German Shepherds Forum banner

GSDs over 100lbs... How many ppl have one?

166K views 343 replies 172 participants last post by  WNGD 
#1 ·
Just curious how many ppl have GSDs weighing over 100lbs....


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App
 
#5 ·
My male is 104 lbs - he is European :) My new little girl is 4.5 months old and already weighing 40 lbs - she was bred in Germany!
My male and both females are one generation off all european blood. they are 84, 70, and 62.
 
#6 ·
My Male GSD, Balto only weighs around 68-70 pounds.
However, I rescued him after watching a friends dog for a little.
He was an 115 pound german shepherd,...a very sweet but big dog.
My rescue looks very similar to his dog except for the fact that Balto is a patterned sable. :p
 
#8 ·
My male is 26" at the withers and 84lbs. Honestly, perfect size for a working dog.

My female is 24" at the withers and 64lbs. Nice and compact and a great agility working dog. :)

100lbs is huge, and I would wonder about structure and weight issues...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nurse Bishop
#9 ·
Frank is 28 inches and 83 pounds, at 2.5 years old he still has some filling out to do through his chest and body, but I don't think he'll get any heavier then maybe 88 pounds.
Still a big boy and alot of people guess him at being way over 100 pounds because of his height.
 
#13 ·
My boy is a small guy... 2.5 years, 25" and 71 pounds.

I have had several people compliment me on him and guess that he weighs at least 95 pounds...they are shocked when I tell them his actual weight.

I also think some people really don't know how much their dog weighs.

My SIL has a GSD as well, he's tall and 110 pounds....I personally don't like his "look".

I have seen another GSD who weighed a little over 100 and thought he looked good...he was proportioned.

My boy is the perfect size for everything we do together, he's light on his feet. And if I absolutely had to I could lift and carry him.
 
#14 ·
My Female is at 61-63 pounds, 24 inches at the withers. Perfect in EVERYWAY :D
My male is only 3.5 months old. he weighs right at 32ish pounds.. he will be a big boy, hopefully no more than 90.
I am a firm believer that a gsd over 100 pounds is not something impressive. most of the time it just means they are overweight... This one person on the facebook group I am a member of was like, "this is my 160lb baby"... poor thing had no tuck on it's tummy. it literally looked like a marshmallow with toothpicks for legs. I was sad for the dog...

That being said, I do understand there are cases where the dog is just so tall that 100lbs is what is needed for the frame.. in that case i just say keep the dog lean.
 
#19 ·
Some people like big dogs and that's OK. I really have no problem with big dogs. However, size must not compromise the function the dog was bred to do. A Germain shepherd was bred to work for long periods of time. On its feet. Its body should be able to withstand the punishment of working with out breaking down due to carrying extra weight around. My boy is only 66lbs. Small by all standards for a male, but he can go all day if needed with no stress on his joints or back. Some times I do wish he was a little bigger just because everyone who sees him has to tell me about their bigger (meaning better) dog. Remember a German Shepherd Dog was developed as a tending dog. A tending dog is a fence with teeth. They are not suppose to lay down in the middle of the field and keep "watch" over the flocks. They are suppose to run a perimeter for long periods of time. Some breeders have purposely increased the size of the dogs by selectively breeding for larger dogs because the pet market is really impressed with large dogs. The question is does increasing the size of the dog compromise the working ability or longevity of the dog.
 
#21 ·
Sib got up to 104 lbs...and I noticed she was not very active--due to the encouragement of this board I put her on a diet and she is now around 80lbs..Now I know most of you think that is still too heavy..but I don't..she looks slim, has lots of energy.
 
#22 ·
Well, my husband thought we had a 100+ lb. dog. He told everyone that looked even remotely interested that Jackson weighed "close to 105 lb.". This went of on for years.

Keep in mind that he never weighed the dog himself. He never went along to the vet for check ups. He had no idea what a scale would say. He just looked at this dog and thought, "He weighs close to 105 lbs.". And the people he passed his opinion on to took it as gospel truth.

I am the one who took Jackson to his check-ups and I knew how much he officially weighed. He fluctuated between 82 and 85 lbs. for all of his adult life.

I wonder how many people use Jackson's supposed weight of 105 lbs. as proof that a giant GSD can be healthy. Because despite his cancer death at 8.5 years of age, Jackson had excellent hips and a cast iron stomach. Up until his collapse and death, he never had a sick moment in his life.

And I wonder how many "super sized" GSDs are no where near as heavy as the people think they are.
Sheilah
 
#53 ·
Keep in mind that he never weighed the dog himself. He never went along to the vet for check ups. He had no idea what a scale would say. He just looked at this dog and thought, "He weighs close to 105 lbs.". And the people he passed his opinion on to took it as gospel truth.

I am the one who took Jackson to his check-ups and I knew how much he officially weighed. He fluctuated between 82 and 85 lbs. for all of his adult life.
A lot of people do overestimate weight. More than once we've been out and about with 80lb dogs and had people swear they must be 110, 120, etc... Likewise I've encountered many people who swore their own dog was well over 100, but seeing the dog myself I knew they were overestimating by at least 20lbs.
Yep. The thing I have noticed is that men tend to overestimate weight, and women tend to underestimate. Whenever I get an inquiry about grooming for a large breed, I ask the owner how much their dog weighs. If a man, he will say "About 100 pounds". If a woman, she'll say "About 65" The truth lies somewhere in the middle; I mentally add 15 pounds if I talk to a woman, and subtract 15 if I'm talking to a man...fortunately, I have a scale in my lobby so I can test my own intuitions, and I'm rarely wrong. :)

Personally, I don't want my dogs over standard size or weight, and it's always perplexing to me when people brag about how big or heavy their dogs are. It seems to be mainly an American phenomenon--the "bigger is better" mentality.

I had a giant breed, an Akbash Dog weighing about 130 lb. lean. I loved that dog dearly, but his size was often an inconvenience. You have to buy a bigger crate, a bigger car, bigger everything... and grooming him was a nightmare! I often wish his breed came in a more managable size.
 
#23 ·
My pup is 16 weeks and 40lbs.. he's gonna be big. My breeder said to not let him get over 90lbs if I can. Anything more will screw his joints up. I saw a five year old at the park that was huge, at least 110lbs. I felt so sad for him... you could tell by the way he walked that he wasn't at his best. He looked stressed for sure.
 
#24 ·
I've had at least 20 GSDs over the years and not a single one over 100lbs. Largest male was low 90s and largest female was 80. Most males 80-85 and females 60-70.

A lot of people do overestimate weight. More than once we've been out and about with 80lb dogs and had people swear they must be 110, 120, etc... Likewise I've encountered many people who swore their own dog was well over 100, but seeing the dog myself I knew they were overestimating by at least 20lbs.
 
#25 ·
Mine is 4 years old 24.5" and 70-75lbs (depending on what time of year and what we're training for). His Koer report calls him "medium" size, I do not even consider him a small male at 70lbs. Most people look at his photo and guess 80-85lbs, lol.
 
#26 ·
Our last boy that we lost in February was 120 lbs . He was not a show dog, just a friend and a darn good one. He was 2 months away from 15 years when he passed. He looked great and was proportional (don't have a pic on this computer to post). I honestly do not think his size or weight had any ill effect on him. Sure his last year his rear end was deteriorating slowly and he slowed down greatly, but remember at that point he was around 14 years old, adequan injections helped tremendously. I think he was just kind of a freak, being his dad was 90 lbs and his mom was about 75 lbs.
I often wonder if it had anything to do with the foods we fed him throughout his life. Maybe we used foods too high in calcium, etc and just got lucky that it did not affect his health.
He was kind of a mix of long hair and short hair. Definitely not a "breed standard", but we feel he may be that one dog that you have in your life that will always stand out to you more than any dog and he will be the one we compare every other dog to.
I understand that a lot of people get mad about breeding dogs that do not meet standards and feel that it is ruining the breed. I agree to a point, but for a dog as a pet, maybe someone likes a bigger dog, likes the look of a shepherd, and wants a shepherd because of there temperment and extreme intelligence. I do not know a lot about GSD standards and such, but isn't the reason for "american lines", kind of there to allow such dogs?
Not trying to start anything, just curious. So be gentle with replies.
 
#28 ·
I agree some ppl want larger GSDs and that's ok. As long as they're healthy and have a solid temperament what's the big deal really? They are still German Shepherds... Maybe the breed standard needs to be rewritten (yea I said it lol). It's not fair to larger GSDs everyone is always bashing them like they're bad dogs. Ppl on here are funny...


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App
 
#27 ·
You shouldn't have to be afraid to state your point...this size business on this forum gets ugly at times..I am the PROUD owner of an over sized , byb GSD...though I never again will go to a byb I am sure not sorry i have Sib..she is my heart dog..Also, I think I shall never say never..At my age shelters will not adopt to me...and a puppy would be out of the question...
 
#34 ·
Oh dear. I saw this thread and, gosh, my poodle-mix is over 80 lbs . . .Jaeger is growing so fast . . .I'm going to have two huge dogs, aren't I? :eek:

Okay. I am going to have to promise my partner that the next someday dog will be a lap dog that she can hold and breathe at the same time. :D
 
Top