{"id":48739,"date":"2025-03-06T12:50:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T18:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/?p=48739"},"modified":"2025-03-17T19:27:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T00:27:54","slug":"when-do-puppies-stop-growing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/puppy\/when-do-puppies-stop-growing\/","title":{"rendered":"When Do Puppies Stop Growing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever adopted a young puppy<\/a>, it probably felt like they grew up overnight. One day they\u2019re a small bundle of fur, and the next they\u2019re a rebellious teenager ready to ignore everything they\u2019ve ever been taught. OK, so puppy growth isn\u2019t quite that fast, but compared to humans it\u2019s still pretty quick. It\u2019s also different for every puppy.<\/p>\n

At What Age Do Dogs Stop Growing?<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest factors affecting puppy growth rate is their breed. As you can see in the puppy growth chart below, small breeds like papillons will reach their mature size and weight a lot faster than giant breed pups like St. Bernards who can take up to two years to fully mature. Of course, every puppy is different, and some may grow faster or slower than the average growth rate of their breed.<\/p>\n

\"An
Adapted from Hawthorne AJ, Booles D, Nugent PA, Gettinby G, Wilkinson J. Body-weight changes during growth in puppies of different breeds. J Nutr. 2004;134(8 Suppl):2027S-2030S.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Puppy Growth Stages<\/h2>\n

Puppies grow at different rates, but most puppies experience their biggest growth spurt between 3 and 6 months of age. Somewhere between 4 and 8 months is when most dog breeds (except giant breeds) will reach 80 percent of their adult weight. Even after they\u2019ve reached their mature size they still continue to develop, adding fat and muscle for several more months.<\/p>\n

How Long Is a Dog a Puppy?<\/h2>\n

Puppies become adult dogs when they\u2019ve stopped growing, which is generally around 1 to 2 years of age. Small and some medium dog breeds reach their mature size slightly earlier at 8\u201310 months whereas other medium breeds take 9\u201312 months to reach their adult size. Larger breeds take 11\u201315 months to reach mature size, and some giant breeds can take 18\u201324 months to reach their massive size.<\/p>\n

When Do Puppies Start Walking?<\/h2>\n

For the first two weeks of a puppy\u2019s life they are completely reliant on their mom. They can\u2019t walk, their eyes are closed and their ears haven\u2019t fully developed yet. They rely on their sense of smell to find their mom and their next meal. Around two to three weeks is when puppies will start learning to walk and begin to open their eyes. Their ear canals open around three weeks of age.<\/p>\n

When Are Puppies Teenagers?<\/h2>\n

Puppy adolescence begins around 6 months of age when the puppy is becoming sexually mature and ends around adulthood. You may notice that they\u2019re ready to explore more confidently and independently and willing to push the boundaries like a rebellious teenager. Training a puppy<\/a> can be difficult during this period and they may be more reactive to new dogs and situations which is why continued socialization is important during this time.<\/p>\n

When Do Puppies Calm Down?<\/h2>\n

This can be a hard question to answer as every puppy is different. In general, puppies have probably calmed down significantly by 12 months of age. However, there are some breeds, like the German shorthaired pointer, that are known to keep their playful puppy exuberance well into adulthood. Other dogs will remain active and need plenty of exercise and mental stimulation throughout their whole life, in essence, never really \u201ccalming down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do Puppies Need Special Puppy Food?<\/h2>\n

All that growth needs fuel which is why a growing puppy has different nutrient requirements than an adult dog. In particular, puppies have a greater requirement for energy (calories), protein, amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, copper and zinc. Puppies can also benefit from increased amounts of the omega-3 fatty acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which helps support brain and vision development.<\/p>\n

When choosing a food for your small or medium breed puppy<\/a> (dogs less than 70 pounds as adults), look for one formulated for puppies or one that is formulated for \u201call life stages.\u201d This will ensure your puppy\u2019s nutrient needs are met.<\/p>\n

Large and giant breed puppies have different nutritional requirements than small and medium dog breeds. The American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) uses a mature size of 70 pounds and greater as the definition for a large breed. If your puppy is one of the larger breeds, look for a dog food label that says \u201clarge breed puppy<\/a>\u201d and has this AAFCO statement, \u201cFormulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages including growth of large size dogs (70 lb. or more as an adult).\u201d Larger dog breeds need a puppy formula that promotes a steady, healthy growth rate as a rapid growth rate can cause bone and joint problems.<\/p>\n

Puppies grow at different rates depending on their size, breed and genetics. You can help your furry friend grow at a healthy rate by feeding them a diet that provides all the nutrients their growing body needs. Ask your veterinarian which diet is right for your growing puppy.<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019ve ever adopted a young puppy, it probably felt like they grew up overnight. One day they\u2019re a small bundle of fur, and the next they\u2019re a rebellious teenager ready to ignore everything they\u2019ve ever been taught. OK, so puppy growth isn\u2019t quite that fast, but compared to humans it\u2019s still pretty quick. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":48746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"When Do Puppies Stop Growing? A Puppy Growth Guide","_seopress_titles_desc":"Learn when puppies stop growing, their growth stages & how to support their development with proper nutrition. Find out when your pup will reach adult size!","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[703],"tags":[134,54,652,699,698],"class_list":["post-48739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-puppy","tag-diamond-pet-foods","tag-dogs","tag-puppies","tag-puppy-adolescence","tag-puppy-growth-stages"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}