang near all of them).  Our two dogs now are having issues.  But, both are living beyond the age expected for the breed.  Due to a nerve sheath tumor one is too skinny and not wanting to eat.  The other is breaking down quickly (the one we expect was abused and fed garbage food as a puppy).  So we switched back to active dog foods and one has gained more weight than wanted and the other is still way too light.  Feeding separate foods but it's still a battle.  We expect this time next year we will have neither with us so we are much more concerned with keeping their quality of life "happy" and less concerned with the results of their weights or diet concerns.  Mom and Dad are emotional wrecks but the puppy/girls are happy!  That is all that matter to us anymore  :(

Five months old and 35 pounds I expect is right on course.  He could end up being a small for breed size.  Which to me would be great!  As hunting dogs I like the ones that end up on the lower side of the breed scale.  I've always thought they had more endurance and command in the field.  Especially the small bred GSP.  In my teens I hunted chucker with a fella that had a small bred setter and he was a dynamo!  He was not a runt, just bred small.  My little springer sweetheart we have now was probably the most outstanding upland dog I've ever seen work birds.  Smartest, quickest and most natural hunting springer you will ever see. We hunted her dang hard and she never once quit.  The last hunt she wanted to keep hunting even through the pain.  I had to carry her out to go potty for two days afterward but she was still begging for more hunting.  Best puppy daughter I man could ask for!!  Sure wish there was a pill that would turn her into a puppy again :'(

If you continue to have growing concerns I wouldn't hesitate to see a "Good" vet.  Ours claims that puppies are the spice of life!  As such she never would charge us a for a simple checkup and question visit.  Even after one year the visit charges were minimal in price.  Often the peace of mind was priceless.
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: AspenBud on March 23, 2015, 09:55:36 AM
35 lbs at five months sounds about right. Field bred setters and and Pointers aren't like beefy duck dogs. 

The dog will probably top out around 45-50 lbs, that's my guess anyhow. The dog should not be fat.
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: birddogdad on March 23, 2015, 10:33:40 AM
http://www.esaa.com/BreedInfo/BreedStandard.html (http://www.esaa.com/BreedInfo/BreedStandard.html)

here are the breed specs for an English Setter.
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: coachcw on March 23, 2015, 10:35:16 AM
you might worm him ?
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: rtspring on March 23, 2015, 11:14:21 AM
Looks great! Young dogs about that age are burning alot of energy.  I see nothing to worry about.  Just standard vet stuff, worm him, and shots
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: AspenBud on March 23, 2015, 11:17:09 AM
http://www.esaa.com/BreedInfo/BreedStandard.html (http://www.esaa.com/BreedInfo/BreedStandard.html)

here are the breed specs for an English Setter.

Those look like AKC show standards. Once you get outside of the show dogs and Ryman type setters the standards and dimensions change.

So I guess the important thing to know is if the dogs is...

A field trial type breeding
A Llewellin breeding
A Ryman type breeding
A show dog breeding

Llew's and FT dogs will usually run smaller. The other two bigger.

35 - 40 lbs adult FT setters are not uncommon.
Title: Re: How big should he be ?
Post by: Blcktaildreamer on March 23, 2015, 04:12:46 PM
Thanks guys sounds like everything is just fine with the little guy.


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