I was speaking to another breeder the other day, and I mentioned that my now 3 week old litter of 6 puppies were all around 13-15oz. at birth. She adamantly stated that she would not be happy with such a size.

Reading this forum and others, it seems that it is in style to have 1 pounders or more! Why do you think this is? Is it too much food? Too much substance?

One poster commented (at a c-section, are we surprised there?) that their vet said the Labrador puppies were larger than a litter of St Bernards.

Another poster boasted a c-section with 1lb 6 oz. puppies.

What the heck is going on? 15 years ago, my puppies were not 15oz. Ample bone, but not as large. All were thrifty.

Why do you think the puppies are so very large?

Why would she not be happy? Did she think they were too small or too big? My pups are usually 16-18 oz. I have had 14 oz and 22 oz. All without c-sections.

It's because most show breeders like hefty labs with heads that look more like rottweilers than labs.

To get a moderate dog with a sweet face that doesn't weigh a ton, labrador lovers have to switch to another breed, get a mix or go to a BYB who doesn't bother with clearances. Field labs are too energetic and snipey and there's no happy medium any more.

I'm interested in what others will have to say. In humans a very large birth weight can be attributed to gestational diabetes. I think one pounders plus is pushing it and probably related to improper feeding.

Why would someone want huge babies? I'll take the norm any day, easier on the mom, less losses at birth and a lesser chance for needing a C-section. They all eventually grow up the same. An ultrasound early on will help you determine how much to feed depending on how many pups there are.

I am like the other breeder anywhere between 14oz.to 1 lb 1/4 are just average for my dogs. Most 15/18 oz. I do not have real big dogs. Very typey but not huge all over.

My girl recently had a litter in which 3 puppies were 18.5 oz and one was 22 oz. In her previous litter all the puppies were 18 - 20 oz. When they were adults they were a very average, moderate size. I don't think birth weight correlates to adult size. At least it hasn't in my experience.

I agree with Kay. I have a couple of girls that always produce bigger puppies at birth. It is not uncommon for 18-20 oz pups from them and have even had a 24 oz puppy. All have been whelped naturally. I have another bitch line that tends to produce more "normal" size whelps in the 14-16 oz range. Again, they whelp naturally. At maturity the whelps from each line have been consistant in size and bone with each other.

Folks, this is another non-issue, and seems to have been brought up only to support some posters' dislike of more substantial labs. I agree with those posting that birth weight doesn't have much correlation to adult size and substance. As long as whelping goes well and the pups are healthy, why on earth would anyone care about how much their or other people's puppies weigh at birth?

Why? Because 27 years ago for my first litter, the puppies were no where above 12oz. It is not surprising to me that we have more c-sections, more dead puppies etc.

Now, they're huge in comparison. Is it a thyroid issue? Diabetes? The food we feed?

Have other long time breeders noticed the same thing? Its simply a question. I am not bashing breeders here, simply asking a question.

Part two of my question was going to be about sacs, and if anyone has noticed sacs aren't as strong as they used to be. I feed ProPlan performance to my in whelp bitches, and for the last few litters I have not been happy with sacs.

But I suppose that this is not a place to ask breeding questions.

Ahhhhhhh.....the good old days, huh?

My last litter was 11 pups ranging from 15.5 - 18.5 oz. Mom had no problem delivering them(she's a 65 lb bitch who popped all 11 out in a span of about 6 hours)Pups are healthy, happy, and at 6 months old my keepers are between 50-58 lbs.

I am VERY happy with larger birthweights and haven't experienced the issues you are talking about. First and foremost, I don't believe larger birthweights correspond to larger dogs. Larger birthweights are a sign of good nutrition and a good start for the babies.

I believe our pups are generally much healthier today. I have several friends at my local hunting club who breed field labs. Their pups aren't as big as mine. When I told them about my litter, they all asked how many I lost and were all shocked when I said none of them.

Many of the field people I know have smaller pups and regularly lose at least one or two of the smallest for some reason or another.

I believe the last 30 years have brought about great advancements in nutrition, health care, etc that gives me larger and healthier puppies these days that thrive well once born.

All my litters, the pups are just under a pound on average. I have normal sized litters - 7 + per litter. I feed PPP to mom. I don't give her alot of extra food though, and only add the last 2 weeks. I don't give her alot of extras. I also have bitches that free whelp. I have often wondered if all the extra food we give mom to produce nice puppies just gives us BIG pups that many times need a C section to be whelped?

I just had 11 pups also. All was normal, mom is about 70 lbs. One pup was small the rest 15 to 22 oz. And no, some of the biggest pups have been very average size and the two smallest, I ever had got huge. Little rutt things to begin with. I do think we have healthier pups these days. Have breed for over 25 years.

Advancements in worming during pregnancy could have something to do with the bigger puppies?

I have 25 years worth of litters and sorted them by date. I had big litters in the early days and small litters in the early days. There has been no change over time. The only thing I see is some bitches have big puppies and some have small puppies.

Amen