What should my puppy weigh, how big will he get, and when will he finish growing?

Posted in Puppy Care | By: MAVI KENNEL | 28 Nov 2008 4:17 pm    

In general, puppy will grow in height until around 12-15 months of age and then continue to fill out until they are two or three years old. The growth plates will not fully close until 18 months though, so be very careful to avoid over-exercising your puppy until this age. 

puppies grow at remarkably varying rates, so it is impossible (or at least meaningless) to try to estimate what a puppy should weigh at any given age. Bigger puppies don't always mean bigger adults though. Remember the big kid in nursery school who towered over everyone else, but suddenly stopped growing midway through high school? Well, it's the same with puppies. The final size a dog will reach is determined by genetics, so the best indication of how large any particular puppy will become is the size of his parents, any older siblings, and other close relatives.

My puppy needs something to chew on, what's safe?

Puppies do need to chew. From about 4 1/2 months, you puppy will begin teething and will have a serious need to chew. The best thing you can give your puppy is raw bones - preferably the slightly soft brisket (sternum) bones that a puppy can chew right through, but any recreational raw bone will do. NEVER give your puppy cooked bones (that includes smoked, sterilized and boiled bones) as dried out bones like these can splinter. If you can't bear the thought of raw bones, then buy a non-edible nylabone instead. Chewing is a great stress reliever for dogs, and an activity they will enjoy throughout their lives - so don't stop giving bones just because your pup has finished teething!

Dogs should not be given rawhides, pigs ears or any other dried body part to chew on. These are a terrible choking hazard and many dogs have choked to death on raw hides. Rawhide has to go through several rounds of chemical cleanings in order to remove all the hair from the hide. These tend to not be rinsed off fully and the chemicals thus get ingested by the dog. Dried body parts (essentially leather) are also a bacteria hazard. Dogs' digestion systems are designed for fast processing of meat and bones, and that speed is their natural defence against bacteria. But dogs don't digest rawhide, it sits around in their stomach for some time before being passed in the same state as it went in. This can result in food poisoning, the mildest symptom of which is diarrhoea and vomitting.