Is my puppy growing on track?
Enter your puppy’s expected adult size, age and current weight to see where they sit compared with healthy puppies of the same size, from 12 weeks to 2 years.
How the puppy growth checker works
In 2017, researchers from the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition and the University of Liverpool built growth standard charts from veterinary records of healthy purebred puppies in the US, grouped by expected adult size. The charts are meant for monitoring growth — not for predicting adult weight.
We used the study’s openly published data to compute weight percentiles for each size class and two-week age band, following the study’s main inclusion rules (healthy visits; dogs in normal body condition at 2–3 years). Our percentiles are an approximation of the published charts.
- Between the 9th and 91st percentile: typical for healthy puppies of that size.
- 2nd–9th or 91st–98th: at the lower or upper end — often fine, worth keeping an eye on.
- Below the 2nd or above the 98th: unusual; worth a check with your vet.
One weigh-in is a snapshot. Weigh your puppy every few weeks: a puppy that stays in roughly the same band is following a steady track.
Sources
- Salt C, Morris PJ, German AJ, et al. Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes. PLoS ONE 12(9): e0182064 (2017).
- Supporting data: University of Liverpool DataCat, doi:10.17638/datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/377 (CC BY 4.0). Centiles on this page were computed by Picks for Paws from that data and are an approximation, not the published curves.
FAQ
How do I know my puppy’s adult size class?
Use the typical adult weight of your puppy’s breed (breed standards or your breeder/vet can tell you). The classes match the ones used in the Salt et al. 2017 study.
My puppy is below the typical range. Is that bad?
Not necessarily — some healthy puppies are naturally small or large for their class. What matters most is a steady track over time. If your puppy is outside the typical range, or moves up or down across several bands between weigh-ins, talk to your vet.
Does this predict my puppy’s adult weight?
No. These charts describe how healthy puppies of each size grew; the study did not design them to predict adult weight, and neither do we.
Why no giant breeds?
The study’s growth standards do not apply to dogs with an adult weight over 40 kg (88 lb), so we don’t show a chart for them.