FIELD NOTE / 02
Minimum, average, not stated
A number without its qualifier is an unfinished sentence. The Size Reading Desk keeps three very different kinds of source statement visible.
Editorial team / by PawLine. Source-checked November 13, 2026. Not independently expert-reviewed.
01
Minimum is not a complete range
The Royal Kennel Club Irish Wolfhound standard gives minimum heights and minimum weights. A minimum is not an average, an upper limit or a healthy weight target for your dog. The same paragraph separately describes a desired male height average. Combining those phrases into one invented normal range would erase the distinction. Our desk shows only the stated minimum values for that record, with its qualifier attached.
Royal Kennel Club / Irish Wolfhound standard ↗Source for this explanation, not a review or endorsement of this website.
02
Average wording is not a survey certificate
The Newfoundland standard uses average shoulder height and average weight wording. We preserve those words because they belong to the source. We do not claim that they came from a modern representative sample, specify a confidence interval or describe every adult Newfoundland. A breed-standard ideal and a measured population distribution are different kinds of evidence, even when each uses the word average.
Royal Kennel Club / Newfoundland standard ↗Source for this explanation, not a review or endorsement of this website.
03
A missing value deserves an honest space
The fetched Mastiff standard discusses size, proportions and soundness without giving an overall numeric height or weight. The desk therefore says not stated. It does not use zero, borrow a figure from a different publisher or pretend an empty field means a small dog. An honest missing field is useful: it tells you that this source cannot answer that numeric question, and prevents a tidy table from claiming more than its evidence allows.
Royal Kennel Club / Mastiff standard ↗Source for this explanation, not a review or endorsement of this website.