# Question about size??



## Vicky Wydysh (Jun 30, 2006)

Hi all,

I have only owned my first maltese, and she is healthy, doing well, eats well so far and she is 5 months this week. Brought her to the vet today for her shots and she weighs 3.9 lbs. The vet did say that she is a lot smaller than usual. Can anyone recall how much their maltese weighed at 5 months?

I understand that the "standard" range is between 4-6lbs for this breed, but I am concerned that she may be too small?

Vicky


----------



## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

> Hi all,
> 
> I have only owned my first maltese, and she is healthy, doing well, eats well so far and she is 5 months this week. Brought her to the vet today for her shots and she weighs 3.9 lbs. The vet did say that she is a lot smaller than usual. Can anyone recall how much their maltese weighed at 5 months?
> 
> ...


Vicky this is not too small for her age. My Sassy was 3.3 lbs when she was 5.5 months old. As an adult she is 6.5 lbs. (on her fat days.) It is not abnormal for Malts to actually put on weight up until they are nearly 2 yrs. old. My Sassy gained almost a lb. between 1 and 2 years of age. 

Is your vet knowledgable with small breeds? What kind of animal does he personally own? I would make sure he is a small animal vet and not large animals. These babies are much different than large breeds.


----------



## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Vicky, have you asked your breeder? Sometimes it depends on the pedigree. 
The rule of thumb is double the weight at 3 months to get adult weight, however,
this does not apply to line bred dogs for the most part. 

Example: Toy (my four yr old maltese) was 3.5 lbs at 3.5 months. She's now
4 yrs old and 4.5 lbs. She's line bred.


----------



## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

That isn't too small. My oldest, Lexi, was 4lbs at 4 months old and at 2.5 years old she is a little over 8lbs. Nikki was 3lbs at 6 months old. She is now 1.5 years old and weighs 4lbs 4 oz.


----------



## Zoe and Bella's mom (Jan 23, 2006)

Zoe was 3.1 at 6 months of age (when we bought her) and is 4 3/4 lbs. at 2 years old. Bella was 4 l/2 lbs. at 1 years old (when we bought her) and she is now 5 lbs. at l l/2 years old.


----------



## hillary&lola (Apr 4, 2006)

you puppy sounds like a normal size...as long as you are feeding two good sized meals a day, i wouldn't worry. if she feels skinny, you can always add some canned food to the diet. merrick canned foods are great!!


----------



## Vicky Wydysh (Jun 30, 2006)

Hi all,

Thanks for all the feedback, I thought she would be ok on her current weight, I know that she is on the small end of the scale, but within the guidlines. I just worry too much about her, I really love and care for her too much, if that exists ; )

vicky


----------



## Fenway's Momma (Dec 6, 2005)

I think Fenway was 3.5 @ 5 months , 8 months he was holding steady @ 4 and then he gained 4 oz in a week and has been 4.4 since...so it all depends. She could do alot (or a little) growing after 5 months. I am holding off buying a really nice harness for him b/c I am sure once I do he'll gain another .5-1 #. If your vet is used to big dogs then of course she is small. My vet happens to have a Pappilon (sp?) So I think he understands little dogs a bit better then others.


----------



## wagirl98665 (Jan 5, 2006)

> Hi all,
> 
> I have only owned my first maltese, and she is healthy, doing well, eats well so far and she is 5 months this week. Brought her to the vet today for her shots and she weighs 3.9 lbs. The vet did say that she is a lot smaller than usual. Can anyone recall how much their maltese weighed at 5 months?
> 
> ...


Your puppy sounds like she's normal weight for her and age doing fine.


----------



## MissMelanie (Feb 13, 2006)

> Hi all,
> 
> I have only owned my first maltese, and she is healthy, doing well, eats well so far and she is 5 months this week. Brought her to the vet today for her shots and she weighs 3.9 lbs. The vet did say that she is a lot smaller than usual. Can anyone recall how much their maltese weighed at 5 months?
> 
> ...


 Heya Vicky,

Mr Wookie, Pocket and Abbie can throw off your "stats" some I am sure.

Mr Wookie was 1 pound 3 ounces.







It was like picking up a stick of butter when you would pick him up.

I think your doggie sounds fine.
enJOY!
Melanie


----------



## HappyB (Feb 28, 2005)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=252697
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## sweetbabybe (Sep 24, 2006)

My little Chloe is already 3 pounds at 10 weeks! She is growing so fast. We first saw her at 6 weeks and she weighed just over a pound. I thought she was going to grow up to be 6 pounds like her mom. But at this rate, somehow I think she is going to be closer to 10 pounds like her dad. 

Oh dear! I already bought tons of cute XS clothes for her already. *sigh* I guess she will just be a best dressed puppy until she outgrows them all. Then it's back to Ebay for me...good thing I love shopping!


----------



## HappyB (Feb 28, 2005)

> Hi all,
> 
> I have only owned my first maltese, and she is healthy, doing well, eats well so far and she is 5 months this week. Brought her to the vet today for her shots and she weighs 3.9 lbs. The vet did say that she is a lot smaller than usual. Can anyone recall how much their maltese weighed at 5 months?
> 
> ...



I kept two girls this year who are seven months old today. They are 1/2 sisters to Stacy's Caddy, as they have the same sire, who is exactly five pounds. I groomed and weighed both girls last night, and they are both exactly four pounds. These girls were 3 1/2 and 3 3/4 at five months of age. I've found that my girls who mature at five to five and one half pounds are usually in the 3 1/2 to four pound range at five months.


----------



## starry (Sep 4, 2006)

> Vicky, have you asked your breeder? Sometimes it depends on the pedigree.
> The rule of thumb is double the weight at 3 months to get adult weight, however,
> this does not apply to line bred dogs for the most part.
> 
> ...


What does line bred mean?
Also what does BISS in front of a dogs name mean when I look at pedigrees on breeder links?
Sorry if I sound dumb!

Thanks!


----------



## HappyB (Feb 28, 2005)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=252704
> 
> 
> 
> ...



BISS is Best in Specialty Show while BIS is Best in Show.

I found a good article on the types of breeding. I am attaching the link for those who might want to read about inbreeding, line breeding, crossbreeding, and outbreeding.

http://www.bulldoginformation.com/breeding-types.html


----------



## starry (Sep 4, 2006)

Ohhh, thank you.


----------



## Carole (Nov 1, 2005)

Thanks, Faye. That was a clear explanation.







I filed that one.

~Carole~


----------



## puppymom (Jun 13, 2005)

Ty was 3.3 lbs @ 5 months and today at 1 1/2 he is 6.7 lbs so I think that sounds pretty"normal". My Vet did tell me when he was small that he was on the "thin" side but he caught up fast !!!!


----------



## NONNY (May 21, 2006)

Chipper is 6 months and he weighs in at 4-11, but his littermate Bunny is much smaller. I think Chipper is going to be a big fellow....with a personality to match!


----------



## Gregswife (Mar 6, 2006)

Vicky, Sadie is 5 months old and she weighed 5.3 lbs. at the vet on Wed. I have 2 maltese, and even though I love them both, I was hoping that one of them would turn out to be smaller, but it doesn't look like it was meant to be....


----------



## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

That's a good weight...not too small at all.

Gracie is the biggest odd-ball. She weighed.....ready for this.....4.6lbs at 5 months old







that is HUGE for that age. The vet reffered to her as the "ZENA" of Maltese







. She is now 15 months old and only 5lbs







. She's weighed this same weight since she was 8months old. So weird....she did all her growing so young and totally tapered off. I can't remember Coopers exact weight at that age, but I think he was about 4lbs and right now at 3.5 yrs old weighs 8.8lbs.


----------



## Littlemans Mom (Apr 6, 2005)

I agree with all the others here, that is a perfectly normal weight at that age. I wouldn't even say that it is at the smaller end of the scale. There is lots of time yet to grow, for example our Indy was 2.3 lbs. at 13 weeks old when we got him and didn't hit the 3 lb. mark until 8 months old. We take him to the Vets to get his nails trimmed so we get a weight check often and he hit 8 months old and from then on he has very slowly but steadily continued to gain weight







He will be 2 years old on December 13 th and last month he weighed 4.2 lbs. and today he weighed 4.5







So at almost 2 years old he is still growing and he finally made the 4 1/2 lb. mark














I am so excited, we were concerned about him being so tiny and now I feel he is doing just fine







Since the average weight for a Maltese is between 4 and 6 pounds your baby is doing just fine







It sounds like your Vet is not all that familiar with Maltese, there are lots of sites online you can read up on them and pass the info on to your Vet, or maybe find one who knows more about Toy breeds.....just a thought. But don't worry, your babies weight is not too low


----------



## Circe's Mommy (Jul 8, 2006)

As of today my furbutt weighs 3LBS 11OZ she will be 10 months on Nov. 7, she is tiny to me. From what I have seen with weight and Malts, depends on the dog and if the breeder knows her line she may have a good idea from previous pups she has had. Mine in predicted to get to 5 LBS. Not sure she will make it. Try your breeder.


----------



## Lil Boo Boo (Jul 22, 2006)

Ive been looking at this thread and ya all got me a tad worried. Small fry is five months old and she still only weigs 2lbs 8oz, Dahlia weighs in at 2lbs 9oz. That seems small when I see what everyone elses furbabies weighd at their age. I guess ists time to break open the icecream so they can put some wight on...it workes for me


----------



## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

> Ive been looking at this thread and ya all got me a tad worried. Small fry is five months old and she still only weigs 2lbs 8oz, Dahlia weighs in at 2lbs 9oz. That seems small when I see what everyone elses furbabies weighd at their age. I guess ists time to break open the icecream so they can put some wight on...it workes for me
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh gosh that works for me too..









I wouldn't worry too much yet, they could just gain all of a sudden. Koko is 15 weeks and now weighs 2.10 so he isn't going to get real big, but then who knows? His breeder said he should finish at about 4½lbs as most of her pups do. My motto is as long as they are gaining something and not going the other way, don't worry, what will be will be in the end


----------



## Littlemans Mom (Apr 6, 2005)

> Ive been looking at this thread and ya all got me a tad worried. Small fry is five months old and she still only weigs 2lbs 8oz, Dahlia weighs in at 2lbs 9oz. That seems small when I see what everyone elses furbabies weighd at their age. I guess ists time to break open the icecream so they can put some wight on...it workes for me
> 
> 
> 
> ...






I mentioned in my post that Indy didn't get to 3 lbs. until he was 8 months old and he is just fine







What I got out of this thread was, not to worry that they all grow at different rates. Indy is now 4 1/2 lbs. at almost 2 years old, he is on the smaller end of the standard scale, but still within the standard







They can go through growth spurts at all different ages, what one weighed at 5 or 6 months may be more or less than someone elses little one , but in the end they could end up being the same size...or not...don't worry







As long as your Vet feels that for your little ones body size her weght is healthy then all is well


----------



## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=285143
> 
> 
> 
> ...



They definitely grow at different rates. Gracie's sister was always quite a bit smaller than her as pups.....but now that they are fully grown....Gracie is the smaller of the 2 by about 1.5 lbs.


----------



## louis' mom (Jul 7, 2006)

My vet said to do the rib test - you should be able to feel your baby's ribs - but they should "stick out". If you can't feel your baby's rib (under all the hair), you baby may need more exercise/cut back on treats. If you can feel the ribs and in between, your baby needs more food! Also my vet said that a little extra weight in the winter isn't a bad thing since the fat helps to keep them warm if they are outdoors alot.

Louis was about 4.5 bls at 6months and about 8lbs at 1 yr. He is about 8.5 - 9lbs and he is 3.5yrs old.


----------

