How much should your puppy weigh, and how much should they gain each week? It depends almost entirely on how big they'll be as adults. A 12-week-old Chihuahua and a 12-week-old Great Dane can differ by 18 pounds and both be perfectly normal.
The charts below come from growth records of more than 100,000 healthy puppies (see about the data). Find your puppy's size, then compare their weight to the typical range for their age.
Step 1: Find your puppy's size
Size here means the expected adult weight, not how big your puppy is today.
- Toy (under 14 lbs): Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier, Maltese, Pomeranian, Toy Poodle
- Small (14–20 lbs): Shih Tzu, Dachshund, Bichon Frise, Miniature Schnauzer, Jack Russell Terrier
- Medium (20–33 lbs): Beagle, Pug, Boston Terrier, Cocker Spaniel
- Large (33–66 lbs): Australian Shepherd, Siberian Husky, Boxer, Bulldog, Basset Hound
- X-Large (66–88 lbs): German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever
- Giant (88+ lbs): Rottweiler, Great Dane, Mastiff
Breed groupings follow the WALTHAM growth study. For a mixed breed, use the parents' size or your vet's best guess.
Step 2: Puppy weight chart by age
Each cell shows the typical (median) weight in pounds, with the range covering the middle half of healthy puppies underneath.
Toy, small and medium breeds
| Age | Toy | Small | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 weeks | 2 2–3 | 4 3–5 | 4 4–6 |
| 12 weeks | 4 3–4 | 6 5–7 | 7 6–9 |
| 16 weeks | 5 3–6 | 8 6–10 | 10 8–13 |
| 20 weeks | 6 4–8 | 10 8–12 | 14 11–17 |
| 6 months | 7 5–9 | 12 9–14 | 16 13–20 |
| 9 months | 7 5–11 | 14 12–17 | 19 16–24 |
| 12 months | 8 6–11 | 15 12–18 | 21 16–26 |
Large, X-large and giant breeds
| Age | Large | X-Large | Giant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 weeks | 9 7–11 | 11 9–13 | 12 10–14 |
| 12 weeks | 16 13–19 | 19 16–22 | 22 18–26 |
| 16 weeks | 23 19–27 | 28 23–33 | 33 28–40 |
| 20 weeks | 30 26–35 | 36 30–42 | 45 39–52 |
| 6 months | 38 33–45 | 47 39–54 | 60 52–69 |
| 9 months | 50 44–56 | 61 52–70 | 85 71–97 |
| 12 months | 53 45–62 | 66 57–76 | 87 75–97 |
Half of healthy puppies fall inside the range, so being a little outside it is common. A puppy who is consistently far below or above, or who drops across ranges over a few weeks, is worth a vet check.
Step 3: How much should a puppy gain per week?
Weekly gain is highest in the first few months, then tapers off. Numbers are typical gains in pounds per week (1 lb ≈ 454 g).
| Size | 2–4 mo | 4–6 mo | 6–9 mo | 9–12 mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toy | 0.19 | 0.15 | 0.09 | 0.04 |
| Small | 0.44 | 0.35 | 0.20 | 0.09 |
| Medium | 0.55 | 0.47 | 0.28 | 0.12 |
| Large | 1.74 | 1.54 | 0.88 | 0.34 |
| X-Large | 1.98 | 1.84 | 1.13 | 0.49 |
| Giant | 2.49 | 2.42 | 1.49 | 0.62 |
Some charts online suggest extra-large puppies should gain about 2 kg (4.4 lbs) a week. In this data, even giant-breed puppies peaked at about 1.2 kg (2.7 lbs) a week, around 16 weeks old. If you're aiming for a higher number, you may be overfeeding, which is a real risk for large breeds' joints. Our puppy feeding calculator estimates how much to feed for your puppy's age and size. For when the fastest growth happens and why puppies seem so hungry, see puppy growth spurts.
How to weigh your puppy at home
- Same time, same scale. Weigh before a meal, at the same time of day.
- Small puppies: use a kitchen or baby scale.
- Bigger puppies: weigh yourself holding the puppy, then subtract your own weight.
- Track the trend, not one number. Weekly weigh-ins until 6 months, then monthly.
Weight isn't the whole story
Two puppies of the same weight can be in very different shape. Check body condition too (the WSAVA body condition chart shows what to look for): you should be able to feel the ribs easily without seeing them, and see a waist from above. If your puppy is in the range but looks round, or out of range but looks lean and energetic, body condition is the better guide. Your vet can score it at each visit.
Estimate your puppy's adult weight
Have a 6-month-old? See puppy weight at 6 months for a quick multiplier by size. Want a single number? Our puppy weight calculator uses the same data to estimate your puppy's adult weight and likely range from their age and current weight. To see when growth slows down for good, read when do puppies stop growing, and for when to switch to adult food, see when is a dog considered an adult.
About the data
Weights by age are medians from the public dataset of Salt et al. (2017), covering purebred dogs seen at Banfield Pet Hospitals in the US between 1994 and 2013. We used only visits where the vet recorded a normal body condition, and grouped dogs by their breed's adult weight. Each age has at least 86 puppies per size group, and over 1,000 for the most common groups. Weekly gains come from a smooth growth curve fitted to the same data, so they don't jump around with sample noise. The original study didn't publish curves for dogs over 40 kg (88 lbs), so treat Giant figures with some caution.
Sources
- Salt, C., Morris, P. J., German, A. J., et al. (2017). Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes. PLOS ONE, 12(9), e0182064. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182064. Dataset: University of Liverpool (CC BY 4.0).
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice. Always consult a licensed veterinarian for questions about your dog's health.
