36lbs at 5 months small? - Page 1

I have a male mal 5 months old, weighs 36lbs. I was told this is very small and he wouldnt get much bigger. I thought he was growing nicely untill someone said something and now I'm just over thinking it. Would like opinions though, either way I love him and his training is going great just curious if you believe he's small for his age.

No he's not!!!   Don't grow him to fast they get more bone problems!!!  Is he Amerinan or German lines Working/Showlines??   They get most of there height by 9-10 months then depending on bloodlines muscle out  till 2 to 21/2  yrs Don't neuter in to young or he will never muscle out!!
Linda

He is German working lines. I don't plan on neutering him. The guy who told me he was small I think was just trying to insult him and get under my skin, there's some drama between us as he owes me money I'll probably never see but whatever! My plan with him is schutzhund. And so far I am thrilled with his training. Larger or small, champion or not I'm thrilled with my pup.

Am pretty sure at 5 months he should be smallish lol. That guy sounds like a turd, sorry that he is on your case. Enjoy your puppy! TBH I prefer a smaller dog anyway, won't see a 100 pound dog climbing a 10 foot wall. 

rule of thumb is double the size & wgt @ 4 mo.  so your dog will most likely mature around 60 lbs.  a nice size.  agile.
pjp

Thank you guys :)

I agree with Ziegenfarm, around 60 as an adult sounds right.  That's up to you if you consider that small, medium or large :-)  If the person you were talking to likes 80 pounders they would consider that small.  IMO anything 60 and up is fine for work, since I tend to work females I've seen and owned some very nice dogs that were under 60, but personally I prefer 60 or more just so the dog has some size to it to be more effective fighting the decoy.  Not quite as easy to manhandle.

What bloodlines is he from?  That can also effect rate of growth, but also give you an idea of adult size.

The person i was talking to does show line mals so 60lbs i think is pretty average, i think the standard says the average is 55-65lbs.

Heres his pedigree http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/belgian_malinois/dog.html?id=1315287

If he grows to 60 lbs he will be the perfect size.  Remember Malinois tend to be lean dogs.  I once had someone ask me in a park if my tall very well muscled 4 year old was a rescue.  They thought he looked thin at 65 pounds.

Depending on the lines, and a few other random variables, malinois can be slow to grow to adult size. My KNPV line female is in the midst of a growth spurt at 10 months old. She's fast gaining pounds and inches (4 lbs in the past two weeks- not an ounce of it fat). She's 55 lbs, 22.5 inches at shoulders (23.5 at butt) and will probably top out from 60-70 and 23.5- 24 inches at shoulders.

The best bet is to look at the parents. While there are exceptions, most line or purebred pups don't vary too much from their dam/sire. There can be differences between male-female, but a dog generally grows as large as genetics dictate. Some are just slower to get there than others.

If you like him, who cares what anyone else thinks?