How old do dogs grow?

As soon as a four-legged pet appears in the house of unknown origin, a lot of questions arise about how he grows up, who he will look like, become big or remain small. If we are talking about a purebred puppy, then there is no particular difficulty about the future exterior - you can look at his parents or other representatives of the breed. But for any dogs there are certain rules and canons of growth at different ages. And so, until what age do dogs grow?

The growth of dogs of various breeds

In most cases, puppies intensively grow up to 6 months, among representatives of small breeds growth slows down earlier than that of larger ones.

Large breed puppies grow and form after six months of age, although not so fast. Consider the growth of some breeds:

Pekingese - these small dogs grow on average up to 9 months, males often up to a year.
Yorkshire terriers - their growth lasts up to 7-8 months.
Chihuahuas - very small and fragile puppies grow to 8 months, and after a year they grow stronger.
Dachshund - the growth of puppies stops at 8 months, after that they continue to grow, but only in width.
Pug - the growth of these puppies varies - it can stop in six months or continue up to 9 months, while they intensively gain weight.
Rottweilers are powerful and large breed, puppies grow up to 12 months, but the development of a muscular corset occurs up to 2 years of age.
German Shepherd - active growth is observed up to a year, and the dog is fully formed by two years.

But it should be borne in mind that the above data are only average figures, because in addition to the ratio to the breed, there is also a mass of equally important factors affecting the growth and development of the dog:

proper, balanced diet;
the absence or presence of training ;
pet maintenance conditions;
hereditary predisposition to diseases.

It will be useful to read:

Stages of development and growth of dogs

A healthy, normally developed puppy must grow in accordance with a certain regularity. In such a concept as growth, several stages are included:

puppy weight changes;
body height;
external changes (exterior);
physiological features.

The concepts of growth and development have different meanings, but if the pet is healthy, they occur in a timely manner. There are several stages of growth and development of puppies:

The first stage is considered to be the period when the puppy is still in the womb. This period is very important, since it is there that the main qualities of the future dog are laid. And here it is worth more carefully to choose a future family member, based on the data on his parents, the reputation of breeders.
The second stage is the time when the baby is breastfed, the so-called lactation period, which lasts from birth to one and a half months. At this time, the breeder is responsible for the well-being and growth of the babies, and he also bears full responsibility for the small pets. If the puppy is strong and future owners have the experience of feeding monthly puppies, then you can separate him from the mother a little earlier in order to be fully confident in his proper feeding and further growth.
The third stage is longer, lasts from 1.5 to 6 months. Most often in this time period, puppies and find themselves at the new owners. At this time, the puppy is growing very intensively, he has a change of milk teeth. Here, the owner is solely responsible for all processes.
The fourth stage - from 16 to 12 months, is quite diverse and proceeds depending on the puppy breed. It can be accompanied by active growth, its slowdown or a complete stop.
The fifth stage is no longer the growth of a puppy, but the processes of formation of an adult, albeit young, dog. Its duration is on average 2-2.5 years. Stopping in growth, the animal continues to gain muscle mass.

It is important to have an idea of which measurement data is correct in one or another period. Of course, there are no exact numbers, but nevertheless a certain tendency can be traced.

Period from birth to 6 months

From birth to half a year a healthy active puppy should increase in weight three times, and grow up at the withers by two. At this time, dogs grow only in height.

This stage is characterized by the cessation of tubular growth. Therefore, it is very important that at this time everything is formed according to the norm. Improper, unbalanced nutrition, serious diseases that have been transferred can negatively affect the development of the bone skeleton, as a result, deformations and obvious violations will appear that cannot be corrected.

In this case, an adult individual will have the wrong proportions of the body, which will put an end to exhibitions and participation in competitions.

Growth puppies older than 6 months

In puppies from six months of age there is a growth of flat bones, that is, the breast bone is actively developing, pets grow, but already in width. These processes intensively last about 6 months, and after a year the growth continues, but at a slower pace.

The bone frame of the dog is fully formed by three years. Small breeds finish developing much earlier than large ones.

The growth of the pet is influenced by the first mating, after it the growth of the animal stops completely. This is one of the reasons to avoid early bonding , so as not to disrupt the development and growth of the dog.

To fix metric data, it is necessary to measure a dog and record all data at certain periods. Household scales can be used to weigh a puppy, but if the pet belongs to large breeds - St. Bernards , Caucasian Shepherd Dogs , then large trade scales will be needed.

In addition, the following parameters are measured:

girth of the sternum;
height (height at withers);
length of the hind and front feet.

To remove them, centimeter ribbons, tape measures and rulers are used.

Until six months of age, it is recommended to measure a pet every 10 days, at a later age it will be enough once a month.

Proper puppy feeding

Great importance for the growth and development of the dog has its food. Ideally, the diet, including the number of feedings, the composition of the diet, coming from individual and pedigree characteristics, should be developed by a canine.

On average, a puppy up to 3 months should eat at least 5-6 times a day. The grown-up pet is gradually transferred to four meals a day. From 6 months the number of feedings can be reduced to two, as for an adult dog.

Do not forget that since six months the pet has an intensive set of muscle mass, so the diet should be enriched with proteins, vitamins and trace elements .

Dog owners have a choice - to feed the pet with natural products or with ready-made feeds - dry or wet. Sometimes there is a successful combination of these two types.

If the puppy owner chooses to feed with a dry or wet type of food, then he should choose a good super-premium food . Such products contain all the important micro and macronutrients, vitamins, a sufficient amount of protein, carbohydrate fats. The balance of the finished feed affects the normal development of the puppy. In addition, most manufacturers, producing such products, take into account age-related features and other nuances.

Those owners who prefer natural nutrition should follow the following recommendations:

Exclude from food too spicy, fatty, smoked, salty food.
The fish is best to buy sea, pre-boil it. Raw fish and meat can lead to infection by helminthic invasions.
The bones are poorly digested, so it is not advisable to give them a bite to the pet.
Sweets and chocolate lead to diabetes , disturbances in the activity of the cardiovascular system, loss of vision and teeth, so their use is excluded.
You can give low-fat cheese, cottage cheese, boiled meat, raisins, dried fruits, etc.
Food should be at room temperature so as not to disturb the digestive process.

Proper feeding , caring care and attentive attitude to the pet will help him grow and develop normally.