There are some important things to know when trying to figure out big your puppy will be fully grown. This is important information for people who really want to get a puppy of any breed that will stay a certain size – and just as a side note most of my clients are second-time buyers who are willing to spend the money to get a puppy that actually will stay small. Who bought a Yorkie before that the breeder said would be 5 lbs, and ends up at 10 lbs.

1. The older a puppy is the more accurate the charting is using the puppy weight chart.
2. The size of the parents is an indicator of the size of puppies. The problem I see the most is when you find a puppy from a bigger mom, say 7 pounds, and then a 2.5-pound dad. The problem is that the 2.5-pound dad could have parents that are both 7 lbs. The genetics that affects a puppy’s size goes back 5 generations. So it’s important to know what’s behind each parent.
3. Puppies can flip flop – I have seen puppies that chart small and their sibling charts big, and when they are full-grown, the one charting smaller got huge, and the one charting bigger stayed tiny. Charting using the puppy weight chart is not 100%, genetics is very complex, and charting them is only an indicator.
4. Another helpful indicator is paw size. Compare a puppy’s paw to its littermates. Paws can be an indicator of a larger or smaller puppy at adult weight.
5. Good breeders that have been breeding for years, know their lines going back generations, they know what a bitch will produce, and what is behind the parents. If a breeder buys a dog from another breeding program they should ask how big the dogs behind that puppy are to get an idea.
6. Sometimes a small stud will throw big puppies when tied with any size of the female, genetics is the key here in determining how big your puppy will be full grown. Look at past litters from the same parents if possible. Some male or female parents will have strong genetics to throw big or small or mix size puppies. If one parent has strong genetics determining size, it won’t matter who they are bred with they will continue to produce that size.
7. I personally have had great success with EMBARK testing. If you do the full panel, they also give you a size predictor. They do have a coupon code for your first DNA kit the code is: TRYEMBA99. All you do is order it, and swab their cheek. It’s simple, here is a link to order the kit https://shop.embarkvet.com/products/embark-dog-dna-test-kit
8. Take all these things into consideration – None of the indicators are solid on their own. You need to look at all these factors and put them all together to get the best idea of how big your puppy will be fully grown. Thanks for reading!