A large majority 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 with this information, you will only be able to get an average “puppy growth rate” range…or that ballpark figure.

But how does a person estimate just how big their puppy is going to be?What you should know is that puppies at different ages grow at different rates.The same way that dogs of different breeds grow at different rates.This makes it very hard to pin point exactly to the pound, how big your puppy 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 adult dog will weigh almost twice as much as it did when it reached 4 months of age.And the rule of thumb for the giant breeds, your dog is going to double what they weigh at 5 months. 

So, before buying that puppy, a person needs to do their homework on the different breeds of dogs.You should know if your new dog is going to reach 9 pounds or 109 pounds when fully grown.You should understand the puppy growth rate on 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 hits 20 pounds at 1 year, and 35 by their 2nd.A larger breed dog, such as a german shepherd could reach 70 pounds by year one, and 75 pounds by year two.And the largest breeds, (like a great dane) will reach 110 lbs by year one, and 130 lbs 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 about three inches taller, and fifty pounds lighter than my two brothers)

What About Genetics

This then tells me, that genetics can also play a big part in puppy growth rate.My slender, long legged toy poodle at home was not to get any bigger than her 6 pound mother.But instead, she has the genes of her mothers sister, and tops out at eleven pounds.Just understand that this “puppy growth rate” is an average estimate of what your dog will grow to be.(And you should know that I wouldn’t trade my eleven pound poodle for any six pound poodle in the world.)

Find out everything you need to know about your puppy’s health.