Many puppy owners have the luxury of knowing how they got their puppy, whether that be from a breeder, store or friend. But, for a lot of people raising puppies, they got their dog through adopting, fostering, or just got them without knowing their breed. All ways to get your puppy are okay, but some just make it slightly more challenging to guess how big your puppy will get.
And knowing how big your puppy will get is a huge part of dog care and adjusting your life to fit the size your puppy will grow to be! Lucky for you, there are a few different ways you can figure out how big your dog will get. These will also help you learn the healthy weight your dog should be at to avoid any dog injury or dog obesity in the future.
Measure Puppy Paws
The first and most common indicator of puppy size is the trick of looking at the size of your puppy’s paws. This trick is not foolproof but it is a good starting point because it is super easy to do! Simply put, looking at your puppy’s paws, check and see if they are too big for their body. If their paws look larger and maybe a little disproportionate to the rest of their body then they still have more growing to do! If their paws look to be just the right size for their body, then they are probably done growing.
This trick is not the end all be all simply because it just indicates whether or not your puppy has more growing to do, not necessarily how big they will actually get. It is also not foolproof because many dog breeds don’t need to grow into their paws and some dog breeds will always have paws that look larger. While this trick is fun and easy, we also have another way to calculate that is a little bit more accurate and helpful!
Calculate Puppy Adult Weight
To give you a better idea of your puppy’s growth and help you with your future puppy handling, you can calculate your dog's adult weight, simply by using their weight at 6 weeks old. While you don’t need to know your dog's exact breed to do this, it will help if you have an idea of what category they fall into. If you have a Toy Breed puppy (12 pounds and lighter) use your puppy’s weight at 6 weeks x 4 = adult weight. For Small breeds (12-35 pounds) use your puppy’s weight at 6 weeks x 4 = adult weight. Medium breeds (25-50 pounds) use the weight at (14 weeks x 2) + (½ weight at 14 weeks) = adult weight. Large breeds (50 pounds and up) will be weighed at 6 months x 2 = adult weight.
If you have no idea what kind of breed you have or where your puppy falls in these categories it will be difficult to calculate. There are many services out there now to do DNA testing and learn exactly what kind of puppy you are raising. This will give you the most accurate understanding and help you learn puppy behavior and puppy growth!
Puppy Height
Another factor of how big will your puppy get is their height. Dogs will actually reach their adult height before they reach their adult weight size. Similar to calculating weight, you can also calculate their height! To start, measure your dog heights at 6 months old. Do this by measuring from the top of their shoulders to the floor (it may be hard to get your new puppy to stand still but try making sure they are standing straight up!). Take that number x 100. Then take that number and divide it by 75. This will show you that your puppy is 75% of the way through their height growth and you can use that number to see what the next 25% height growth will look like!
Raising a dog isn’t easy, and there is a certain art to raising a puppy that we strive to help you understand. Since we know you are dealing with your hyper puppy, dog toys, puppy training, puppy grooming, dog exercising and so much more - we want to make sure you also have an idea of how big your puppy will get! Knowing this information is what helps you with raising your puppy the best you can and helps you prepare for your new life with your dog!
