Adding a Boykin Spaniel puppy to your family is an exciting experience, but it is also important that you know how to help your puppy grow well.
Using a Boykin Spaniel growth chart can help you to be sure that your puppy is growing as he should be and should also help you predict how big he will wind up.
We have broken down everything that you should know about your growing Boykin Spaniel puppy throughout every developmental stage up until adulthood.
You will also find what you need to know about nutrition and what you should be looking for in your puppy.
When Do Boykin Spaniels Stop Growing?
Looking at the sweet face of a Boykin Spaniel puppy, it is common to wonder when the puppy will stop growing. Dogs of any breed will stop growing in their own time.
On average, however, a Boykin Spaniel should stop growing between 10 and 12 months. Some dogs will continue to gain a little weight after that, but in general, that should be your pup’s final size.
You can consult with a Boykin Spaniel growth chart to get an idea of what your pup’s final adult size will be, following along with how large he is at each stage of development.
Boykin Spaniel Weight Chart
A Boykin Spaniel weight chart is a great way to keep track of whether your puppy is growing on track and also a good way to get an idea of your Boykin Spaniel’s final size.
To use the weight chart, you will need to locate your dog’s sex to begin with.
In general, female Boykin Spaniels are smaller than male Boykin Spaniels, so you will need to make sure you are looking at the right estimate.
To estimate your dog’s size and development, you will need to look at your pup’s current age and compare it to his current weight.
Then, looking at whether he is on the smaller side, average, or on the larger size, you can follow the averages to get an idea of how big your pup will be in the end.
The Boykin Spaniel size chart will also help you to watch whether your puppy is staying on the same growth curve, meaning is he gaining weight at the rate that he should be.
If you have concerns, you can ask your vet to confirm whether your pup is the right weight for his age and natural size.
Boykin Spaniel Puppy Growth Chart
Age | Female | Male |
---|---|---|
Height | 14 - 16.5 inch | 15.5 - 18 inch |
Weight in lbs | 25 - 35 lbs | 30 - 40 lbs |
Weight in kg | 11.5 - 16 kg | 13.5 - 18 kg |
Boykin Spaniel Puppy Development Stages
Birth – 2 Weeks
At birth, a Boykin Spaniel will usually weigh between 3.5 ounces and 7.5 ounces, but they do gain weight quickly. Normally, a Boykin Spaniel puppy will double his weight within the first week.
Puppies will need to stay with their mother all of the time at this age and will rely on her for all food and care. They are born blind and will not be able to walk right away.
3 Weeks – 12 Weeks
There is a lot of growth that happens between 3 weeks and 12 weeks. By 3 weeks, a puppy will have his eyes open and begin to move around.
They will wean off of their mother’s milk usually sometime between 5 and 8 weeks, so they can be rehomed away from their mother.
Your puppy should be eating between 3 and 4 meals of puppy kibble a day and will have a lot of energy by the 12 weeks mark.
4 Months – 9 Months
When a Boykin Spaniel puppy is 4 months old, he will stop having the rolly puppy look about him. His waist should become evident and his energy level will go up.
This growth stage is the worst time for chewing, so puppies need to be watched or kept away from dangerous items at all times. If it can go in a home, your puppy will eat it.
You can drop his meals down to three times a day at this point, but use the Boykin Spaniel growth chart to make sure that he is growing consistently.
10 Months – 18 Months
Typically, a Boykin Spaniel will stop growing between 10 and 12 months old. It is at that time that you will need to switch your puppy from puppy food to adult food.
The puppy behaviour will continue until at least 18 months, when the puppy should start to come down.
Do not over exercise your puppy at this point; they need some exercise, but nothing that is high-intensity.
Adult
Your puppy will be an adult officially by the 18 month mark and he should not grow any more at this point.
The breed likes to run a lot, but running injuries are common as they will not stop running, even when injured.
It is unlikely for your dog to be overweight, but when a Boykin Spaniel is off the growth chart, you can monitor weight by monitoring whether you can see your dog’s waist and ensuring you do not see his ribs.
How Big Do Boykin Spaniels Get?
We have mentioned that you can consult with a Boykin Spaniel weight chart to get an idea of how large your puppy will be when he is finished growing, but it is not the only want to find out.
Another way to see how big your puppy will be is to look at the pup’s parents. If you have access to the parents or can get that information, you should know that your puppy will be about the same size as his parents are.
You can also look at the puppy’s paws to see if they are out of proportion of his body. That is to say, does the puppy need to grow into his paws?
If the paws look like they fit the pup, it is likely that the dog will not be very big, but if the paws are very large, the dog will also be very large.
A DNA test can also look for genetic markers and confirm the breed and give you a prediction of your pup’s size.
Boykin Spaniel Size Chart
Using a Boykin Spaniel size chart is an excellent way to monitor how well your puppy is growing. To use it effectively, however, you should know how to measure your dog in order to use it effectively.
To get a proper weight on your dog, you will need to first weigh yourself while holding the puppy. After noting that weight, step on the scale once more without the puppy, weighing just yourself.
The difference in the weights is your puppy’s weight. A vet can also weigh your dog for you if you don’t have a home scale.
The average size of an adult male Boykin Spaniel is between 30 and 40 pounds, and a female between 25 and 35 pounds.
If you are looking to measure the pup’s height, you will need to have him stand up on all-four legs. Using a tape measure, measure from the shoulder of the dog down to the floor.
The average adult male Boykin Spaniel stands between 15.5 and 18 inches while the average female stands between 14 and 16.5 inches.
Will Neutering/Spaying My Boykin Spaniel Affect His Growth?
It was not long ago that we all simply spayed or neutered our dogs when they reached six months of age, hoping to catch the dog before they gained sexual maturity.
Yet, in more recent years, there has been new information about when to spay or neuter your dog.
The new information says that you should wait until your dog has finished growing in size, usually around 12 months old, before having them fixed. For females, waiting until after a full heat cycle is ideal.
The idea is that when a dog has been fully developed first, he will be less likely to suffer bone and joint issues when he ages.
Springer Spaniel vs Boykin Spaniel Size
Given that both the Boykin Spaniel and the Springer Spaniel are types of spaniels, you might assume that they should be the same size, but they are not. In fact, the Springer Spaniel stands taller than the Boykin Spaniel.
To compare, an average Springer Spaniel will stand between 18 and 22 inches, while the Boykin Spaniel can stand between 14 and 18 inches.
Weight-wise, the Springer Spaniel can weigh between 45 and 55 pounds, while the Boykin Spaniel weighs between 25 and 40 pounds, making them much smaller in both stature and weight than their Springer Spaniel cousins.
Factors That Affect Boykin Spaniel Growth
Genetics & Gender
Naturally, genetics and gender can be the biggest factors that affect growth in a Boykin Spaniel. Looking at genetics, a dog is often the same size as his predecessors.
If he has small parents, he is likely to be small. Additionally, female Boykin Spaniels are smaller than males on average.
Both genetics and gender have huge impacts on your dog’s final size and can be good clues to how large your puppy will wind up being.
Nutrition
As with humans, growing pups need to have proper nutrition in order to grow up healthily. While poor nutrition while your puppy is growing may not have any obvious impacts, it will affect his health as he ages.
You might see a puppy with malnutrition as being too skinny, but it will harm his skeletal development in the long-run.
Make sure that your puppy is eating only approved good that is rich in the right nutrients.
Physical Activity & Health
There is no doubt that Boykin Spaniels have a lot of energy and love to run around. You do not have as much of a risk of your dog becoming lazy as you do of your dog over exercising.
Allowing a Boykin Spaniel puppy to over exercise will harm his development, putting too much pressure on his growing bones.
This can cause growth issues, as can poor health. Make sure you give your dog the right food.
How Much To Feed A Growing Boykin Spaniel Puppy?
When you are looking at how much you should be feeding your Boykin Spaniel puppy, there are a few things to factor in.
You could go off the recommendations of the puppy food, but that won’t take into account how old your puppy is or his size.
Use a Boykin Spaniel growth chart to get an idea of where your pup is based on averages and then you can adjust.
Between 8 weeks and 12 weeks, you should aim to feed your puppy four equal meals a day. They should be eating around 1.5 cups of food total a day.
Between 3 months and 6 months, you should feed your puppy three times a day. On average, a Boykin Spaniel puppy will need between 1.5 cups and 2 cups of food, depending on your dog’s size.
You can drop it down to twice daily meals at 6 months but the amount of cups should be about the same.
How To Tell If Your Boykin Spaniel Is Underweight Or Overweight?
Unfortunately, obesity is a common issue for dogs in the modern world.
As many dog food companies recommend too much food and there is a decrease in exercise with dogs, you need to stay on top of your pup’s weight.
Puppies will have a round belly up until about the 12 to 16 week mark, when their waist will begin to appear.
At this point, you will want to make sure that you can see your puppy’s waist visually and you should be able to feel your dog’s ribs under the skin, but should not be able to see them jutting out.
Weight does fluctuate as the puppy is growing, so he might look very skinny one week and normal the next. You just need to go with the size that seems to be sticking around and go from there.
Weight does fluctuate throughout the growing cycle, but you can keep an eye on your pup’s expected size to make sure that he is not going off-track.
While obesity is certainly a major concern for pet owners, underfeeding your dog can also cause to a lot of healthcare issues.
Both conditions are dangerous to your dog’s health, so make sure that you are regularly checking in with your vet.
What Are The Most Common Conditions To Be Aware Of In Growing Boykin Spaniel Puppies?
While most of the conditions that Boykin Spaniels are prone to will not appear until the dog has aged, there are some to watch out for early. One of these is juvenile cataracts.
Cataracts usually hit dogs when they are old, but juvenile cataracts will happen when a pup is much younger.
You should watch out for other conditions such as patellar luxation, hip dysplasia, and exercise induced collapse, but the type of prevention for these is to make sure that your pup is not under too much stress and eating well.
Do Boykin Spaniels Experience Growing Pain?
Dogs, just like humans, can suffer from growing pains. Also known as panosteitis, growing pains are actually an inflammation around the developing long bones within your dog’s legs.
The swelling and pressure results in discomfort and pain, which is why they are called growing pains.
Growing pains usually happen with larger dogs, but are less likely to happen in the mid-sized Boykin Spaniel. If might be possible, however.
Look out for your pup walking like his legs are too stiff to walk or lameness without explanation. If you are sure that your pup has not been injured, it is possible that growing pains are the culprit.
What To Do If My Boykin Spaniel Is Not The Right Weight?
If you have been tracking your Boykin Spaniel using a Boykin Spaniel weight chart, you should have a good idea what growth curve your dog is on.
You can use a growth curve to make sure that your puppy is growing consistently and use it to predict his future weight.
If it happens that your puppy has fallen off of his growth curve, there are a few different things to do. The first one is to see how long he has been off the growth curve.
If you have been measuring your pup every two weeks or so, you should be able to determine whether he is gaining weight at the right speed.
In the event that you see that your pup is not the right weight, you should ask your vet for guidance if its concerning.
For an underweight pup, adding more food might be the key, but before cutting back food for an overweight dog, you should check with your vet.
How To Help Your Boykin Spaniel Lose Weight If He Is Overweight?
Obesity is a common problem for dogs everywhere, so it is always possible with a Boykin Spaniel, though not as likely.
The breed is more prone to over exercise and collapse rather than becoming overweight. It is still possible, of course, especially if your dog has been injured and is not able to exercise as much as he normally would.
The first thing to do if your dog is showing signs of obesity is to increase the amount of time that he gets exercise every day.
The next thing will be to check the type of food that you are giving your dog. Is it healthy food or is it full of fillers and other things that are not healthy?
Before reducing the amount of food that your puppy eats, it would be best to check in with your dog’s vet in order to get a suggestion type of food and quantity in order to make sure he loses weight at a healthy pace.
How To Properly Weigh My Boykin Spaniel?
You should be regularly checking the weight of your Boykin Spaniel. Ideally, you would check his weight every other week to keep a handle on it until he is fully grown.
Weighing your dog at home might seem impossible with the idea of a dog standing on a scale, but it is easier than that.
To weigh your dog at home, you will need to use your bathroom scale. First, weigh yourself while you are holding the dog. Then weigh yourself again without the dog. The weight difference will be your dog’s weight.
Most vets will also let you stop by and use their scale to weigh the dogs.
Boykin Spaniel Genetics And Common Health Problems
As much as we love our dogs, unfortunately, all breeds have some kinds of genetic conditions that they are more prone to than others.
For a Boykin Spaniel, common genetic conditions include some skeletal and joint problems, such as hip dysplasia and patellar luxation.
Both of these conditions do not present themselves until your pup has finished growing and you discover he has trouble walking. Your vet should have some preventative supplements that might help.
Boykin Spaniels are also prone to eye problems, such as cataracts and Collie Eye Anomaly. These dogs can also have exercise induced collapse, so do not over exercise them.
The final condition that is genetically common with Boykin Spaniels are skin issues, which can be helped by using sensitive soaps and generally being careful with what you put on your dog’s fur.
Your vet may recommend special shampoo if your pup is prone to eczema.
Final Words
It is an important and exciting time when you have adopted a new Boykin Spaniel puppy. But, in order to be sure that your dog is growing well, you will need to use a Boykin Spaniel weight chart.
Monitoring your dog’s weight will allow you to see whether he is staying on his growth chart or whether he is slipping off.
If is better to check with it routinely, because if you go too long, you might not be able to remedy a growth problem as quickly as you want to. Just keep an eye on your pup’s growth and you should be alright.