I swear this blog is not going to become a total dog blog! But something struck me as odd after Rock Chef made a comment on my last post. I had written that at four months, Lucy is still a baby. RC remarked that if she is only four months, we are going to have a fair-sized dog on our hands soon.
Something was nagging at me as I thought about RC’s remark. I’ve had a dog before. We brought Shelby home when she was maybe eight or ten weeks old. (And dang, was she CUTE!) So I have some experience with puppies and how they grow and develop. I started thinking about Lucy, her behavior and such. She doesn’t seem to know her name very well, but I’m thinking she’s only had that name since she came to her foster family just a few weeks ago. She walks fairly well on the leash. She gets rambunctious and pulls a lot, but she does what she’s supposed to do when I tell her to heel. She understands “NO” and stops when she hears it. And she is amazing at sitting! Someone worked hard on “SIT” before she came to us. She sleeps all night and is mostly house trained. She definitely has some puppy habits, like trying to get away with chewing on Mark’s shoes and she still sleeps a lot and loves to cuddle.
But could she really only be four months?
I decided to look through all of the paperwork that was left with us when Lucy arrived. There are two veterinary forms in the folder. One is dated October 1st and shows that Lucy had a microchip implanted. That report states that her birth date is March 21, 2011, which means that Lucy is really seven months old, not four.
A second veterinary report, from a different clinic than the first and dated October 10th states that Lucy’s age is three months. That report also states that she is a Bloodhound, not a Boxer/Lab mix as we were told. But it clearly describes her markings, so I’m sure the two reports are for the same dog.
My gut says that Lucy is closer to seven months than four. What do you think?
I plan to take her to our own vet soon, just to have her checked over. Maybe our vet can clear up this mystery. And as for her breed? Well, that was always just a guess anyway. At this point, it really doesn’t matter. Lucy is a member of the family now, regardless of her bloodlines.
I would be happier with 7 months – that fits with the boxer part which is very clear in some of the pics. If she is really only 4 months you are looking at something approaching Great Dane size
Excuse me while I stop laughing!
And if that were the case, I’d have to untrain her to sleep on the bed. PRONTO!
That was part of the reason I was laughing – you and Mark clinging to the edges of the bed and Lucy spread out in between…
Hah, I love the internet – how did we manage before we could poke fun at friends who live thousands of miles away?
We were very bored, my friend. VERY bored.
Yes, I thnk you are right!
I have to agree. It she’s only 4 months, she’s going to be massive. She HAS to be older than that, I would think. (Here I’m making myself sound like some kind of expert when my dog is 7 pounds fully grown. What do I know.) How funny, Terri!
Kathy
I’m pretty much inclined to agree with the debate on age and potential size for Lucy. I’d wager she’s gonna be a big girl for sure! As to the bed-sleeping thing, our dog -Sammy -is short (very) and a bit squat (kind of reminds me of Sarge’s dog, Otto, from Beetle Bailey from behind (a sort of military stance with a wide behind) but when he gets on the bed with Maya and me, even he takes up a chunk of space and don’t even try to pull on the covers once he’s made his landing because that small dog sure gets heavy when you’re trying to move things that are under him!
Lucy is like that too. Once she has landed, there’s no moving her or waking her, so you better make sure you’ve got your covers before she settles!
She is most likely 2/3 grown now.
That is a relief! I hope you’re right.
Yeah, I’m guessing 7 months and much more of a boxer/lab than a bloodhound. Bloodhound?? No ma’m. I think you’re ok with Lucy sleeping alongside you.
I hope so, because I don’t think she plans on leaving the bed any time soon!
If she is only four months old, she is a good sized puppy and will be a small pony as an adult. I would guess it’s closer to seven too.
All I know is she is darn cute; I’m guessing closer to 7 than 4. She doesn’t have the baby face anymore ..
MJ
Congratulations on the new addition to the clan! If that doggie is just four months old you’re gonna need a bigger house! Nah, I’d say she has to be 7 months (minimum…surely)?
It will be interesting to hear what your vet says after you show the two different vet files that came with Lucy. Like you say, at this point it doesn’t matter as she is fitting in and you all love her. That is most important. So glad you found her and she found you.
I’m like RC, I kept thinking she was kinda big for a 4 month old. Especially with that countersurfing shot. I figured that you were going to have a small horse by the time she was 2 years old. If that’s true, ya’ll are gonna need a bigger bed.
I’ mnot surprised that you are getting conflicting stories from the vets. When we got Claire, they originally told us she was around 5 but after we had her a while we figured she was much older (more like 8). Didn’t really matter to us, like Lucy, she was already part of the family. BTW – there are test kits out there that can tell you the breed of dog, if you care to find out.
Well I don’t know why it took me so long to wonder about her age. I guess because the rescue group people kept telling me she was four months, I just believed them. I mean, they are the dog people! They should know!
Good to know about the test kits, but I guess I’m not that worried. She’s sweet and gentle and whatever breeds she is, she’s a wonderful dog. Just have to teach her now that the toilet paper is not a plaything to be dragged out of the bathroom and as far as she can take it! (This morning’s new activity!)
I thought unrolling TP was a cat thing. Those would make cute pictures of her new tricks on her facebook page.
I thought it was a cat thing too! Of course I took a photo. It will show up here and/or on Facebook soon.
She looks more like 7 months to me — she kind of has that “teen-aged” gangly appearance going on! Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you; it’s just that she has yet to fill out like an adult, but she looks more “composed” than a baby, if that makes sense!
I’m no good at guessing ages of humans… much less dogs. I’ll leave that to the rest of your loyal readers.
Yeah I’m not good at guessing ages. Hopefully your vet will have a good estimate! Strange how those reports are so different.