mini labradors

[jane&bowser]

we bought a lab puppy and shes now a year old. the only thing is that shes only about half the size of other labs her age. ive been told shes a miniture labrador but ive never heard of them.
whats going on?

[lankeela]

There is no such thing as a 'miniature labrador'. Did you buy her as a purebred Kennel Club registered Labrador Retriever?

If not she could be crossed with anything, or she could just be from a very small bitch, and if they used a small dog then the resulting puppies would take after their parents.
Have you spoken to the breeders, or seen any of the brothers and sisters?

Without wishing to suggest you have not reared her correctly, it is sometimes the case that dogs that are undernourished as youngsters do not fulfill their growing potential. Sometimes a lack of calcium prevents them from developing good bone. Is she solidly built but not very tall, or is she very finely built?

[jane&bowser]

hmmm, she registered with the kennel club. she has been fed for the whole year on nutro dried food and only eats veg other than that. she seems super healthy, this is why i cant understand it.
we see one of her sisters and she is normal size.

[YvonneM]

Lankeela is right (as always) People used to think my lab as a year old was a cross but she was from field trial strain and they tend to be leaner than the show strain and she never became fat Don't worry lots of lab owners overfeed their dogs which makes them big

[lankeela]

What height is she? The breed standard says bitches should be 21 and a half to 22 inches at the withers (base of the neck). Most would come within an inch or two of this height.

However, provided she is healthy and happy, then I would not worry - there may just be small dogs in her line.

[jane&bowser]

shes around 15-17 inches i would say. when we are out on our walks and talking to other dog owners they always thinks shes around 6 months old. but she does seem very healthy and happy.
cheers lankeela!

[Noweia]

My friend has a labrador bitch and she's quite small - she'd fully grown but people keep thinking she's a puppy!

[Vanilla Face]

Possibly just the runt of the litter-we used to have a pedigree black lab and like yours, was half the size. These things just happen, nothing to worry about :D