German Shepherd Weight Range And Growth Chart
Below you will find a chart that breaks down the overview above into more specific heights and weights, also including growth as a percentage to indicate how far along your German Shepherd is towards becoming a full grown adult.
This chart is a guideline, and as long as your GSD reaches the goals set forth in it, it doesnt matter if they are reached a bit sooner or a bit later as long as they are healthy during the process.
If you are concerned that your dog is gaining too much weight too quickly, or its growth seems to have halted, you should take your German Shepherd to a veterinarian to be checked out.
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What About The Chart On Dog Food Bags
Youve likely seen the feeding chart on the back of commercial dog food bags. These charts can seem pretty straightforward at first glance.
However, they dont take into consideration the size, weight, activity level, or overall health of each individual dog.
For that reason, its best not to treat these dog food packaging feeding guides as gospel. Instead, use them as a starting point.
Observe your dog, see how he looks and feels, and note any changes in his bathroom habits, weight, or energy level. Adjust his meals accordingly.
The other problem with these packaging guides is that they arent clear on how to feed your dog. Generally speaking, they talk about daily intake, not per meal.
For example, if the guide says you should feed your dog 3 cups, its not suggesting that your dog eats 3 cups at every meal. It means to split that 3 cups total over the entire day.
If your dog eats 3 times per day, that would be 1 cup at each meal for a total daily intake of 3 cups.
To further confuse dog parents, some manufacturers do list per-meal serving sizes, not the total daily intake! In these cases, if you read it incorrectly, you would end up underfeeding your dog.
To help mitigate some of this confusion, it may be helpful to ask your vet how many calories your dog should be consuming each day. Then you can check the calorie content in the dog food and measure things from there.
How Big Should A German Shepherd Be
Unlike many other breeds, the German Shepherd has very specific standards when it comes to their proportions. While weight and height are important, what matters more is that theyre the right ratio.
To find out if your dog is the right ratio, you need to measure their length from the front of their chest to the base of their tail. Youll also measure their height at their withers.
A German Shepherd should have a length/height ratio of 10:8.5. That means they should be slightly longer than they are tall.
Here are some examples of proper ratios:
- Length: 26 inches
- Height: 26 inches
- Ratio: 10:8.5
To find the ratio, multiply their length by 0.85. This should give you their height. For example, 26 inches times 0.85 is 22.1 inches, so you know that dog is proportionate. Using the other example, 30.5 inches times 0.85 is 25.9 inches.
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Variations Of German Shepherds
It is worth noting that these charts do not apply to the different variations of Shepherds, except possibly White German Shepherds .
East-European Shepherds, King Shepherds, and Shiloh Shepherds are bigger than standard German Shepherds. Miniature German Shepherds are much smaller and have completely different development requirements and problems.
Seven To Twelve Months
Male dogs reach sexual maturity around seven months of age. The first signs of this are that your dog raises his leg when urinating, begins mounting any object he can find, and may even display more aggressive and domineering behaviors. Owners consider neutering male dogs at this age to reduce boisterous behaviors. Still, its also important to assert yourself as the alpha dog to ensure your puppy is aware of where he stands in terms of pack membership.
German shepherds continue to mature up until they are around 36 months old, and many do not consider a GSD an adult until they are two and a half or three years old if male, and over two years if female.
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How Long Are German Shepherds Pregnant
German Shepherds are pregnant around 63 days on average, measuring from the time of conception to the time of birth. Since German Shepherds are a large breed, sometimes, their gestation will take a little bit longer than other breeds, but it depends on the dog.
You should be able to keep track of conception as long as you have knowingly bred your dog, so have an exact date of conception to work from to get a better idea of the due date.
Month Old German Shepherd
Black and Tan stock coat, most likely saddle back.Cute little guy…so serious!
Fodder said:i dont know exactly what you mean, but hell have a fuller coat as an adult.there is a range within stock coats and a range within long stock coats. the undercoat will vary in thickness as well. diet, altering and climate can also have effects. how did his parents look? their coats will give you the most accurate prediction.
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Month Old German Shepherd Weight
Mattyg said:I have a three month old pure bred German Shepherd male, and he’s about 3 months and a week old. I recently took him to the vet and they weighed him to about 20.4 lbs. I told the vet I’ve been concerned with his weight and he recommend Royal Canin Maxi puppy food and that what I put him on. But I’ve seen other 3 month old gsd pups and all their sizes are bigger than Rocky . I was just wondering if anyone could help me out here, or give me some advice.
Mattyg said:I have a three month old pure bred German Shepherd male, and he’s about 3 months and a week old. I recently took him to the vet and they weighed him to about 20.4 lbs. I told the vet I’ve been concerned with his weight and he recommend Royal Canin Maxi puppy food and that what I put him on. But I’ve seen other 3 month old gsd pups and all their sizes are bigger than Rocky . I was just wondering if anyone could help me out here, or give me some advice.
Juvenile Period Weights And Heights
At the start of the or juvenile. or ranking, period male and female German Shepherd puppies weigh 40% of their adult weight and are at 40% of their adult height.
The juvenile period is also called the ranking period, because this is when puppies begin to understand submission and dominance.
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Other Neonatal Physical And Behavioral Developments
When your German Shepherd puppy is born, it is not as well developed as a human baby. Puppies are only in the womb for about nine weeks, and at birth, their brains are not fully developed, and their eyelids and ear canals are sealed to protect the still-developing structures of sight and hearing.
German Shepherd puppies are extremely helpless in the neonatal stage. They are toothless and unable to regulate their body temperature. They even require help to urinate and excrete fecal matter.
Puppies rely heavily on their sense of smell to locate their mother, who devotedly provides all they need: milk, warmth, and comfort.
German Shepherd mothers even have to stimulate urination and excretion by licking their puppies bottoms.
Over the first week, the puppies will begin to crawl, and 10-14 days after birth, German Shepherd puppies eyes and ears open.
Teach The Heel Position
While your 3-month-old German Shepherd puppy will initially follow you, adjusting your pace will soon have him walking alongside you in the heel position, on your left side, without a leash, harness, or fear of punishment. To train your puppy to assume the natural heel position, use a clicker, whistle, or use your;voice as a marker.
Chances are, at first, your German Shepherd will also try to change his pace to walk behind you because of habit. You can avoid this problem by walking in locations that your dog is used to. Thats why it is essential to take him to many different places in the earlier weeks, constantly working on socialization.
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How A Puppy Grows: Stages Of German Shepherd Puppy Development
Before we get to the weight and height charts, lets take a moment to study the developmental stages all puppies go through.
Its crucial to watch for each of these milestones as they come. These, more than weight or height, will help determine if your German Shepherd puppy is developing normally.
Here are the stages of German Shepherd puppy development from birth to maturity:
German Shepherd Growth By Age
At about a month, German Shepherd puppies will weigh 4.5-9 lbs.; females weigh less, and males will be at the top of the range.
At two months, you can expect them to weigh in at 11-20 lbs.
When they reach three months, your pup should be about 17.5-31 lbs. depending on gender.
At four months, your German Shepherd puppy will weight somewhere between 28.5-39.5 lbs. Thats pretty big! Its about half of the adult weight your dog will eventually reach.
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Large growth spurts will take place between 2-5 months, so keep a close eye on your puppys weight during this period especially.
At six months, the average male is 53 lbs., and the average female weighs about 46 lbs.
German Shepherd puppies generally stop growing significantly in height by nine months for males, eight months for females; males may get an extra inch by 15 months and females slightly less than that by 12-15 months. They reach their adult weight at 36 months.
German Shepherds, like many larger breeds, are considered fully grown by about 18 months, when they have reached 98 percent of their growth.
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Dangers Of Stunted Or Accelerated Growth
New dog owners might be concerned about whether their dog is growing too quickly or too slowly, especially when you are comparing your pup to the German Shepherd growth chart. The danger of stunted growth only arises in the case of malnutrition or extreme disease.
If your puppy has not had proper nutrition or is having another affliction, there is a risk that he will not grow properly. Likewise, diet can cause your pup to grow too quickly.
In this case, the growth is not related to their bones, but their weight. Excess weight can harm a puppys growth and cause other health issues.
How To Train A 6 Month Old Gsd Puppy
This is the last month you can refer to your puppy as a puppy before entering his teenage years! He has reached the age of adolescence. When your German Shepherd puppy reaches the 6-month mark, its time to start advanced obedience training. The good news is that all of your past training will make it easier for your dog to obey your instructions.
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How Big Should A German Shepherd Be At 7 Months
I have a German Shepherd that is almost 7 months old. I am worried that he is to small for his age. He ways 73 pounds. Also, I wonder if his coat color is still going to change. He is still the same color as he was when he was four months. Is their a…Dog Breed Discussions : How big should a German Shepherd be at 7 months?…
Continue Socialization To Strange People And Animals
Your German Shepherd puppy will need ongoing exposure to strangers people and animals as part of the socialization and training process.
You have total control over how you want your GSD to respond when a strange person or animal crosses their path. While German Shepherds are known to be a vocal dog breed, frenzied barking doesnt have to be tolerated even for the purposes of guarding.
You can teach your puppy how to alert you when an unknown individual approaches your home or crosses your path.
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Other Juvenile Period Physical And Behavioral Developments
During the juvenile or ranking period, German Shepherd puppies start to understand and learn about dominance and submission within a pack.
They can begin proper obedience training towards the end of this period, but you need to bear in mind that your puppys attention span is still quite short.
At around 4 months, they also go through a chewing phase as they start to lose their baby teeth, and they can enter another fear phase.
Start With The Dog Breed Standard
According to the German Shepherd Dog Club of America, the German Shepherd as a breed typically stands between 22 and 24 inches tall for female adult dogs and 24 to 26 inches tall for male adult dogs.
No weight range is given for the official dog breed standard. However, the standard does say the dog typically measures between 8.5 and 10 inches from the dogs breastbone to pelvis .
So these can give you some good starting measurements.
The American Kennel Club gives a weight range of 50 to 90 pounds, with about 10 pounds difference between adult females and adult males.
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Be Firm And Consistent As Your Puppy Entered Teenager
A six-month-old German Shepherd is not going to be sexually mature typically that wont happen until around the age of two years old.
But you will likely start to see behaviors that are consistent with what dog owners call teenager-hood some rebellion, willful behavior, some pulling on the leash, or stubbornness about obeying common commands.
According to the German Shepherd Forum, this is the most dangerous time for your young puppys growth because it is when many owners discover their small puppy has been replaced with a powerful young dog that is not so easy to control.
If you are firm and consistent with your training through the teenage phase, hiring a professional K-9 trainer if you need to, your reward will be a well-behaved, well-trained adult dog that will guard, defend and protect you with their life.
Other Transitional Period Physical And Behavioral Developments
During the transitional period of German Shepherd development, their teeth will start to erupt, and puppies will become efficient crawlers and even start to walk and explore their surroundings.
They also become more independent and are able to urinate and excrete without assistance. At around 4 weeks, your German Shepherd puppy will change from grunting to barking and growling.
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Are Puppy Paws An Indicator Of Adult Weight
Your German Shepherds paws can be a good indicator of his adult size and weight, but its not entirely accurate. However, for the most part, larger paws mean that your dog will be higher in weight and height. This is simply because your larger-sized dog such as a German Shepherd needs paws that are large enough to support him.;
Think about it this way could you imagine your German Shepherds puppy feet on a Greyhound? They would look ridiculous, right? Could you also imagine Chihuahua-sized feet on your German Shepherd puppy? I guess not he would be falling all over the place!
However, you have to keep in mind that this method of guessing your dogs adult weight and height is not entirely foolproof. Dogs can grow at different speeds, and sometimes their paws may look disproportionate. Does that mean hes going to be a smaller, leaner German Shepherd? Certainly not as he may be about to go through a major growth spurt.
My female German Shepherd is a classic example of this. As an adult, she weighs a huge 88 pounds and she is exceptionally tall standing at a height of 27 inches she is therefore nicely proportioned. However, as you can see from the below pictures, her paws at both 8 and 11 weeks certainly do not appear overly big!
- Willows paws at 8 weeks
- Willows paws at 11 weeks
How Getting Your Gsd Spayed Or Neutered Can Impact Puppy Growth
Another vitally important fact that many German Shepherd owners do not realize until it is too late is that the timing of spay or neuter procedures can greatly affect puppy growth.
As the Journal of Veterinary Medicine and Science explains, a dog that is neutered or spayed too early is then at risk for a whole range of health issues later in life.
This includes continued growth past what the breed standard suggests is normal or healthy for the German Shepherd dog breed.
Why does having your German Shepherd puppy spayed or neutered too early potentially cause your dog to grow larger than is normal for the breed?
The reason is that the spay or neuter surgery turns off important sex hormones that interact with the soft growth plates in the long leg bones.
When those hormones are removed from the dogs body through spay/neuter surgery, the growth plates will stay soft for longer and keep telling the long leg bones to grow more and more.
This can result in a very tall dog that has more issues with bones, joints, and tissues.
As the University of California at Davis points out, when the growth plates in a German Shepherds leg bones do not close on time, each of the following serious health issues can arise.
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