How Large is a Labrador?

As we’ve talked about in our blog before, there are two types or styles of Labrador: American (or Field) and English.  We only breed the English style Labrador, which is also what you would see at an AKC show, and what actually fits the AKC Labrador standard.

While English labs are stocky, thick boned, with a broad skull and muzzle, they are shorter legged and shorter bodied than their taller and longer American counterparts.

A large breed puppy food would actually be too much for a lab, and is really meant for a larger breed like a St. Bernard.

Males will be a bit bigger than females at a full-grown size. The females range 65-75 lbs on average, and males more like 80-90 lbs. Some larger males may be more like 95 lbs at a filled out weight, but over 100 lbs is actually above standard. I have many people contact me looking for a big male, and mention their last dog being 100 lbs, 120 lbs, and even 175 lbs!  This could have been more of an American and English blended Labrador, or just a very overweight lab.  OR, it could be what I call the “Old style American Lab”, which were bred up until about the 1980’s/90’s. Traditionally, however, you will not have an English Labrador over 95 lbs, at the highest weight if it is conforming to the AKC breed standard.

Our Sicily, weighing in at about 68 lbs, typically.

Another important thing to remember about size genetics, is that the biggest puppy in the litter at 8 weeks old, does not the biggest dog in the litter make. You can click here to read more about that!

One pro of not being TOO big, is the lifespan. A giant or larger breed dog tends to fall around a 7-9 year lifespan, whereas we see English labs live more like 12-15 years. Ultimately, a lab is a great option for someone that is worried about having a huge dog around the house, but has the big dog temperament and personality. In other words, a big love mush!