Puppy Weight Chart: Growth by Adult Size, Body Condition and Weekly Gain

A puppy weight chart only works if it matches your puppy’s adult size, because a Chihuahua and a Great Dane grow on completely different curves. As a rough guide, the Merck Veterinary Manual says puppies grow fastest in their first 5 months, gaining on average 2 to 4 grams a day for every kilogram of their expected adult weight, and that small and medium breeds finish growing at about 8 to 12 months while large and giant breeds can take 10 to 16. The size-band chart below turns that into weekly numbers.

You may have searched for a puppy weight calculator. Creatures does not have one: our free weight calculators are for livestock such as goats, pigs and horses, not dogs. What we do have is a free way to keep your puppy’s own weigh-ins on its profile, with a chart that shows the trend and the daily gain, which tells you more about your puppy than any calculator can.

This guide gives a size-banded growth reference built from published veterinary sources, explains how to use a body condition score to tell whether your puppy is the right weight, covers newborns and large-breed puppies, and ends with how to record weights on Creatures.

Why one chart cannot fit every puppy

Most online puppy weight charts are a single table of ages and weights, sometimes with a “multiply by” rule to predict adult size. The trouble is that dogs range from about 1 kg to over 100 kg as adults, and they grow at different speeds as well as to different sizes.

The best published work on this is a 2017 study by Salt and colleagues at the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes (PLOS ONE). The researchers analyzed weights from more than 6 million young dogs seen at US veterinary hospitals, kept only dogs that stayed healthy and in ideal body condition, and built growth curves from 12 weeks to 2 years. Their main finding was that growth can be described well by adult size category rather than by breed, and the authors suggest the size curves may also suit mixed-breed puppies, although the curves themselves were built from purebred dogs.

They settled on six size bands by expected adult weight, and produced charts for the five smaller ones. Dogs over 40 kg grew so differently from each other (Great Danes and Mastiffs did not even match each other) that no single curve fit them, and the authors say giant breeds need their own breed-specific charts.

The same study looked at neutering. Puppies neutered before 37 weeks grew on a slightly higher curve and those neutered later on a slightly lower one, but the shifts were small compared with normal differences between individual puppies.

Puppy weight chart by adult size

This chart combines the Salt size bands with Merck’s average growth rate for the first 5 months. To use it, estimate your puppy’s adult weight first (from the parents, the breed standard or your vet), find the band, and compare the weekly gain with your own weigh-ins.

• Under 6.5 kg (14 lb) (example: a 4 kg (9 lb) adult): about 8 to 16 g a day on average, roughly 2 to 4 oz a week; growth finished at 8 to 12 months.
• 6.5 to 9 kg (14 to 20 lb) (example: an 8 kg (18 lb) adult): about 16 to 32 g a day on average, roughly 4 to 8 oz a week; growth finished at 8 to 12 months.
• 9 to 15 kg (20 to 33 lb) (example: a 12 kg (26 lb) adult): about 24 to 48 g a day on average, roughly 6 to 12 oz a week; growth finished at 8 to 12 months.
• 15 to 30 kg (33 to 66 lb) (example: a 25 kg (55 lb) adult): about 50 to 100 g a day on average, roughly 0.8 to 1.5 lb a week; growth finished at 10 to 16 months.
• 30 to 40 kg (66 to 88 lb) (example: a 35 kg (77 lb) adult): about 70 to 140 g a day on average, roughly 1.1 to 2.2 lb a week; growth finished at 10 to 16 months.
• Over 40 kg (88 lb) (giant breeds): Salt and colleagues could not fit a single standard curve, so ask your vet for a breed-specific plan; growth finished at 10 to 16 months or longer.

Size bands are from Salt and colleagues (2017). The daily gain is Merck’s 2 to 4 g per kg of expected adult weight, worked out for the example dog, and the age growth finishes is from Merck’s feeding chapter. The Salt paper adds that some larger dogs take up to 24 months to reach full adult weight.

For your own puppy, multiply 14 to 28 g a week (about 0.5 to 1 oz) by each kilogram of expected adult weight; a 2 kg toy dog, for example, would gain only about 28 to 56 g (1 to 2 oz) a week.

Read it as a reference, not a target:

• It is an average across the first 5 months. Real puppies do not gain evenly, and growth slows as they approach adult size.
• A steady gain inside the range matters more than hitting the middle of it. Merck’s advice is that a slow growth rate is better than a fast one, and that the puppy should gain “a small amount of weight each week”.
• The adult weight is your own estimate. If it is wrong, every number in the row is wrong. The parents’ adult weights are the most useful information a breeder can give you.

What about “double the weight at 4 months” rules?

You will find many rules of thumb for predicting adult size from a puppy’s weight at a set age. We could not find any of them in the veterinary sources we checked, and they cannot account for the size differences above, so we do not repeat them here. Your veterinarian can give you a better estimate from the breed, the parents and your puppy’s own growth, and the estimate improves as you add weigh-ins.

Is my puppy the right weight? Use body condition, not the scale alone

A scale tells you whether your puppy is growing. It does not tell you whether the weight is the right kind. For that, veterinarians use a body condition score, and the most widely used one is the 9-point scale in the WSAVA body condition score chart for dogs from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s nutrition guidelines. AAHA’s canine life stage guidelines reproduce WSAVA’s muscle condition chart alongside it.

The WSAVA chart describes the ideal range like this:

• Score 4 (ideal): ribs easy to feel with minimal fat covering; the waist is easy to see from above; an abdominal tuck is visible from the side.
• Score 5 (ideal): ribs can be felt without excess fat; a waist is visible behind the ribs from above; the belly tucks up when seen from the side.
• Scores 6 to 9 (over ideal): ribs harder to feel under fat, then not at all; the waist fades and disappears; fat builds over the lower back and tail base.
• Scores 1 to 3 (under ideal): ribs, spine and hip bones increasingly visible, with little or no fat to feel.

To check at home, run your flat hands along your puppy’s sides, then look down from above and from the side. Ask your vet to score your puppy at each visit as well, so you learn what a 4 or 5 feels like on your own dog. A puppy whose weight is climbing quickly while its waist disappears is gaining fat, not just growing.

Large and giant breed puppies

Fast growth is a particular concern in big puppies. Merck’s chapter on feeding practices in small animals says overfeeding during growth increases the growth rate, which is “incompatible with proper skeletal development” and contributes to obesity later. It adds three points for large and giant breed puppies:

• Feed a diet formulated for large-breed growth. Merck says it should carry the AAFCO statement that it is for growth of large-size dogs (32 kg, about 70 lb, or more as an adult).
• Do not add calcium or other supplements to a complete and balanced growth diet unless your vet tells you to; Merck says supplementation is rarely necessary and may be harmful.
• Slower is safe. Large-breed puppies fed 50 to 70 percent of what their littermates ate freely did not end up shorter or with less bone or muscle; only their body fat differed.

Keep feeding a complete growth diet until the dog reaches skeletal maturity, not just until it looks grown, and talk to your vet about when to switch. Merck says a less nutrient-dense adult diet is generally recommended once a dog reaches about 90 percent of its expected adult weight. On how often: Merck suggests three meals a day from weaning to 6 months and two from 6 to 12 months, with small-breed puppies sometimes needing more than three.

Weight also matters for another decision in the first year. AAHA’s spay and neuter timing uses expected adult weight, with 45 pounds as the dividing line; our dog heat cycle guide explains why.

Newborn puppies: the first weeks

Breeders weigh newborns far more often. Merck’s owner chapter on reproduction in dogs says puppies should be weighed as soon as they are dry and then twice daily for the first week. It says newborns should gain 10 percent of their body weight each day, and that any weight loss after the first 24 hours is a sign of a potential problem needing immediate attention, which can mean extra feeding, help with nursing or a veterinary exam.

Call your veterinarian now if a newborn puppy is losing weight after its first day, will not nurse, or seems weak or cold. Merck also notes that contented puppies gaining weight every day after the first 24 hours are a good sign the mother’s milk supply is adequate.

A kitchen scale that reads in grams is the right tool for newborns. Weigh at the same times each day and write every number down. If you are expecting a litter, our guide to how long dogs are pregnant covers whelping, and the dog gestation calculator gives the due date.

How to weigh a puppy at home

• Small puppies: a digital kitchen or baby scale. Put the puppy in a bowl or box, then subtract its weight.
• Bigger puppies: weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding the puppy, and subtract. Or use a flat pet scale, as long as all four paws are on it.
• Same scale, same time of day, ideally before a meal, so the readings compare like with like.
• Weekly is enough for a growing puppy, per Merck. Daily weighing mostly records meals and bathroom breaks.
• Write the date and the unit every time. A list of numbers with no dates cannot be turned into a growth curve.

Your puppy’s vet visits are another chance to get an accurate weight. The puppy vaccination schedule brings you in every few weeks until about 16 weeks, so ask for the weight at each visit and add it to your own record.

How to track your puppy’s growth on Creatures

Creatures does not estimate a dog’s weight or predict its adult size. It keeps your real weigh-ins and turns them into a chart, which is the growth chart your vet would draw anyway.

1. Add your puppy. Create a free profile for your puppy, no account needed to start. If you have the breeder’s record of the birth weight and early weigh-ins, add those first.

2. Record each weigh-in. On the Records tab, choose Add record, then Physical Measurement, and pick Measured weight. Enter the value in grams, ounces, pounds or kilograms; Creatures keeps the unit you used and asks before saving if a number looks like the wrong unit next to earlier readings. If you estimated by eye, choose Estimated weight instead, so the two are never mixed on one trend.

3. Read the chart. Open Measurements on the Records tab and choose 30 days, 90 days, 1 year or all time. You see the latest weight, the change over the period, the average daily gain and a chart, with every reading in a table underneath. Compare the average daily gain with the size-band chart above. Track weight and growth walks through it.

4. Set a routine and a goal. Track regularly sets up a care plan for regular weigh-ins, so each one shows up as a reminder. Once your vet gives you a target adult weight, Set a goal adds it to the chart. You can also add a photo to each weigh-in; they line up as progress photos by date.

5. Weigh a whole litter at once. Breeders can record the birth with a profile for each puppy, put the puppies in a group, and weigh every puppy in one session from the group, with one row per puppy. See recording births and creating a litter and weigh or measure a whole group at once.

When you transfer the puppy to its new owner on Creatures, its records go with it, so the new owner and their vet see the whole curve. Registration papers can live on the same profile; our guide to AKC registration explains what the breeder should hand over.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a puppy weight calculator on Creatures?

No. Our weight calculators cover livestock species only. For a puppy, record real weigh-ins on its profile and compare the daily gain with the size-band chart in this guide, and ask your vet to estimate adult weight.

How much should my puppy gain each week?

During the first 5 months, Merck gives an average of 2 to 4 grams a day for every kilogram of expected adult weight. For a dog expected to weigh 25 kg (55 lb), that is about 0.8 to 1.5 lb a week. A steady gain matters more than an exact number.

When do puppies stop growing?

Merck says small and medium breeds usually finish growing at 8 to 12 months, and large and giant breeds at 10 to 16 months. Some larger dogs keep filling out until about 2 years.

How can I tell if my puppy is overweight?

Use the WSAVA body condition score. At an ideal 4 to 5 out of 9 you can feel the ribs without pressing through fat, see a waist from above and see the belly tuck up from the side.

How often should I weigh my puppy?

Weekly for a growing puppy, which is Merck’s advice. Newborns are weighed twice a day in their first week.

Does spaying or neutering change a puppy’s growth?

Slightly. In the Salt study, puppies neutered before 37 weeks grew on a slightly higher curve and later-neutered puppies on a slightly lower one, but the differences were small compared with normal variation between puppies.

Do this next on Creatures

New puppy at home, a litter to weigh, or still looking for the right dog, here is where to go next.