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How Much Should A 1 Year Old German Shepherd Weight

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In Health, Training and Behavior by German Shepherd Dogs LifestyleJanuary 2, 2018

If youve had your German shepherds since they where pups, then you know full well the growth explosion that occurs.

Some days, it can feel like your beautiful, intelligent fur baby is turning into the Hulk, growing before your eyes.

A healthy newborn large breed German shepherd pup will usually double its birth weight in the first week of its life.

Some German shepherds mature slowly. In general, a German shepherd usually reaches physical adulthood at one and a half to two years of age. Their average weight range is between 48 and 71 pounds. Many variables go into this, so read on to make sure youre gaining a holistic view of your dogs weight.

These numbers are averages and not set in stone. Your dog is organic and made of cells that are continually moving and growing.

These are the average weights for full-grown German shepherds:

  • Male: 30 to 40 kg.
  • Female: 22 to 32 kg.
Are Your German Shepherds Overweight?

Letting your German shepherds become overweight can lead to dramatic health problems, such as:

  • Illnesses
  • Heart disease
  • Trouble breathing
  • Weight is a super-essential indicator of the health of your German Shepherd dogs. Weight gives you a gauge of if feeding is healthy for growth and if that feeding is in the correct balance.
What is the Standard Weight for German Shepherd Dogs?
Weight Numbers are Only Averages
Evaluating your German Shepherd Dogs Condition

German Shepherd Height Charts

You can use this chart to check to see if your German Shepherds growth is on track. As with weight, there will be some dogs that fall outside of the ranges listed here, but thats normal as long as your dog is otherwise healthy.

Male German Shepherd Growth/Height Chart

Age
22 24 / 55 60 cm 100%

Sexual Maturity Period: 6 Months 16 Months

As you already guessed, this is the point at which your German Shepherd will reach sexual maturity. By the end of this stage, they will mostly look like an adult dog, though theyll still have some growing to do.

The most important thing you should do for your dog at this point is spay or neuter them. If you are planning on breeding your dog, then youll need to make sure they have good hips and overall formation to improve the breed.

Some developmental milestones during this period are:

  • Have all adult teeth
  • Intact females begin having heat cycles
  • Ears are standing upright on their own
  • Intact males reach sexual maturity
  • Strong pack bonds are formed

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How Long Do Other Dog Breeds Grow

  • Small dog breeds such as the Chihuahua grow up in about 6 months.
  • Medium sized dog breeds like the Shiba Inu grow to about 9 months.
  • Large dog breeds like the Labrador or the Golden Retriever are fully grown at 14 months.
  • Very big dogs like the St. Bernard are grown up with about 18 months.

In general you can say: A dog is fully grown when a female dog is in heat and the male dog starts to lift his leg.

But it can take a little longer until the final stature is reached. With small dog breeds this happens faster than with large dog breeds.

Swapping Puppy Food Brands

1 Year Old German Shepherd

You should initially feed the same diet the puppy was eating before you adopted them.

Consider continuing with this diet and then with the equivalent adult dog formulation.

If you plan to change to a different food do not do so in the first few weeks.

Then gradually include increasing proportions of the new food over a period of two to four weeks.

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A Typical German Shepherd Puppy Growth Chart And Timeline

Once youve gathered as much information as possible about your German Shepherd puppys parents, genes, and prior growth timeline, you can then plug this into the typical German Shepherd growth chart.

Lets now take a closer look at the typical growth chart for an average German Shepherd puppy. Just keep in mind that this is a template you can use, not a prediction of how fast your puppy might grow or how big your dog might get.

This is very important because you dont want to over-feed your dog too early in life. Let your dog grow at its own pace and check in with your dogs breeder and veterinarian frequently if you have any questions or concerns.

Teach Them Alone Skills

Hopefully, youre not leaving such a young pup on their own too often. But, its bound to happen that in the few weeks after getting your six-week-old German Shepherd youll need to return to work or your regular routine.

Dont just up and leave your baby GSD on its own!

To help them ease their anxiety about being alone, use the pet-safe partition gate to section off the room where your dog will stay.

Although they can see you, they cant follow you. The partition gate allows them to still feel close but teaches them about being alone.

Use these tips to help ease anxiety and work on leaving your new dog home alone in a safe, secure room with the pet-safe baby gate.

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When Do German Shepherds Stop Growing

Like many large breeds, a German Shepherd dog is not considered fully grown until they are about 18 months old. Female German Shepherds continue to fill out until they are around two years old, while the male German Shepherd growth rate continues until they reach two and a half years of age. Males are larger are require more time to fill out their chest and abdomen.

As you can see by the German Shepherd weight chart, these dogs can continue to grow until they are three years old, but the majority of growth occurs within 24 months. If your GSD is older than 36 months and continues to put on weight, contact your veterinarian to ensure weight gain does not lead to obesity.

How To Avoid Accidents

BARF Diet for working line German Shepherd

The best house training avoids letting your pup have any accidents in the first place.

  • Supervise your dog and dont let them out of your sight not even for one second. Keep them leashed to you for direct supervision. This prevents them from wandering away and finding a spot to relieve themselves.
  • Take them to the same place to go to the toilet. Their scent will have marked the spot and theyre more likely to do their business in the same spot.
  • Make sure you let your pup out at regular intervals and keep to a strict schedule to avoid accidents.
  • Clean up the mess indoors with a special carpet cleaner to get rid of the smell. Regular cleaners dont work. You need a special enzyme cleaner to remove traces of biological agents in their urine so they dont soil in the same spot over and over.
  • Offer plenty of praise when they do their business in the right spot! Pet them, scratch them, and give them a tasty treat after they do their business in the area you want.
  • At this young age, your pup cant even hold its bladder for two hours. Be on your most diligent behavior to get them outside often to avoid accidents!

Also Check: Why Is My German Shepherd So Anxious

Which Is Better A Gsd Or A German Shepherd

The female GSD may be easier to train and more sensitive to commands and cues. The female GSD may be a better pick for service dog or therapy dog work. The female German shepherd can be a better pick for rally, agility, and obedience training due to lighter weight, smaller size, and more graceful body structure.

The Body Weight Remains Important Even In Adult German Shepherds

Until the dog is 18 months old, its weight should be kept at the lower limit in any case.

Of course, it must also be ensured afterwards that the dog does not carry excess weight.

For this purpose the ribs should always be well palpable.

For a weight reduction it is important to know that this takes place to 90% via reduced food and only to 10% via increased activity.

In addition, it would be extremely unfavourable to spend hours on a bicycle with an overweight dog, as this would put a massive strain on his skeleton.

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The 4 Stages Of A Dogs Growth And Development

I think we can all agree that its difficult to figure out the best way to take care of your dogs health. Not knowing about a German shepherd average weight and height only adds to the list of problems.

As German Shepherds grow through the stages of their life, they also develop more health risks. But are the stages of a dogs life?

Learn About The Measurements Of Your Puppys Parents

Strong and Confident 1 Year Old German Shepherd

The next step to take in guesstimating your German Shepherd puppys adult height, weight, and size is to learn as much as you can about the mother and father dog.

Find out from your breeder what the exact height, weight, and length measurements are for each parent dog. You can also ask the breeder about how long it took each parent dog to complete its growth.

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German Shepherd Growth & Weight Chart

These numbers are estimates to give you an idea of how much a German Shepherd weighs month by month. Dont worry if your puppy is slightly behind or ahead just be sure to take your pet to regular vet appointments to ensure they are healthy and happy!

Pro Tip: Want to get reimbursed for up to 100% of veterinary bills any time your dog gets sick or injured? Compare German Shepherd health insurance options before its too late.

How Can I Bulk Up My Puppy

Here are some of the best human foods to help your dog bulk up:

  • Eggs Raw, scrambled, over easy.
  • Cottage Cheese Full fat.
  • Lean meat Raw or cooked to match their diet.
  • Quinoa It provides usable energy and is one of the only carbs that contains a full spectrum of essential amino acids needed for muscle building.
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    Feeding Guidelines By Weight

    German shepherds can be of different weight ranges. Thats why the feeding plan of your dog can be complicated. Fortunately, theres a calculation for the feeding amount of German shepherds according to weight.

    • Inactive German Shepherds: For every 1 kilogram your dog weighs, theyll need 40 calories a day.An average weighted German shepherd will then need 1400 calories per day. This only applies to German shepherds that do not exercise or inactive.
    • Active German Shepherds: In the case of active German shepherds that exercise regularly, every 1 kilogram equals to 55 calories per day.So an average weighted German shepherd will require 1925 calories per day to be able to function properly.

    Take note, however, that this calculation may be affected if the German shepherd has a health disorder concerned with metabolism or digestion.

    Diet: Best Food For German Shepherds

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    German Shepherd puppies need large breed specific diets.

    Many different brands offer large breed recipes for puppies, but a good option is Solid Golds Wolf Cub with real bison and oatmeal.

    It is a high-quality food enhanced with probiotics, which are essential in maintaining healthy GI systems.

    When your dog has reached full maturity than can be transitioned to an adult dog food.

    Be sure to choose a diet that meets your dogs activity level.

    If your German Shepherd is more active, you will want to put them on a specially formulated food for working dogs. If your dog is less active, you will want to choose a food lower in fat.

    German Shepherds do well with high protein diets since protein helps to develop and maintain muscles mass.

    If your dog doesnt require a diet containing grains, a high protein food made by Orijen, Acana, or Taste of the Wild would work best.

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    What Happens After Your German Shepherd Puppy Turns One Year Old

    As you likely have already noticed from reviewing the generic growth charts for a male and a female GSD puppy, puppies do a healthy chunk of their growth during the first six months of life.

    But this doesnt mean theyre done maturing not by a long shot!

    In fact, the average German Shepherd puppy will complete most of their height and length growth by the age of one.

    But they may continue to pack on the pounds for as long as another 24 months.

    Whats The First Stage Of German Shepherd Puppyhood

    The first stage is obviously puppyhood. It can last anywhere from 5 to 6 months, but most of the time, German shepherds finish puppyhood by their 6th months. Within these 6 months, the puppy will experience six stages. Each of them will help these puppies learn various things.

    10-year-old German Shepherd Unfortunately, a German Shepherds expected lifespan is between 9 and 13 years old, and their time left here is getting short. It is common for German Shepherds to face arthritis, skin problems, decreased activity, dental issues, weight gain or loss, or even cancer at this age and older.

    It is never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. As your dog begins to age, it will become essential to accommodate their needs. Many older German Shepherds will have hip problems.

    Read Also: German Shepherd Feeding Guide

    How To Increase A German Shepherds Weight

    You must cross-reference your dogs size with the growth chart. If both size and weight are greater than what the growth chart indicates as the standard, then your dog is simply the bigger kind, and you can chalk up the additional weight to natural body size.

    However, if your German Shepherd is the size that GSDs his age are supposed to be but is overweight, then chances are that hes putting on unhealthy weight that needs to be worked off.

    In short, the healthy weight adds to the height and overall size, whereas unhealthy weight doesnt affect your dogs size. The key is to discover this sooner than later. If your GSD looks like Danny Devito, you dont need to be a canine biologist to know that he isnt predisposed to being a big dog he just needs to be in better shape.

    Discovering early that your German Shepherd needs more exercise and better diet management means you have to go easy on him during physical training.

    German Shepherds have growth plates made of soft tissue that leaves room for limb bone growth. And if your dog runs or even goes on enthusiastic long walks outdoors, his growth plates might be at risk. Thats why you need to be careful how you exercise your GSD puppy.

    I have a post covering exercises for younger GSDs in detail but below are some principles that will help you decide your own exercises for German Shepherds whose growth plates are open.

    Weight German Shepherd Female

    5 Month Old Female German Shepherd Weight
    • at 3 months of age, the weight should be between 8 kg and 12 kg / 18 lbs. and 26 lbs.
    • at 6 months of age, the weight should be between 15 kg and 22 kg / 33 lbs. and 49 lbs.
    • with 1 year the weight should be between 21 and 31 kg / 46 lbs. and 68 lbs.
    • The adult weight should be between 22 kg and 32 kg / 49 lbs. and 71 lbs.

    Chart:

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    Exercise: How To Best Exercise Your German Shepherd

    Exercise is important to all dogs, but some dogs like German Shepherds need it more than others.

    If your German Shepherd doesnt get the proper amount of exercise, they could become destructive to your home or yard.

    Here are some great exercise options for German Shepherds.

    Fetch

    Fetch is an easy and fun way to exercise your dog.

    Fetch is a more intense form of exercise and can burn off a lot of energy quickly.

    Keep in mind if your dog has joint issues, this may not be the best option.

    Agility Courses

    Agility courses will help stimulate their mind as well as provide physical exercise.

    Agility for fun or competition is a wonderful way to bond with your dog as well as tire them out.

    Swimming

    This only works for dogs that enjoy the water keep in mind not all dogs know how to swim.

    Swimming is a full body workout for your dog and, combined with a game of fetch, is a lot of fun.

    Swimming is a low impact exercise so there is no concern about the impact on your dogs joints.

    Hiking

    How Does A German Shepherd Grow

    In contrast to humans, German Shepherds have only about 1 year time for their growth.

    It is therefore very important to avoid rearing and feeding mistakes during this phase, as there is hardly any time left for a correction of the diet or the joint problem.

    Skeletal defects, on the other hand, usually handicap a dog throughout its life.

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    Juvenile Period 3 Months 6 Months

    Between months 3 and 6, the puppies go through the juvenile period. The baby phase will have come to an end. They should be able to eat easily, interact with others, and should be on the brink of being housebroken. They will continue to grow steadily and are ready to be trained.

    They will begin to lose their milk teeth during this period as well, so keep an eye out for the risk of chewing items that you might not approve of. Having dog-approved chew toys on hand can help both the puppies and the owners get through the teething phase without frustration.

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