humor me, sheepie sizes
Also, has anyone had a crate trained dog and let them have their freedom and then tried the crate again? Funny thing, I always heard that dogs who were crate trained would go to their crates for comfort. Sam drags her pad out and then sleeps on that somewhere away from the crate! |
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| Hello,
Welcome to the forum! I have 2 sheepies, Jack and Annabelle. Annabelle is almost 16 months old and she is 65 lbs. She has went from 60-65lbs just in the last few weeks, so I think she is still filling out. She is between 23 1/2 and 24 inches from floor to withers. I don't think Annabelle will get taller, but I believe she might gain a few more pounds as she matures. Her mother is 75 lbs, but I don't know how tall she is. Jack is almost 19 months old and he weighs 85lbs and is 26 inches tall. I really don't see him getting much bigger. I have heard that Sheepies grow until they are 24 months old by some and others say just until 18 months. I guess the next 6 months should tell us whether they get much bigger. 
I hope this helps, it sounds like Samantha is a big girl. With Annabelle I did crate train and let her have her freedom to early, and had to go back to it, she did just fine. When each of my dogs got about a year old they did wonderful having the freedom of the entire house. If she is doing well, there isn't anything wrong with her dragging her pillow out. She is probably just more comfortable being closer with the family. Ours want to sleep right beside us or on our feet...always. 
Again, Welcome to the forum. We love pictures around here. Stormi and co. |
Hi there! and welcome! Well, Mopsey is a peanut...i think. She is 45 lb at 7 months. Our vet said she might grow up to be around 50-55lb. But we love her nontheless! LOL  |
| My Dancer is a peanut too, at almost 11 months she is only about 21" and a bit and only about 40lbs, the bathroom scale says 38-39 but I think it's about 40lbs, and Sky is only about 5 or 6 lbs lighter. Sky is only 4 and a half months and already 20" and about 36 lbs. But they both seem to be going through a growth spurt right now, because they have both gained 2 lbs this week. Maybe it's because the weather is getting colder, putting on a little fat. |
| Annabelle was about 10 months old when she went through a huge growth spurt. At 8 months I remember looking at CJ and saying Jack was 4 months old when he was this size. She then got into a really leggy stage, and then her body followed. It could be that Dancer is about to grow through a spurt as well.
Jack seemed to be a continuous spurt until he was 9 months and now he just keeps looking bigger because of all his hair!
Stormi and co. |
| You know, it could be the food we are feeding her, its for large breeds. I did some research on the forum here and decided to take her off large breed food. Now we are feeding her just regular puppy food until she is about a year, and then switch to adult dog food. I also read somewhere that large breed food is meant to slow their growth down. I donno, but I will keep you posted if she grows out of the peanut stage. LOL |
| Just came from the bagel place where I met "Buddy". He's a 2 year old at 87 pounds. Very handsome--and owner says his vet says he aint done yet! |
| Dougal is 28" from paw to shoulder and around 80lbs in weight. He was the biggest of his litter and is very big for the breed. Bare in mind that he's still only 11months old and we expect him to carry on growing until he's about 18 months old. Would anticipate him being around 29" in height and around 90-95lbs in weight when fully grown. He's still our bundle of fluff and sheepie licks though. |
| Wow, Pepe, Dougal sounds so big! I would love to see pictures.
Stormi and co. |
| Thanks to all of you! I guess my post did sound a little strange after rereading it. Since we got Sam at 8 months (ish) we didn't get to see any parents or litter mates. There is, or hopefully was and was adopted, an OES on petfinder.com that weighs 130 lbs. We knew to expect a big dog, just not that big!
I feed her regular Nutro food, not puppy food, as that was what she was getting at the shelter. I have just started giving her some canned food along with her kibble. Do any of you have this happen? Sam should have been called Gretel. She takes her kibble and places it all over the place. It takes her ages to eat. After she is finished "arranging" her food, she will eat what is left in the bowl and then goes for the stuff around the house. That is why I mixed wet food with the dry, so she would eat it, not play with it. Ps to pepe- I have friends that live in Derby. My son loves the park there. |
| That is so funny about Sam...lol...
I doubt she will get to be that big. She probably won't grow a whole lot more although she still may fill out more. She sounds like she has quite the personality!  |
| Benny is 7 months and 70lbs. and it seems that lately his appetite has increased (I'm guessing due to the cooler weather). I have a feelilng that he isn't even close to being done growing!!! |
| new owner, it's said that some dogs take their food away from their bowl because their wolf ancestors used to fight for their food, so they would steal as much as they can away from "the pot" ...and hide or claim it for later.
my dog does that too! Plus, if the bowl is in the bedroom, she go in and grab a few kibbles and bring it ALL THE WAY out to the living room or computer room (whatever room we're in) ....to eat those 1 or 2 kibbles. Then go back and bring some more out. She will never eat a kibble alone. If we're already in the same room, then she does what you described above. |
| roofus is about 60# at 5.5 months.
he is crate trained, but we tried the freedom thing for a few weeks. he kept waking me up or destroying our carpet (argh) so now he's back in the crate, and he was fine. He doesn't sleep in his crate voluntarily, but he goes in for food and water. |
| Hi all! I had a major computer problem here at work, so I don't think my info will come up with this message. This is Deborah, Pirate's mom, reporting about my BIG boy! Pirate is not quite 11 months old. He is 27" high, and is weighing in at 95 pounds. Vet says his weight is very healthy for his size and that I need to be prepared for him to be a "bigin'". She guesses he will end up being in the 120 range, when all is said and done. WHEW!!!! His dad was big, about 100, mom was about 85, so I guess he comes by it naturally. The way I see it, there is more of him to love (and cuddle with)  Deborah and Pirate |
| Yippee! I've reactivated myself!!! Deborah (doing the happy dance!) |
new owner wrote: Do any of you have this happen? Sam should have been called Gretel. She takes her kibble and places it all over the place. It takes her ages to eat. After she is finished "arranging" her food, she will eat what is left in the bowl and then goes for the stuff around the house.
Cooper does the same thing...drags his food to wherever I'm at. The only way he'll eat it out of the bowl is if he has me "corraled" in the back room. |
| Remy is 2 1/2 yrs old, she 22-23 inches and 60 lbs. Everyone thinks she is small, but I think she is perfect.
I had her hips x-rayed and she she is being OFA certified. The vet said she is in excellent health. |
| We will be getting Jack and Annabelle's hips certified soon as well. We did a lot of research in OFA and Pennhip. We really like the way Pennhip is done, but they just don't have a large enough database yet. We want to make sure that the results we get are accurate, and it looks like OFA is going to be the best for that.
I hope Remy's hips turn out excellent with OFA!
Stormi and co. |
| I don't think we have Penn Hip available here. To do the OFA they have to put them out so the shot is clean.
Remy is not a registered dog, but I wanted to do this anyways. My next thing I want to do is take her to the optomalgist sp( eye doctor). To have that certified as well. The vet said he is confident they will come back excellent. About the dog food problem, Remy likes to bring her food to wherever I am, drops a mouth full eats it, then goes and get more. If I stay in the kitchen she will eat all her food. If I put something yummy on top like tuna...for my salad...I have to share with her and our cat. She eats very well. |
| LOL, Jack and Annabelle have their food in the casual dining room and as long as one of the 4 of us will sit in there, then they both, or just the one will eat just fine. If we are a few more feet away in the living room, they will get as many kibbles in their mouth and bring it to our feet and spit everyone of them out, so that they can eat in with us and then go back and do it again until they are full, or until we go sit with them in the dining room again. I think it is so funny! I have never had a dog that did that.
I don't know about tuna and dogs, but I just found out from Stacey, (Willowsprite) that tuna given to cats isn't good for them. I was feeding some to all of my cats everyday  , it sounds as if it is only done once a week for a special treat that it is ok, but any more than that can be harmful. It depletes vitamin E....am I right Stacey? Anyway, I thought I would pass on the info.
We are also doing the CERF test soon, and other tests to check heart and thyroid. It will be a little longer though, Jack is 19 months old today and Annabelle will be 16 months in a couple of days. Stormi and co. |
| Remy is adorable as well as petite!!! Could you please explain the OFA and Pennhip? Is it necessary to have the hip x-ray done? Or is it for showdogs?
I can't believe the range of sizes there are in this breed. From 60 to 120 lbs.....can you imagine a maltese (or some other little dog) varying that much in size? I have noticed that when I am with Samantha while she eats, the mess isn't to bad. Velcro.... |
| OFA is an x-ray to rule out Hip Dysplasia. I believe Penn Hip is for the same, I don't know there procedure for it.
No dogs don't need to have it done, unless you want to breed the dog. I've been wanting to breed Remy, and I personally don't feel all CKC or AKC breeders are perfect. I believe that a good all around dog could be bred if you know the history, done the testing of both parents, and it has an awesome temp. So I am confident that I have a sound dog, and I am very proud of the breed and I am proceeding with the testing. I want to be as responsible as any person going through with a litter. I will never have an "accidental" breeding. |
| Frank is probably about 90lbs now at 10 months but I'm not sure.
Newman as an adult male ranged from btw. 80-85lbs |
| Daisie, You said your dog has no papers how can her pedigree be traced without it? The family tree is important for breeding. |
| Wow! My Lexie is 10 months old and she is already 80 pounds! She still looks like a baby though. She is very tall dwarfing my 13yo oes who is only 75 pounds but short |
| Silver,
It sounds like you have a big girl! What is your 13 yo name? Welcome to the forum, we look forward to hearing more about your sheepies. Stormi and co. |
| We have three sheepies, all of different size.
Puffer is almost two and she's a little over 70 lbs, tall and slimber. Butters is three about the same weight, but smaller and stockier, but not fat. Otis is 8 years old and weighs around 64 lbs. He's the smallest, but he's also our rescue sheepie who didn't get a proper upbringing. We just got him earlier this year in May, he was only 53 lbs when he first came home! They are all three crate trained, and love them! When it's time go get crated, they all go into their own crates like it's their own piece of heaven. Puffer and Butters have been caught several times passed out cold on their backs, fur and legs all over. They also eat in their crates, this way we don't have to worry about food fights! |
| We recently rescued Maggie. She is 110lbs! and still growing. How big can they grow? |
| Hello all,
Our Bailey weighed 43 lbs at 16 weeks. We are do back at the vet next week, but I am sure he is over 50lbs right now. Madison, his sister weighed 31 lbs at 16 weeks. Both eat Science Diet large breed puppy. They make me laugh when they eat. Madison brings a mouthful of food over to the couch, dropping pieces as she comes, then she and Bailey eat them all and she goes back for more. Usually once their bowl is half empty, they just lay down next to it and finish eating. I just thought we had goofy dogs, but it sounds like Stormi's do the same. Tomorrow is their first class where we get to bring them for Puppy Headstart. I can't wait! They are so cute! Especially after getting some tips off of the grooming board. |
| So did you get two out of the same litter? Or are you just meaning brother and sister because they live together?
Welcome to the forum, I see you joined a few weeks ago, but I haven't seen you post before. I can't wait to hear more Baily and Madison stories. |
| They are really brother and sister. We were only going to get Madison at first, but on our third visit, the breeder had all seven puppies out to play with. Bailey was the biggest and my wife gave me "the look" so we wound up getting two.
I usually read more than I post, as I am always working. I work on boats during the day and then have my own business, Sheepdog Marine, at night. I come home at lunch to play and walk them and play a lot at night, so I just don't have much extra time. I will be posting more though. This seems like a great board with a great group of people. We certainly have very special friends to discuss here. |
| This is really fun to see the different sizes at the different ages! The bottom line with this breed? They grow until they're done. If you read the OES standards on OESCA, you'll see what the breed is "meant to be". Over the past 50ish years, I've learned this great gift of ours comes in all sizes and shaped packages! You'll hear experts say that they are grown up at 18months, yet I've seen growth spurts at 24 months and guys that haven't grown an inch or gained a pound after 12 months! Think of them as your surprise packages : ) The only (okay, the biggest) concern I have with these guys is the weight gain. You don't want them to grow and gain too fast because it is bad for their structure, so see what your vet says about when to get them off the puppy food. The other thing to keep an eye on is weight gain, combined with either sluggish behavior, dull coat (not scientifically proven!) or temperament changes. Unfortunately, OES with thyroid problems is becoming too common and it can easily be checked with a simple blood test. I have my guys checked whether they have a problem with weight or not as the thyroid can send them off the scale weight wise in either direction. I don't want to sound preachy and forgive me my "pet peeve", but thyroid problems can affect all the organs and it's such a simple test to have done and save a sheepdog and you a world of hurt. It's a real heartbreak to have what appears to be a normal, healthy dog of any breed simply keel over from a stroke when a simple test would solve the problem with a daily dose of soloxine! I don't know if 'most' of us get our sheepdogs through rescue or not. When you do get one through rescue, it's not uncommon to NOT know the background or medical history. So going the whole 9 yards with vet checks can keep you and yours happy and healthy. I think the majority of the breeders on the OESCA are now opting for hip, eye and THYROID testing as well. I say BRAVO to them!!
Cathy and her pet peeves...Ashley on Soloxine, Taz on Soloxine, Abigail Not on Soloxine, Steed was on Soloxine, Emma was on Soloxine...4 out 5 tested positive for thyroid problems...what are your odds? |
| Which is just one of the MANY reasons no one should EVER breed a dog without full awareness of the dogs background for MANY generations. |
| Yes indeed, Willowsprite! Honest to dog, breeders need to be genticists these days! Even the most careful breeders can't guarantee that waaaaaay back when in one of their lines there isn't some pesky bad gene that will pop up! It's a crap shoot even when you are knowledgeable and can be disastrous if you aren't.....don't you think? It really is fascinating to watch and listen to experienced breeders at the Nationals. They can go over a dog or a bitch and some are able to tell you what lines they're from...or which one matched with which one will produce a better neckline, a rounder head, or whatever! it's amazing to hear and watch the "pros" ! It can be a humbling experience! I think everyone who evers ponders bringing puppies into this world should start by reading the OESCA Code of Ethics, whether you're a member of OESCA or not. You are responsible for the lives you create from birth until death. Pretty big responsibility, don't you think? AND financially??? WHOA!! Puppies are EXPENSIVE!! Prepared for a litter of 11 or 12 and all those vet bills?? Prepared for all those up at night feeding them every 4 hours or checking to be sure Mom is feeding them? Exhausting and you know you can't keep them all, so your heart breaks when you send them off to new homes. I guess you all know why I'M not a breeder! LOL!! Nope...I'll leave that to the pros!!
Cathy and the Wigglebottoms |
Cathy wrote: I think everyone who evers ponders bringing puppies into this world should start by reading the OESCA Code of Ethics, whether you're a member of OESCA or not. You are responsible for the lives you create from birth until death. Pretty big responsibility, don't you think? AND financially??? WHOA!! Puppies are EXPENSIVE!! Prepared for a litter of 11 or 12 and all those vet bills?? Prepared for all those up at night feeding them every 4 hours or checking to be sure Mom is feeding them? Exhausting and you know you can't keep them all, so your heart breaks when you send them off to new homes. I guess you all know why I'M not a breeder! LOL!! Nope...I'll leave that to the pros!!
Cathy and the Wigglebottoms AMEN! Breeding is a huge committment - it's not something to enter into lightly! Purchasing a dog is a huge committment - also not something that should be entered into lightly (or impulsively). I think everyone thinking about buying a puppy should spend one day in the shoes of someone who's trying to raise a dog with an illness, health problem, and/or temperment problem (and see what the heartbreaking decisions they've had to make and the heartache of losing their dog because of careless breeding practices). We need to promote responsible, ethical breeding practices as much as possible - especially this time of year - when so many Moms & Dads will be putting a cute puppy under the Christmas Tree only to have it discarded like the Doll or Toy the kids HAD TO HAVE last year! 
How many Christmas Pups will be dropped off at a shelter, placed in Rescue and/or WORSE come March or April??  It will be overwhelming!
JMHO. Kristen |
| I agree!!!! The responsible ethical breeder should be praised for all that they do because they love our breed. It is a major job to go through pedigree after pedigree to check and double check to produce the best that they can. It boggles the mind that if all breeders checked for HD this horrid disease could be removed from the OES how awesome!!!!
Kristen post on pet stores is great and a real eye opener for those that never dealth with a puppy broker -puppy pimp-puppymill. They exist and are legal another problem for everyone. Try to buy one of these dogs it is an experience that will leave you crying. I asked how much a puppy cost and received a long email of how they charge puppies based on their markings!!!!! That is correct, and their kennel names are copies or fake! I pray that more people will be responsible breeders, as what will happen when they are long gone? |
| It's a vicious circle. Not enough puppies for everyone who wants a puppy. Not enough pet quality puppies from experienced, reputable breeders. In order to keep up with what they do, they need to show. Placing puppies in show homes vs. pet homes is what keeps this breed going. In a perfect world there would be a ton of responsible breeders who bred for the betterment of the breed and for pet homes. Unfortunately, the people who want pets are more apt to be taken in by internet puppy mill ads/puppy stores/brokers, etc. I've always had really mixed feelings and I KNOW in my HEART that my thinking is totally wrong..but I can't help think if the puppies are already HERE, someone has to care for them. WRONG, I know...because it just keeps all those rescue groups in business and all those puppy millers in business. The hardest thing in the world is to walk by a pet store, see a sheepdog puppy and keep on walking. I don't go anywhere near them. I can't. I don't trust me to just go in and reek havoc on puppy brokers. Hopefully, in the near future there will be more and more "hobby" (don't know what the "politically correct" term is...), responsible, breeders who cover all the bases with physically sound and great temperament puppies and supply the demand for pets. Wouldn't that be lovely? I'd love to see puppy mills wiped out in my lifetime....and a WHOLE BUNCH of bored to tears rescue groups!
Cathy and the Wigglebottoms...forever optimistic |
| Wow... I tought breeding was easier, seems like there is a lot of work involved in keeping the breed strong and avoiding accidents. Here in Mexico there are lots of backyard breeders that care more about the money they can make than the health of their puppies.
I know someone who had been bugging me to help me get a female companion for his OES, but he did not want her fixed because he did want "to have a puppy from his dog". He got upset with me when I refused to do such a thing, but after adopting Sofa and Frida and see the state they were in, the least thing I wanted was to repeat the process and end up being responsible for many unloved puppies. My deepest respect to all reputable breeders that take the time and effort to provide well adjusted, healthy puppies for us to enjoy. |
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