Ear cropping timing really has more to do with the dog’s age than their weight. This is because their ear cartilage hardens as they get older and if the ears aren’t cropped and posted in place when this happens, they won’t stand. I would see a vet who specializes in ear cropping so they can examine the ear cartilage to see if it has firmed up yet, but in general, ear cropping shouldn’t be done much over 12 weeks of age. So my guess would be that it is probably too late.

We have a large ‘king’ bed. ‘Bradley’ found his own spot to sleep. Guess where! Bridget, and I still have (very little) room on the edges. I wake up every morning with his nose nearly touching mine, and those big black eyes staring at me. Every day starts that way – what better is there?

I would certainly keep an eye on their play, keep it fully supervised until she puts on some size, and separate them if things get too rough. Keep in mind that yelping or crying is a very common way for young pups to communicate that things are getting too rough and doesn’t necessarily mean they have been injured or anything like that. They communicate that way quite regularly with other dogs, which is totally normal. That being said, definitely listen to her and take appropriate action of course. Just don’t stress too much about the yelps in and of themselves.

Definitely! It sounds like he’s right on track.

Yeah, I would rely on the vet since there’s no substitute for seeing the dog in person. How much the stomach tucks up underneath the dog is a good way to tell overweight vs. underweight. I use that and also how much hip can be seen from the top looking down as good gauges quite often.

Both are possible. Although I would say it’s more likely she is just a smaller dog. The information in the graph on this page (for example) is just a rough guideline. These dogs do naturally vary quite a bit. If it had been malnutrition I would expect some other health issues or abnormalities.