Ideal weight?

[idolone]

Hey y'all. I'm a little worried about my 1 year old basset hound. I think he may be under weight. Can anyone tell me how much a 1 year old is supposed to weigh?

[Southern Bassets]

One year old Bassets can fool you.
They still have so much energy that they don't even fit the image of a Basset Hound.

However they do fill in and learn how to get lazy!

Haley is just over a year old and last time we weighed her she was only 36 lbs if I remember right?

Anyone else?

[Ernies Mom]

You really can't go by weight... basset's seem to really vary. You should be able to run your hands down their sides and feel ribs... (without to much pressure). If you are really seeing ribs, they may be underweight. What does the Vet say?

[idolone]

The vet says he's healthy, but you know how it is. I got concerned because I met someone with a basset that is a little younger than mine, and she was quite a bit bigger than mine. He's about 35 lbs the last time we weighed him.

By the way, I know what you mean about one year olds not fitting the typical basset mold. He's so energetic and active. But I don't mind. I love playing with him.

[MowgliBaloo]

I just had Mowgli at the vet Saturday and I was sure she weighed a ton and was considered LARGE! But she only weighed 35.5 pounds, and the vet said she is actually a small-mid sized girl. He said that was a prefect weight for a nine-month old Basset.

[Nobody]

I don't think we are the ideal weight. All of the books I have read state that female bassets should be 40-60 pounds and males 60-80. Mine are little pigs. Skinner is 75 pounds. The vet says he is healthy except the asthma. Junebug is 69 pounds. He is lazy and eats anything and everything the rest leave behind. He has hip problems and he doesn't run & play as much. Alex is 60 pounds. He was a rescue and had cancer. He had a kidney removed and has problems gaining weight. He looks skinny to me.

The girls are about 45 pounds. They seem small compared to the boys. If they are healthy, I guess too small shouldn't be a problem.

ASK YOUR VET. Or call your nearest Basset Rescue. They know all about bassets and could teach ya a few things.

All else fails, read a book.

Cassie

[Milkbones]

I think the ideal weight is dependent on body type. If you've ever been to a basset event, you'll notice they come in all sizes. I always thought my Sophie was a BIG girl, weighing in at around 65-70 lbs, until I saw some of the "walking Titanics" at the rescue event, who looked to go at 85 lbs. and up. Sophie has always been large, hence she's going to weigh more than DJ, who should ideally weigh around 40-45 lbs. (ha!). His bone structure is definitely finer than Sophie's. She has clodhopper feet, he doesn't. She's longer, he's shorter. And, doing the rib test on Soph, she's pretty close to where she should be, and DJ isn't. He's roly poly. Can't see any ribs on him. So, I guess if you see ribs sticking out, the dog is underweight, but if you can't find them, then you have a problem.

[Milkbones]

I should have mentioned, at a year, a Basset is still growing and maturing, so unless your's has obvious rolls of fat on it, or the ribs are really sticking out, then it's probably okay. DJ, at a year, was still kinda scrawny, but then, he was very active. It was after he got to about 18 months of age that he slowed down and started porking up. You don't really want to do anything to prevent a young basset from getting all of the good nutrition and nutrients that it needs during the development process.

And, it's been my own personal experience that the females tend to reach maturity just a bit earlier than the males, both physically and mentally.