How big is too big or too small?

[Ken Archer]

In another thread where someone was discussing their Lab female they said, "She........also a little small at 65 lbs." If you could pick your next FEMALE hunting dog or competitor out of a mold, what size mold would you pick from?

[Greg Seddon]

Ken my female Sadie is 63 lbs and I consider a nice size female for hunting ducks or running field trials with. My male Gunner is 80 lbs and consider him on the high scale of how big of a male I like for hunting and field trials.

[mjh345]

Are you asking for bitches or dogs?

[Miriam Wade]

I think I'd be more concerned with how the weight is distributed than just the weight itself. If it's an athletic, balanced, "runs like a deer"dog, but weighs in at 75-80#-I'll take that over a coffee table built dog- no matter what the weight -any day!

(Don't look at my avatar! I still love that dog & she could do the work, but I love now having a dog that's built to go all day! )

M

[lab&springerguy]

I male lab was never ment to be any bigger than 80 pounds and I feel even thats on the heavy side. My dog ways about 65 pounds.

A female should be a few pounds either side of 60 pounds. IMO

A dog any bigger than 80 pounds does not have the longevity for the fields I hunt in Western ND. form my experience

[Brian Cockfield]

Ken my female Sadie is 63 lbs and I consider a nice size female for hunting ducks or running field trials with. My male Gunner is 80 lbs and consider him on the high scale of how big of a male I like for hunting and field trials.

Pretty much the same for my dogs, Male 80lbs., Female 60lbs. I like males in the 70-80lb range and females in the 55-70lb range.

[Buzz]

I don't understand how to vote in the poll. How would you know if I'm voting for "too big" or "too small?"


I raised my eyebrows at the 65 lb bitch being too small. I think the breed standard for bitches calls for something like 55-70 lbs.

"Size - The height at the withers for a dog is 22-1/2 to 24-1/2 inches; for a bitch is 21-1/2 to 23-1/2 inches. Any variance greater than 1/2 inch above or below these heights is a disqualification. Approximate weight of dogs and bitches in working condition: dogs 65 to 80 pounds; bitches 55 to 70 pounds. "

[shootem]

I like a larger athletic dog. I think a lot has to do with the type of hunting you do. I see a few mention going in the field all day, I do little to no upland hunting. Most of my hunting is decoying bird?s field or water. Probably 60-70 percent of my hunting is goose hunting; yes I like a larger (long and tall) dog.

[HarryWilliams]

Did not vote because I only got one choice and I wasn't sure if I was voting for too big or too small. If it was the ideal size then I would have voted if there was a depends if female or male option.

45 lbs is too small and 90 lbs is too big in my opinion. HPW

[WingshooterMN]

My current dog is "small" at 45lbs. I didn't look for that, but really like it for hunting. Since I mostly duck hunt water, it is really nice to only have a 45lb dog in the boat, especially if it's a canoe or something.

If I did a lot of field hunting, and especially if I did more goose hunting, I would want a larger, athletic dog maybe 65-80lbs. Or, one of each. Most of my partners have dogs in the 70-90lb range so I'm covered there.