Why is My Golden Retriever So Small?

In most cases, there is no reason for panic. You either need to give your dog more time, adjust its calorie intake, or deworm it. Or, maybe, your dog is naturally smaller than average, and you need to accept it.

However, a dog’s small size sometimes requires urgent veterinary attention because it can signal severe diseases.

To determine whether your dog is too small, use the golden retriever size and weight chart. If your dog indeed is too small, the best course of action is to seek a veterinarian’s advice.

Is Your Golden Retriever Really Small?

Before you begin reading about all the issues that might have caused your golden retriever to be small, ensure that your dog indeed is too small for its sex, age, and type. First, consider checking the golden retriever growth chart.

Puppies can grow at a different pace and in different directions. Some puppies gain weight more rapidly than they grow in height, and vice versa. Some puppies may appear too long or too tall but grow up well-proportioned.

Still, if your puppy’s weight or height significantly differs from the standard, you should seek the root of the issue and try to resolve it.

American golden retrievers take their time to grow and only enter the rapid growth stage at six months old. In contrast, Canadian golden retrievers grow faster, entering the rapid growth stage at two to four months old.

English golden retrievers are generally shorter and stockier than American and Canadian. They start gaining muscle mass early but don’t grow in height as noticeably.

American and English golden retrievers grow until 12-14 months old, while Canadian goldens might develop earlier.

A two-month-old golden retriever puppy weighs eight pounds on average regardless of the type. American and British goldens weigh about 19 pounds at three months old, while Canadian goldens can weigh 20-22 pounds.

The difference becomes more noticeable at six months old when American and English goldens weigh 42 pounds on average and Canadian 45 pounds. Although American and English goldens weigh about the same, they have different builds.

By nine months of age, the weight begins to even out – all golden retriever types weigh around 55-60 pounds. Note that these figures are for male golden retrievers.

Females are generally smaller and leaner. An adult male golden retriever should be 22.5-24 inches in height and weigh 65-75 pounds, whereas a female dog should be 20-22.5 inches tall and weigh 55-65 pounds.

Insufficient Nutrition

The most common reason for a dog not growing enough is insufficient nutrition for its activity levels, which in golden retrievers are immense. An adult golden retriever should eat 1,300 to 1,700 calories a day, depending on its sex and weight.

Senior dogs can eat less, about 990-1,300 calories daily, because they tend to have a sedentary lifestyle.

How much should a golden retriever puppy eat depends on its age and growth pace. For this reason, you should regularly measure your puppy’s height and weight to adjust the diet accordingly.

Find out how many calories your dog should eat using an online calculator or consult with a vet. Then, inspect your dog’s food packaging to determine whether you feed it enough.

Sometimes, nutritional deficiency results from a poor diet rather than a lack of food. For example, if your dog doesn’t get enough protein, it won’t gain muscle mass.

One of the signs of nutritional deficiency in dogs is attempts to eat dirt or odd foods. You might also notice your dog’s coat becoming dull and lifeless, energy levels decreasing, or wounds not healing.

If you suspect that your dog doesn’t get enough nutrients, don’t alter its diet without consulting the vet first.

The vest will rule out other potential causes of the problem and advice you on the best diet for your golden retriever after evaluating all variables.

Still Growing

Your dog might look like an adult at nine months old, but golden retrievers only become fully mature by three years old. They reach their full height by about 12 months old but continue to gain muscle mass for the next two years.

Canadian goldens can reach their full height even earlier, but they continue gaining weight regardless. For this reason, young adult golden retrievers typically look very lean.

Golden retriever growth plates don’t close until they are 18 to 24 months old. If you spay or neuter your dog before the growth plates close, it may continue growing and become leggier and taller.

Note that this isn’t an argument for early fixing – it can cause a lot of health problems, including hip dysplasia and cancer.

Either way, if your dog is only one year old, give it more time. It will soon gain more weight and appear larger even if its height remains unchanged.

Genes

Sometimes, a dog is too small simply because its parents are such. People take after their parents, and so do dogs. If one’s mother is five feet tall and father is 5.5 feet tall, they are unlikely to grow to six feet.

Likewise, if the sire is 22 inches tall and the dam is barely 20 inches, the puppy won’t grow to 24 inches. Puppies also tend to take the body type after their parents, so if the parents are lean, the puppy won’t be stocky.

There is no way of knowing how tall a puppy will be when it grows up, but you can look at its parents to get an idea. The height doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a pet but is critical if you plan on showing your dog at exhibitions.

Even a one-inch deviation from the standard is considered a fault by the golden retriever breed standard. However, it doesn’t make a dog’s life any worse.

Prolonged Stress

Prolonged stress and anxiety can cause a dog to lose appetite, leading to stunted growth. Stress triggers adaptive changes in the body, such as increased energy diversion to the muscles and suppression of digestion.

Over time, stress can also suppress healing, the immune system, and growth. In other words, stress and anxiety affect not solely the dog’s nervous system but also its physical well-being.

Occasional stress due to a vet visit or loud noise won’t affect your dog’s growth. However, prolonged exposure to stress triggers, separation anxiety, or a constant fear of abuse is likely to affect the dog’s development.

You cannot control how a puppy is treated at the breeder’s house, but you can ensure your dog’s mental well-being in your household. Learn to recognize the signs of stress and anxiety in dogs.

These include pacing, shaking, increased heart rate, yawning, drooling, hypervigilance, destructive behavior, and excessive vocalization. Dogs with separation anxiety can also have potty accidents and try to escape the house.

If your dog shows any signs of stress for prolonged periods, seek veterinary help. Socialization and behavioral therapy can help you resume the proper growth of your puppy.

Developmental Issues

Sometimes, a puppy not growing fast enough or stopping to grow too early is a result of developmental issues rather than genetics or insufficient nutrition.

Golden retriever growth disorders can result from hormonal disbalance or bone and joint issues. For example, Osteochondritis dissecans (OD) causes abnormal bone cartilage development, leading to incorrect gait and posture.

The disorder doesn’t stunt growth, but the dog may appear smaller because of poor posture. Hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), or the inflammation of the joint plates, also doesn’t stunt growth directly but causes a loss of appetite due to pain.

In other cases, stunted growth results from insufficient pituitary growth hormone (GH) secretion. Some developmental issues in dogs are inherited, whereas others are caused by poor diet and inadequate exercise.

Feeding your puppy a vet-approved diet and providing it with just enough physical activity drastically decreases the risk of developmental issues.

To rule out the possibility of inherited conditions, request health clearances from the breeder.

Parasites

Parasitic infestation is one of the most common reasons for stunted growth in puppies. Intestinal worms feed off nutrients from the dog’s digestive tract, not leaving its body enough to convert into energy and muscles vital for development.

If you resolve the problem timely, your puppy will continue to grow as intended. However, without treatment, intestinal parasites can cause a puppy’s growth to stop prematurely.

Other symptoms of intestinal parasites in dogs include voracious appetite, big pot belly, dull and lifeless coat, and gastroenteric upset.

Old Age

Sometimes, owners only notice their dogs are too small at an old age. That’s perfectly normal because dogs, like humans, “shrink” as they age.

They lose appetite because of dental, gastroenteric, or mental issues and become leaner. Many senior dogs also suffer from joint problems that affect their gait and posture, making them seem shorter.

Weight loss can also signal cancer and other lethal diseases, so don’t neglect your dog’s size decrease if it’s sudden. Usually, senior dogs lose weight gradually, and it often remains unnoticed.

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