How Big Will My Puppy Get? Here’s How To Tell, According To Vets – DodoWell
Puppies are so cute and small that you may wish yours would never grow up. But eventually your pup will get bigger – but how big exactly?
We spoke to dr. Sara Ochoa, veterinary consultant at Senior Tail Waggers, and Dr. Zay Satchu, co-founder and chief veterinary officer at Bond Vet in New York City to find out how to tell how big your pup is and when it’ll stop growing.
Factors that affect how big your pup will grow
There are actually a number of factors that affect how big your puppy will be when they grow up.
“For purebred dogs, we can estimate based on breed standards and mom and dad averages,” said Dr. Satchu opposite The Dodo. “It can be more difficult with rescue dogs because we don’t know their ancestors and often don’t know how tall mom and dad are.”
Here are some things to consider when estimating your puppy’s size when fully grown:
- Breed – Breed is an important factor in determining how big your pup will be as there is a huge difference in the size of a Great Dane compared to a dachshund.
- Parents – If you know your dog’s parents, you can use their average size to estimate how big your puppy will be.
- Gender – Males typically grow larger than females.
- Spaying and Neutering – If your pup was spayed or neutered when he was young, he or she may weigh a little more. Neutering results in a reduction in sex hormones, which can lower your puppy’s metabolism, which can cause him to gain weight if you don’t adjust his diet after the procedure.
- Diet – What you feed your dog and how much you feed them can affect their size and growth. Make sure you are feeding your pup a healthy and complete puppy food that contains enough nutrients to allow them to grow to their full size. Try this Purina Pro Plan puppy food from Chewy for $50.
- Exercise – How much exercise your pup gets will affect their weight. If you don’t exercise him enough, he could become overweight.
Puppy size estimator
Because breed or breed mix is an important factor in how big your puppy will grow, you can use this to determine your puppy’s adult height. Here are some average adult weight ranges for dogs of different sizes:
- Toy Dogs – 2 to 15 pounds. Toy dogs include Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, Yorkies, and Pugs.
- Small Dogs – 16 to 25 pounds. Small dogs include Shelties, French Bulldogs, and Beagles.
- Medium Dogs – 26 to 50 pounds. Medium-sized dogs include Border Collies and Cocker Spaniels.
- Large Dogs – 51 to 100 pounds. Large dogs include Malinois, Labradors, German Shepherds, and Irish Setters.
- Giant dogs – over 100 pounds. Giant dogs include Great Danes, Great Danes, and St. Bernards.
When do dogs stop growing?
Puppies grow and mature at different rates, so they reach full size at different times. When puppies are fully grown depends on their size. For example, small dogs grow faster than larger breeds because large dogs have larger bones that take more time to develop.
“This can be 6 to 8 months for smaller dogs (25 pounds or less), 12 to 16 months for medium-sized dogs (25 to 75 pounds), and 2 years for large and giant breed dogs (over 80 pounds),” said Dr . Ochoa opposite The Dodo.
Here’s an average of when dogs typically finish growing based on their size:
- Small dogs (25 pounds or less) – 6 to 8 months old
- Medium dogs (25 to 75 pounds) – 12 to 16 months old
- Large and giant dogs (over 80 pounds) – 18 months to 2 years old
Even if you want your dog to be a puppy forever, he will eventually have to grow up. And knowing how big he gets is important so you can get the right dog supplies and make sure you have plenty of room for him.
We independently select all of the products we recommend because we love them and think you will too. If you buy a product through a link on our site, we may receive a commission.