Common questions I hear are:
- How much should my Swissy weigh?
- Is my Swissy too fat or too thin?
- Do you think my Swissy is too skinny?
- How much do you think my puppy will weigh as an adult?
- How big do Swissies get?
- My vet said my dog is overweight. Should I get a new vet?
- When will my dog stop growing?
- Does my dog look fat in the photos?
The answer to all these questions is: Your dog should weigh whatever weight is most healthy for him/her. Dogs should be physically fit, able to work, and in healthy condition. Typically, puppies grow rapidly in the first year of life, and they gain weight in the form of muscle mass slowly as they mature until the age of four years. Puppies should grow slowly to lower the risk of orthopedic issues like OCD or hip dysplasia. Rapid growth and excess body weight is especially harmful to puppies.
It is estimated that 52% of US dogs are overweight and obese. Being a large breed and heavy bones is not a “get out of jail free” card for being overweight. It can be hard for owners to see the difference between muscle and fat. Many owners also mistake that bigger is better, and that being a drafty breed is freebie for being on the larger side. Bigger is not better. Healthier is better. Here is one of many links on how to assess your dog’s body condition. Please don’t use the number on the scale as the only indicator of health, and please don’t use it as a bragging right. Your dog’s health should come before your ego.
Assessing a dog should be done in person by feel, not by photos on the Internet. You may not agree with your vet, but it certainly isn’t a “win” for them to advise you to take a few lbs off your dogs. Telling you something you don’t want to hear is damaging to their business, and they have no obvious motive to do it unless they are selling canine liposuction. But again, I can’t feel your dog in person. You and your vet can. Also, your vet’s profession is to assessing the health of dogs, and I’m going to guess that your vet that does more often than most pet owners.
With that said, here is some data on Swissy weights by age and gender. Please keep in mind that many owners have expressed that dog was overweight. These charts are NOT meant to be a guide by any means. There is no weight standard in Swissies. There are no benchmarks for weight. There are no recommended weights by age. This is just to let you know what are typical ranges in weight. The best guide to your dog’s health is best determined by someone else in person (not online) who will give you honest feedback on your dogs health.
There were a total of 596 entries – 295 females and 301 males. The average weight for females over 3 years old is 100.57 lbs. The average for males over 3 years old is 126.28 lbs. Again, these calculations include dogs that are overweight. Please do note that after the age of 7 years old, there are very few male dogs over 120 lbs in the database. These charts were updated August 28, 2015. One chart shows the entire database. The other chart shows puppy growth (0-3 years).
To add your dog to this database (no ID required), enter in the form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1a9lYPPLF6oqwB0oQvNSnXMNkPw3g99pWTd78XT34lcw/viewform
Take note of the trendlines (centered in the data). Since 52% of dogs in the United States are overweight, you can make your own interpretations on what the trendlines mean. Again, this data does include dogs that are overweight (as commented by the owners). This dataset does not control for weight, muscularity, or bone density of the dogs.
These are the male weights for an easier look easier viewing.
These are the female weights for easier viewing by gender.