A puppy's growth is not linear with time. In other words, its daily weight gain changes over time. The daily weight gain increases after birth, then reaches a plateau of varying duration, then decreases as the animal approaches its adult weight and size. Mathematically speaking, the changing rate of growth (with growth in terms of ADG, average daily gain) corresponds to the derivative of the sigmoid function represented by the growth curve (change in weight as a function of time).
Studying the reference curves for various breeds reveals that small breeds, which grow slowly and reach adulthood quickly, are already relatively heavy with respect to their adult weight both at birth and at weaning. To state this more clearly, small-breed puppies are born "more finished" than medium- and large-breed puppies. Large-breed puppies have a relatively low birth weight and the ability to grow vigorously for an extended period of time.
It is important to understand such differences in rate of development and biological behavior, because they explain why it is advantageous to adapt a dog's food not only to its age, but also to its size.
In more concrete terms, the differences between dog breeds are visible beginning at birth. For example, a Poodle bitch has a litter of one to three puppies, each weighing 150 to 200 grams. In contrast, the birth weight of Newfoundland puppies (eight to ten puppies per litter) can vary from 600 to 700 grams. Even though an adult of a giant breed can weigh up to twenty-five times more than a small-breed dog, the birth weights differ only by a factor of from one to six. This means that the different breeds have very different growth patterns, with the amount and duration of growth being proportional to the final weight of the dog.
- A small-breed puppy reaches half its adult weight by the age of three months, a large-breed puppy does not reach half its adult weight until the age of five or six months.- A Poodle reaches its adult weight at an age of about eight months, at which time it has multiplied its birth weight by twenty. A Newfoundland continues to grow until the age of eighteen to twenty-four months, at which time it is about 100 times heavier than at birth.
Length of Growth Period (months)
Puppy Growth Curves
The growth phase is a key stage in a puppy's life. It determines the characteristics of the future adult, as well as its morphology and balanced appearance. An animal that has "grown poorly" may have an abnormal size and weight for its breed, while the same puppy, under optimal conditions, could have met the height and weight standards.
To determine whether a puppy is growing normally, a veterinarian has a powerful tool: growth curves. There are two types of growth curves: weight curves, which are readily available in a number of reference works on dogs, and height curves, which are much more difficult to find. By comparing a puppy's measurements with a standard curve, it is easy to see whether it is keeping up with others of its breed, and to predict its adult size and weight. Thus, a German Shepard puppy that weighs 14 kg at the age of 4 months and stands 45 cm tall at the withers will weigh 40 kg when it reaches adulthood, and will measure 70 cm at the withers. The adult size and weight of any puppy can be predicted after two visits to the veterinarian after the age of three months (e.g., a visit at three months and a visit at five months). Such measurements are very important because they are the best way to track the puppy's development and to quickly detect any abnormalities.
Prediction Of Growth In Puppies Of Different Sizes (Vétalim ND)
The weight for successive months is read horizontally, beginning with the puppy's weight at three months. Example: a puppy weighs 4 kg at the age of 3 months. Reading across, it will weigh 5.3 kg at 4 months, 6.4 kg at 5 months, etc., and will reach its adult weight of 9.2 kg at the age of 12 months.
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