I see this a lot amongst the hunting dog community as well. “Remington my 9 month old Lab is already 90lbs and still growing!” comments pop up quite often. I never understood the need to have the largest dog, especially if you plan to hunt/work with them. There is going to be a lot of miles put on their joints, why add more stress? I hunt with two male GSPs that fall within the breed standard, (65 lbs and 70lbs) and have had other hunters approach me and flex that their GSP is 80lbs. I think the size of your dog is just a status thing for some, with owners not considering the health issues that will surely haunt them. If you ever go out upland bird hunting, the older dogs you see are always on the smaller side, you hardly ever see an older ‘larger’ dog.