Golden retriever pup's head - cone shaped?

by Brenda Kelley
(Ham . Oh. 45011)

My pups back of his skull has a knot shape to it , kind of like his head is a bit cone shaped? Is this normal

I did feel my older goldens top of his head and he has a little bit of the same thing but his is not as noticeable .

Is this just because the pup has more growing to do?






Hi Brenda
It's difficult to say for sure without actually seeing the puppy 'in person', but I can say that large breed puppies often have a 'cone-head' look when they're young.

You're pretty much correct when you mention the 'growing room' because in my experience the bigger the 'cone-head' the bigger the head will be eventually. A pup with a wide head (ie the distance across the top between the ears) or with a 'cone' on top is likely to have a good sized and 'blocky' headpiece when adult.

Of course, there could be times when an irregularly shaped head is due to something else entirely and I'd recommend asking your vet to take a look at him just to be sure it's normal at your next visit.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your new puppy.