Zinnia went to Dr. Suzanne Fariello (Cambridge Valley Veterinary Service) for her second visit – Lyme and other shots, and she got an A-plus for weight, coat, body structure, and cuteness. She listened intently as Dr. Fariello explained what shots she was getting.

I recognize that Zinnia is not just my dog, so I want to openly share her progress and health reports. I realize I am opening myself up to epidemic second-guessing and alarm messages, it’s okay, I can take it.

Seriously, Dr. Fariello said she looked beautiful, perfect, her vitals are perfect, her weight is now 18 pounds.”She looks great, keep on doing whatever you’re doing.” I take that as a compliment from a diligent and honest vet.

Zinnia, like many Labs, is almost indiscriminately loving to people who give her treats.  She even loves people who stick needles in her.

She has gone to two feedings a day from three.

She gets one cup morning and evening of Royal Canin Labrador Puppy mix (yes, it is controversial, of course. Several people have contacted me to warn me it isn’t great food and isn’t even puppy food.)

I don’t manage my veterinary health care online.

I paid $148 for today’s visit, $200 for the first one,  and I’m going with Dr. Fariello and the breeder, Lenore Severni, who recommend this food for lab puppies. That’s good enough for me. Lenore is a fierce advocate for her puppies.

I am not a nutritionist and have no desire to join the nutritional dog fights that rage online day and night.

Lenore Severni is a wonderful breeder, and Suzanne Fariello is a terrific vet. If I blow off their advice for an anonymous and invariably untrained person online, that seems like Steward Malfeasance to me.

Lenore has been breeding Labs for more than three decades, and Suzanne went to school for six years to be a vet. Good enough for me. Zinnia is thriving on this food.

It’s something of a myth in the dog world that you can tell how big a dog will get by the size of their paws. That is not true for most dogs, according to the research I’ve seen and Dr. Fariello.

We live in an age of great mistrust for scientists and facts. I respect highly trained professionals, they are not perfect, but they are a lot better than anything else I’ve found or read.

You really can’t tell at 11 weeks how big a dog will be, according to the biologists.

Dr. Fariello and I both think Zinnia will be a big dog, but not unusually large by Lab standards. We both are guessing 50 to 60 lbs, just about Red’s weight for most of his life.

Zinnia is stocky, and she does have solid paws. But her mother is not enormous, and I don’t see Zinnia as being that large. It’s just a feeling.

I don’t know for sure either, but I am confident that big paws are not a reliable indicator of anything but rumors and myth. Everybody I’ve met has looked at Zinnia’s hands and told me for sure that she will be enormous.

None of them have any evidence to support the claim.

So I can almost promise that she won’t be significant. But we’ll see, I’ll be honest about it if I’m wrong.