How big will my puppy get?

All puppies start out small and adorable, and we can’t help but fawn over how cute they are. However, all pups grow up into dogs of various sizes, and this rate of growth can catch you off guard if you’re not prepared. Fortunately, it’s easy to be proactive here.

The Importance of Due Diligence

The moment you decide you want to bring a puppy into your life, you need to start doing research on what kind of dog is right for you. There are a host of metrics that can help you narrow down your decision, from trainability and exercise needs to potential health issues and friendliness toward children.

While those metrics are important to consider, average size might be the most important element to hone in on. After all, if you bring home what you think is a medium sized dog, you’re bound to be disappointed if he becomes enormous or stops growing when he reaches the length of your forearm.

This is a pretty easy thing to figure out with a purebred. In these cases, you can essentially take a gander at the breed standard and get a pretty good estimate of what your dog is going to be like as an adult. While you may end up with a runt in the puppy phase, you can still be assured he’ll still grow into the expected size range.

Figuring Out the Size of a “Designer Dog”

“Designer dogs,” also known as hybrid dogs, have become particular popular within the last thirty years or so. Some hybrids have become so popular, their names have become every bit as recognizable as some of the more popular purebreds. Labradoodles, Pocket Pitbulls, and Cockapoos are all hybrid dogs you’ve probably heard of before.

You can get a pretty decent estimate of how large these dogs are going to get by taking a look at their parent breeds. The best way to do this is to talk to the breeder that is creating these unique dogs. Any reputable breeder will have appropriate parental information for you to inspect before bringing home your pup.

There are two things you’ll want to specifically look for in determining the size of your hybrid dog. Firstly, you’ll want to get a gauge on the purity of the dog’s parental bloodline. If he stems from two different purebred dogs, you shouldn’t have any surprises once your pooch reaches adulthood.

The second thing you’ll want to consider is what kind of size the breeder had in mind with the dogs being produced. Certain hybrids are available in a pretty impressive range of size. If the parental breeds come in different sizes, such as a poodle or schnauzer, you’ll want to make sure what size of breed helped sire the pup.

Estimating Mixed Breeds and Mutts

While the eventual size of purebreds and even hybrids can be pretty easy to calculate, mixed breeds stemming from unknown origins and so-called “mutts” are a different story. Because there is no concrete evidence on where these truly unique dogs come from, you won’t have as many size-determining tools at your disposal.

For the person who simply just wants a dog to love, this may be the one item that makes him or her wary about picking up a mutt. This may also make him or her reluctant to bring home a shelter dog, since it’s estimated that only 20% of rescue dogs are purebred. This is a shame, because mutts can be wonderful dogs!

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. Even if you don’t have concrete information on a puppy’s origin story, you can still use a couple of tools to help determine how big your potential four-legged friend is going to be as an adult.

The first thing you’re going to want to look at is his paw size. If your puppy has big paws, that’s a clear indication that his body is going to grow to a size where their paws can support their carriage. It’s a trait that dogs share with humans.

For example, let’s take a look at a purebred pup – say, a German Shepherd. A GSD puppy is going to have some enormous paws to run on as he romps and explores the world. Over time, the rest of his body is going to grow at a size that matches his feet, which will be large enough to support his bulky frame.

Another sign to look for is the looseness of his skin. This also carries the same principles as the size of the feet, in the sense that puppy will need to grow into his flesh and iron out the wrinkles. The looser the skin appears, the larger the dog is going to be in order to “fill in.”

These metrics may not necessarily tell you precisely how large or small your pup will be as an adult. However, they will give you enough information to make a pretty solid estimate – solid enough to at least inform you whether or not your dog will be a little guy or a big buddy.

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