Puppy Growth Rate Stats
The vast amount of all new puppy owners ask the question “How big will my puppy get?” To determine puppy growth rate, a person has to consider a lot of variables to ever be able to get an accurate answer for any individual breed of dog.And even then, you will still only be able to get an average “puppy growth rate” range…or that ballpark figure.
But how does a person try to estimate just how big their puppy is going to get?What you have to understand is that puppies at different ages grow at different rates.The very same way that dogs of different breeds are going to grow at different rates.This makes it very difficult to pin point exactly to the pound, how big that puppy of yours is going to be at one year.And, if it will continue to grow larger the following year.
Determine Puppy Growth Rate
Generally speaking, here is one way to determine puppy growth rate.An average adult dog will weigh around twice as much as it did when it reached 4 months of age. And the rule of thumb for the giant breeds, your dog will double what they weigh at 5 months.
So, before you purchase a puppy, you really need to do your research on the different dog breeds. You need to know if your new canine is going to reach 9 pounds or 109 pounds.You have to educate yourself with the puppy growth rate of the different dog breeds.
Different Breeds Grow At Different Rates
An average small breed dog, like a toy poodle will reach full weight by year one, at 8 pounds.A bulldog will reach 20# at one year, and 35 by their second year.A larger breed dog, like a german shepherd will reach 70 pounds by year one, and 75 pounds by year two.And the largest breeds, like the great dane is going to reach 110 pounds by year one, and 130 pounds by year two.
But also understand that 2 male puppies from the same liter can also vary in size, the same way your 2 brothers can be very different in size. (I’m three inches taller, and fifty pounds lighter than either of my brothers)
What About Genetics
This then tells me, that genetics can also play a big part in puppy growth rate.I have a thin, long legged toy poodle that was not suppose to get any larger than her 6 pound mother.Instead, she had the genes of her moms sister, and she topped out at eleven pounds.Just realize that puppy growth rate is an average estimate of what your dog will grow up to be.(And I wouldn’t trade in my eleven pound poodle for any six pound poodle in the world.)
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