Took my chessie to the vet yesterday and he weighed in at 61 pounds. Compared to my old chessie he is really small. The vet said he thinks that he is a mixed breed but I have papers that say otherwise. Is he small or was my other one big?

It sounds like he is a bit on the small side, but chessies can continue to grow up and fill out until they are 4 years old, so he could top out about 70 pounds which is a nice size!

The boy in my avatar was about 74 pounds most of his life and stood 23 7/8 inches.

Kathy Miller

My 2 year old female is about 72 pounds. She seems small to me but she is as solid as a cinder block. She is as stubborn as a cinder block too, but that's another story. A friend of mine had a male that was about 80 pounds so it seems like the weights can be all over the place.

George

Check the breed standard on the ACC website, but I believe she's at the maximum weight indicated for a bitch. Chessies are not supposed to be big dogs.

Also, "Stubborn" is a state of mind usually created by the owners failure to understand why the dog is doing something or not doings something, and to handle it accordingly.

Chessies are not stubborn dogs, contratry to some popular opionions, but rather a determined dog and a sensitive dog who will pursue whatever they can get away with if the owner is not more clever than the chessie.

If your dog is not doing something you want, or doing something you don't want, ask yourself what you are doing or not doing that is allowing this to happen. And proceed accordingly.

Kathy Miller
Sandy Oak Chesapeakes