Calculate your puppy's adult weight
Enter age in weeks, current weight and sex – the calculator shows where your puppy sits on the growth chart and what it will weigh at about 2 years.
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In short
A male Labrador weighing 12 kg at 16 weeks will probably reach about 32 kg at around 2 years (range 26 to 37 kg). The basis is growth charts from tens of thousands of healthy dogs: at 16 weeks, puppies have reached 41 to 49% of their weight at 2 years, at one year 85 to 95%. The older the puppy, the more accurate the estimate – at 12 weeks it is off by 11.8% on average, at 6 months by 9.4%.
How heavy will your puppy get?
Enter age, weight and sex. If you don't know how big your dog will be, the calculator estimates the size.
Estimated: Large (15 to 30 kg), e.g. Australian Shepherd, Boxer, Siberian Husky, Basset Hound. The charts don't cover dogs that will weigh more than 40 kg (e.g. Rottweiler, Great Dane).
Weight at about 2 years
≈ 21.3 kg
Range 16 kg to 26.8 kg
Today your puppy has reached about 42% of that and will probably weigh about 19.7 kg at 12 months. Of 100 puppies of the same age and size, about 32 are lighter. For mixed breeds, the estimate is rougher.
Adult weight in the dog profileThe DoggoMeal app uses it to calculate puppy recipes in gramsTo see how much food your puppy needs today, use the puppy feeding calculator.
Puppy weight chart: median by age and size
Median (50th percentile) of healthy dogs of normal weight according to Salt et al. 2017: half are lighter, half heavier. Adult size: very small under 6.5 kg, small 6.5 to 9 kg, medium 9 to 15 kg, large 15 to 30 kg, very large 30 to 40 kg.
| Size and sex | 12 weeks | 6 months | 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very small, female | 1.3 kg | 2.2 kg | 3.3 kg |
| Very small, male | 1.3 kg | 2.5 kg | 3.7 kg |
| Small, female | 2.1 kg | 4.1 kg | 5.9 kg |
| Small, male | 2.4 kg | 4.8 kg | 6.8 kg |
| Medium, female | 3.1 kg | 6.4 kg | 10 kg |
| Medium, male | 3.4 kg | 7.7 kg | 11.7 kg |
| Large, female | 7 kg | 16.3 kg | 23.4 kg |
| Large, male | 7.6 kg | 19 kg | 27.2 kg |
| Very large, female | 8.5 kg | 20.6 kg | 29.8 kg |
| Very large, male | 9.3 kg | 23.7 kg | 34.2 kg |
How heavy will my puppy get?
Puppies usually grow along a curve: a puppy that is among the heavier ones of its size at 16 weeks often stays that way as an adult. That's exactly what the calculator uses. It finds the spot between the lines of the growth chart where your puppy is today and extends it to the age of 2 years.
An example: a female of size “medium” (such as a Beagle) weighing 7 kg at 6 months will probably end up at about 11 kg (range 8 to 13 kg).
Does the rule of thumb “weight at 4 months times 2” work?
Roughly for small dogs, not quite for larger ones. According to the charts, puppies at 4 months have reached 45 to 52% of their weight at 2 years. For very small and small dogs, times two fits; for medium to very large dogs, times 2.2 is closer. At 6 months it's 64 to 71%.
The chart is more accurate because heavy and light puppies gain weight at different rates. In the original data, the simple calculation with a fixed share was consistently less accurate than the chart.
How accurate is the estimate?
We tested the calculator on real dogs from the study's dataset:
- At 12 to 13 weeks, the estimate is off by 11.8% on average. Only 43% of dogs end up within 10% of the estimate.
- At 16 weeks it's 10.6%, at 6 months 9.4% and at one year 6.9%.
- The range shown contained the true weight at 2 years for 86 to 96% of dogs.
- On average, the estimate was 2 to 5% too high.
- Large dogs can be estimated more accurately: at 16 weeks, 8% error for very large dogs, 13.9% for very small dogs.
So weigh your puppy every two to four weeks until six months and recalculate.
When is a dog fully grown?
Small and medium breeds reach about 99% of their adult weight at 9 to 10 months, large and giant breeds at 11 to 15 months (Hawthorne et al. 2004). In the practice data behind the growth charts, many dogs still gain 5 to 18% between their first and second birthdays. That's why the calculator works with the weight at about 2 years.
Why adult weight matters for feeding
How long a dog needs puppy food and how fast it should grow depends on its adult size. Large breeds should grow slowly so that bones and joints can keep up. For the amount per day, though, it's always the current weight that counts – the puppy feeding calculator works that out.
Limits of the calculator
The charts don't apply to every dog:
- Only from 12 weeks. There are no charts for younger puppies.
- Only up to 40 kg. There's no chart for dogs that will be heavier – such as Rottweilers, Great Danes or Mastiffs.
- The data come from veterinary practices in the USA. Dogs from other countries and individual breeds may be somewhat higher or lower.
- In mixed breeds, the adult size is uncertain. The weight of the parents helps you place your puppy.
The calculator is not a diagnostic tool. If your puppy grows well above or below its curve – say across two lines – talk to your vet.
How we calculate
The basis is growth charts built from the weights of tens of thousands of healthy dogs of normal weight from US veterinary practices (Salt et al. 2017). They exist for five sizes and separately for females and males, from 12 weeks to 2 years, with nine lines from the 0.4th to the 99.6th percentile.
The calculator finds the spot between these lines where your puppy is today and extends it to the age of 2 years. In other words, it assumes that your puppy stays on its curve. The range reaches two lines down and up. If you don't know the size, it takes the size that best fits the weight and the estimate.
“Adult weight” here means the weight at about 2 years. According to the charts, many dogs still gain 5 to 18% between their first and second birthdays.
How accurate? Tested on the original data
We tested the estimate on real dogs from the study's dataset: an estimate from the weight at each age, compared with the measured weight at about 2 years.
| Estimated at | Dogs | Mean error | Within ±10% | Within the range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12–13 weeks | 3,496 | 11.8% | 43% | 86% |
| 16 weeks | 4,395 | 10.6% | 47% | 89% |
| 26 weeks | 2,212 | 9.4% | 53% | 93% |
| 52 weeks | 1,810 | 6.9% | 66% | 96% |
Mean error = median of the absolute deviation in per cent; on average, the estimate was 2 to 5% too high. The test uses the same US population the charts come from; dogs from other countries may grow somewhat differently. Large dogs can be estimated more accurately than small ones.
Sources
- Salt C, Morris PJ, German AJ, Wilson D, Lund EM, Cole TJ, Butterwick RF (2017): Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes – PLoS ONE 12(9): e0182064, licence CC BY 4.0
- Dataset for the study (Banfield practice data, 1994–2013) – University of Liverpool DataCat, licence CC BY 4.0
- Salt C, Morris PJ, Butterwick RF, Lund EM, Cole TJ, German AJ (2020): Comparison of growth patterns in healthy dogs and dogs in abnormal body condition using growth standards – PLoS ONE 15(9): e0238521
- Hawthorne AJ et al. (2004): Body-weight changes during growth in puppies of different breeds – The Journal of Nutrition 134(8): 2027S–2030S
Data source: Salt et al. (2017), PLoS ONE 12(9): e0182064, © 2017 Salt et al., licence CC BY 4.0. DoggoMeal digitised the centile values from figures 7 to 11, interpolated between the weeks and converted them to estimate the weight at 2 years. The authors are not affiliated with this calculator. CC BY 4.0. Not a diagnostic tool and no substitute for your vet.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my puppy's adult weight?
With age, current weight, sex and approximate adult size. The calculator determines where your puppy lies on the growth chart for its size and projects that position forward to the age of 2 years. It also shows a range, because dogs grow differently.
From what age can adult weight be estimated?
From 12 weeks, but only roughly at that age: on average the estimate is off by 11.8%. From 6 months it's 9.4%, from one year 6.9%. It's best to weigh your puppy every two to four weeks and recalculate.
Is “weight at 4 months times 2” right?
Roughly, for small dogs. According to the growth charts, puppies at 4 months have 45 to 52% of their weight at 2 years. For medium to very large dogs, times 2.2 is therefore closer.
When is my dog fully grown?
Small and medium breeds at about 9 to 10 months, large breeds at 11 to 15 months. Many dogs still put on a little weight until their second birthday – that's why the calculator estimates the weight at about 2 years.
Does the calculator work for mixed breeds?
Yes, but more roughly. Choose “Don't know” and the calculator takes the size that best fits the weight. If you know the weight of the parents, it's better to choose the matching size yourself.
What if my puppy moves away from its curve?
Small fluctuations are normal. If your puppy clearly moves up or down away from its curve over several measurements – say across two lines of the chart – talk to your vet. In large breeds, growing too fast is a risk for bones and joints.
With the adult weight, the app calculates every puppy meal
Enter the estimated adult weight in your dog's profile in the DoggoMeal app. The app uses it to calculate puppy recipes with grams per ingredient and adjusts the amounts as your puppy grows.
- Dog profile
- Recipes with gram amounts
- Allergy warnings
- Cooking with video
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