height of a labrador?

[juliefurry]

I have noticed that Hannah is a VERY tall lab. She can rest her head on our kitchen table standing on all fours without even trying. I just measured her today and she's 29 inches at the shoulder. Is this normal? She seems to have gotten taller since moving here. I hope this trend doesn't keep up though or else I'll be wondering if maybe she isn't a lab/great dane mix instead of purebred lab.

 

[Wiggle Butt]

Labs aren't supposed to be any taller than 24". Is she a purebred? That's really tall even for a Lab who was bred by someone without conformation in mind.

 

[juliefurry]

Labs aren't supposed to be any taller than 24". Is she a purebred? That's really tall even for a Lab who was bred by someone without conformation in mind.

We have her AKC papers and she's registered as purebred labrador. We know the people that own the momma and we have seen the father (or the dog that is stated to be the father). She looks purebred as well. Her weight is what it is suppose to be just her height is off and I didn't think it was right (now I know it's not right). I'll have to have my husband help me agian but I know she's more than 24 inches because my daughter is over two feet tall and Hannah's shoulder's are a hair bit taller than my daughter.

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

She doesn't look like a pure bred Lab to me at ALL

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

^ Same....

~Tucker

 

[juliefurry]

Both of her parents are field labs (well mother is a field lab and if she is purebred than so is the father). I have seen the mother numerous times, and the father I have seen twice. So I guess now I am nervous. Here is some info on the different "styles" of labs (english and american, or field and bench, whichever you prefer to call them). http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/english-american.html I just don't know now with her being so tall. If she isn't then I see this guy all the time and you can bet I will be getting my money back and he'll be getting an earful.

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

Labs of English lines aren't necessarily TALLER than the American, but they are BIGGER. Bigger boned, just larger in general. Not taller.

I don't know why she'd be so tall other than not being a pure bred Lab.
Her head is not that of a Lab. Labs heads tend to be a BIT blockier than hers. Her muzzle is very narrow, like a Greyhounds

 

[juliefurry]

Well Hannah would be from american labs, if purebred. She is skinner, with the longer muzzle. I'm just very frustrated. I thought about taking a ride to her old neighborhood and seeing what other breeds of dogs live there, if maybe a dane or something large lives around them and did live there when Hannah was born.

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

You can have multiple fathers for a litter, so it is a possibility.

Or she could just be REALLY randomly tall.

~Tucker

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

I don't see any Dane in her either.

And Tucker is right, there could be multiple fathers.

And she COULD just be a tall Lab. Some litters looks different. I've seen Bostons that are SUPER cute, and some that are SUPER ugly, and have more of a tail than others.

Some come out bigger than the original, smaller than usual, etc. It could just be that.

 

[showpug]

Julie,

Can you post some current pictures of her?

That is indeed VERY tall for a lab. Hannah does appear to be finer boned with a longer head than most labs, but that could just be her breeding. When breeders don't breed for standard than their "type" varies greatly and the dog can still be purebred.

In fact, you lab with the exception of height, looks JUST like a black lab I used to know. They could be twins. The lab I knew was not papered. She actually started some aggressive/grumpy tendencies when she hit around 2-3 years. I thought that was interesting as well.

There is no way to tell for sure on Hannah. Purebred or not, she's still your girl and I know you know that.

Oh, I wanted to ask, does her tail curl towards her back?

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

The lab I knew was not papered. She actually started some aggressive/grumpy tendencies when she hit around 2-3 years. I thought that was interesting as well.

Labs do have the ABILITY to be aggressive. It's not uncommon

 

[showpug]

Labs do have the ABILITY to be aggressive. It's not uncommon

I know, I just mentioned it because Julie has been having some issues with Hannah.

I worked at a vet clinic for a long time. We did see a lot of aggression in labs actually. You would probably be happy to know that pitbulls were usually the sweetest and best behaved patients we had

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

YAYYYY!

I LOOOOOOVE LOVE LOVE your Bull Dog

 

[juliefurry]

Showpug when her tail is up yes it does curl towards her back. She weighs about 60 lbs (maybe a few more now we haven't weighed her in awhile).
Here are a few recent pictures of Hannah I just took, she is crouching because she hates getting her picture taken I will try to see if maybe Mark can help me get a better picture of her standing when he gets home. Yeah Hannah is my girl, purebred or not. Mark calls her my security blanket because I get antsy if I'm away from her for too long (and from what we've been told she gets antsy when she's away from me too long as well).

Here she is standing up:

Here she is laying down:

 

[showpug]

Such a pretty girl. She's got a lot of muscle! I think she looks lab, but she's definitley finer boned. More towards the field lines like you said.

The only part of her that makes me think she's not all lab is her muzzle. It's longer and a little up turned. The fact that her tail curls towards her back is also interesting. For some reason, those two traits make me think English Pointer.

 

[juliefurry]

Ok, I must have messed up Mark just came home and measured her at 28 inches, which is still tall. That's still tall for a lab though.

 

[Zoom]

IIRC, Virgo was around 25-ish? at the shoulder and she was quite tall. There are random monster labs out there.

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

Speaking of monster labs..

I met one that was over 150 pounds! He was of British lines, thus he was MUCH larger than the standard American Labrador. Overweight, yes, but massivly big boned also.

 

[Dulce Pit Bull]

Her muzzle is very narrow. I was POSSIBLY thinking Greyhound. Maybe that's where the tail and muscle comes from?