How to Estimate the Adult Size of a Puppy

Before you adopt or purchase the doggy of your dreams, it's important to estimate the adult size of a puppy. As important as personality is to matching the right dog with the perfect family, size plays a major role in making sure your bundle of joy will fit well into your lifestyle.

These instructions will help you make an informed guess about the size your puppy will grow to, and how well your puppy will fit in your home when he or she is a full grown dog.

Things You'll Need

  • Dog Breed
  • Size of Parents or Adult Siblings
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Instructions

    • 1

      KNOW THE BREED(S)

      It is easier to estimate the adult size of a puppy if dog is AKC registered or eligible for registration. This is because the AKC (American Kennel Club) will not permit mixed breeds to register. Working with only one breed, predicting the growth of a dog is fairly simple. See the standard size of the adult of the breed and you can guess your dog will likely fall within those guidelines.

      Mixed breeds are more difficult to estimate because there is a great deal of variation, not only in their lineage, but also with a single litter. The outcome of 'mixed' dogs can be unpredictable because there is no way of predicting which dogs of a breed will inherit dominant genetic traits, and which will inherit recessive traits. While you can guess that a mix may contain more of this breed or that, the reality is that any trait can appear depending on statistical likelihood.

    • 2

      VIEW THE PARENTS OF SIBLINGS

      Knowing how true to the breed's standard your puppy's parents or siblings are, will give you an indication of how your dog does or does not meet those standard. Are the parents larger or smaller than the breed standard? Their offspring is likely to follow the same growth pattern.

    • 3

      YOUR FEEDING HABITS

      While length and height may be determined largely by breed, weight can be strongly impacted by your feeding habits. If you habitually over-feed, under-exert, or fail to handle food stealing, it is likely your dog will outweigh the breed standard. Likewise, if your puppy is from a rescue, has been underfed or neglected, it may fail to reach the breed standard weight.

    • 4

      CHECKING UP ON PROGRESS

      Another way to estimate the adult size of a puppy is specifically useful in working with older puppies. Many believe that a puppy will reach 50% of its expected size at the age of 4 months. To estimate the size in this fashion, multiply the 4 month old's height by 2 and length by 2. This, it is believed, is quite likely to be your dog's growth potential.