Puppy size projections

[Speak]

My family and I are in the process of picking a boxer puppy. One particular litter has at least two puppies everyone in the family likes: I like one of them a larger, flashy brindle; my wife and kids like a smaller, classic brindle. One of my wife's concerns is that the larger pup will end up being the larger dog. Since she wants a smaller dog that is not a plus with her.

My question is this...

Do the larger puppies within a litter generally become the larger dogs or is there no correlation?

I've seen several posts here about smallish puppies that have really gotten big so I haven't seen a consensus yet in my search here.

Thanks in advance.

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Nope, as with humans, some get their growth early and some get it later. I think the only way to tell is to wait until the dog is 2 years old or so unfortunately.

My boy was the biggest in his litter, he was 10 pounds at 6 weeks old and 14 pounds at 9 weeks old, but by the time he was 6 months he was around 50 and now at over 2 years he's only between 60 and 65 and is done growing and small IMO (especially when he started the largest of the group). His two sisters are about the same size as he is, maybe 5 pounds or so less but within the same scope.

I've seen puppies that were larger that became smaller adults, puppies that were larger that became bigger adults, and small puppies that got a huge growth spurt and small puppies that stayed small forever. Looking at the parents is partially indicative but even at that no guarantee. Like in my case, sire of my boy is close to 80 pounds and damn is around 70 I believe, and yes he's only 60-65.

You really have to go into it saying you're okay with a 40 pound dog or with an 80 pound dog. Getting a female, she *should* be smaller than a male but again no guarantee (my female is larger than my male). If you can't say you'd be okay with any dog within the scope of 40 to 80 pounds then I would recommend you look at Boxers that are full grown either through a breeder that's looking for a pet home for one of their dogs or from a rescue.

Good luck!

[johann]

Johann was the smallest male in his litter. He weighed 8 lbs at 8 weeks old. He's now 27 inches tall and a thin 75 lbs at 1.5 yrs old. I'm guessing the weight will go up as he gets older and bulks out some. The biggest male from his litter is much shorter (more appropriately sized for a boxer )

I agree with the previous poster who said consider an adult boxer if you want a specific size. We were planning on Johann being boxer sized....but he's kinda boxer/great dane sized. The extra size is not a big deal to us, just made me glad we bought him such a huge crate when he was a puppy.

Personally, I'd go more by personality and which dog the breeder feels would be best for your family over size at 8 weeks.

[Speak]

Thank you both for the feedback. We were primarily basing our puppy preferences on their temperaments and sex. My wife had this notion that the larger puppy meant the larger dog and though I didn't think that was true I didn't dispute the point at the time. In looking at litters I have been sticking to smaller parents (< 75 lbs) to try and maximize the chances of a smaller adult dog. If the dog ends up being larger that will be okay. We are strongly leaning towards a male since we already have a 9 year boxer mix female who is an alpha.

When I called back the owner today I found out the pup I liked the most has been taken. He was a very inquisitive and resilient male who also looked very sharp with a centered blaze, a nice collar and socks. His slightly larger size would have been good just in case our other dog ever snapped at him. The other male who everyone else in my family preferred is a little smaller, a little more skittish (but not excessively so), and a bit clingier. He is also a little more playful.

All of the pups in the litter - which includes 3 other females and another male - have the expressive faces and big, brown eyes one expects in a boxer.

Since my Choice A is gone I'm leaning towards going with the other one. If so I appreciate the wishes of good luck.

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I absolutely think you should go with a male given your family dynamics. Please just make sure to do your research on the breeder you have chosen and make sure that parents were health tested, heart tested, genetic tested, temperament tested, at the very least and preferably have also been shown in the ring and won.

Also, as others have said the breeder you have chosen should help you in your decision on the personality of the pup given your home life.

I will also say (and I don't mean to be a downer in this at all), but my only regret with having got my now 2 year old as a puppy is that my female I already had was 5 years old. At the time it wasn't such a huge issue, however now that she's between 7 and 8 years old and my "puppy" is a little over 2 years old, it's kind of like having a 2-3 year old child living with an 80 year old grandmother. He wants to play frequently and rough and well she doesn't given her age. The only thing I hadn't thought about was having a senior citizen Boxer and a young Boxer living under the same roof. If i had it to do over again I would have chosen a dog close to my girl's age then (maybe 3 years old) to be quite honest. Just something you may want to think about given the advanced age of your female already living with you.