Every dog has a different growth curve
Whether small, medium, large or giant, puppies all have different growth curves.
Growth is a decisive stage in a dog’s life and determines his future disposition and morphology.
Weight growth curves
To determine if a puppy’s growth is normal, veterinarians have several average growth curve references for males and females that allow them to check a puppy’s weight development from birth to adulthood. The daily weight gain increases after birth to reach a peak of variable length, decreasing as the animal nears maturity (adult age and weight). While a puppy’s weight increases rapidly, at about 5 to 10% a day over the first weeks, an examination of growth curve references for many breeds show that small breeds, with a slow and early growth rate, are fairly heavy at birth and at weaning, relative to their adult weight. Larger breeds have a relatively low birth weight and register sharp and sustained growth.
Significant differences in precocity according to breeds
Differences between dog breeds are observed at birth. A Miniature Poodle bitch gives birth to 1 to 3 puppies each weighing between 150g and 200g. A Newfoundland bitch gives birth to 8 to 10 puppies with their weight fluctuating between 600g and 700g. A giant breed adult weighs 25 times more than a small breed adult and has birth weight ratio of only at 1 to 6. Reaching an adult’s stature and weight is vastly different for many breeds:
- Half an adult’s weight is reached at about 3 months of age for a small breed puppy and about 5 to 6 months for a large breed puppy;
- A Miniature Poodle reaches adult weight at about 8 months of age having multiplied his birth weight by 20. A Newfoundland is still growing at 18 to 24 months of age multiplying his birth weight by nearly 100!
It is essential to understand these differences and biological behaviour during the growth phase. They explain the need for Health Nutrition suited not only to a puppy’s age, but also to his size and breed.
Knowing your puppy means respecting him. It means helping your puppy build the foundation of his present and future health and well-being.
/&apercu=/var/royalcanin/storage/images/media/multimedia/master-videos-provided-by-campus/ez-corporate-video/puppies-videos-for-ez-corporate-website/growth-anatomy-and-puberty/3214-8-eng-GB/growth-anatomy-and-puberty.jpg "Growth, anatomy and puberty"){kind=small}
