How big should he be?

[Rebekah Hartman]

I know that there really is no way to know how big a dog will be when there is no clear known history, but I wanted to ask anyway.

We have a 21-week-old Rottie/Shepherd mix. He weighs about 32.5 lbs. Having spoken with other people about dogs of the same/similar breeds, he seems a bit on the small side. He had Parvo at ~10 weeks, so I understand that may have either slowed down his growth or even stunted it (although I've talked to 2 vets and they each told me something different about that). When he got sick, he weighed about 14 lbs. and only weighed about 11-12 lbs. after he was officially deemed Parvo-free.

Everyone comments on the size of his paws, and he has gained weight steadily since then, but I was just curious if there is a way to have an idea where he should be as far as size/weight.

[Mario Niepel]

Rebekah, I think it is really difficult to judge with mixed breeds. I personally know a few Rottie/Shepherd mixes, with the smallest being under seventy pounds and the largest nearing 150lbs! With a range that big, I'm not sure how to figure out if your pup is right on track as far as his size is concerned.

Since your pup seems to be eating well and is gaining weight, I would not worry about it too much. Also, different pups grow at different rates. My Sammy grew much slower but for a longer period of time than Jake. By comparing their weights throughout their puppy months, I was sure that Sammy would be about half of Jake's weight and size. Well, it turns out that Sammy reached nearly seventy pounds when he was about 20 months old.

[Rebekah Hartman]

Thanks, Mario. I'm definitely not concerned about him, because he's gained weight at a steady rate for the last 11 weeks - actually, he's gained about 20 lbs over that timespan! At 2 lbs a week, I don't think I need to worry about growth. He's also kept at a nice, lean build - not too chunky, not too thin. I'm just curious what he might grow up to be....

[Grace Erick]

Rebekah, I read rotties can be about 115 pound for a male and 100 for a female, then German Shephards can be 77 pounds for a male and 60 for a female, so I guess it depends on which breed he will take after.

His sudden growth spurt may be him making up for lost time when he was ill. I know my friend's chi pups had a runt of the litter that as time passed grew to be as big as the rest.

[Clair Taberner]

i know where yr coming from rebekah, i wonder how big amber will be. she's a gsd and typically, as mentioned, f gsd's are 60 - 65pounds. however she weighs in at 66.1pounds at 8mnths! she still got upto 10mnths of growing!

[Hee Yung Lee]

My vet gave me a general rule that if you double their weight at 4 months it will give you a close estimation of what they'll weigh when full grown.

[Rebekah Hartman]

My husband's family had a GSD weighing in at 110 lbs, and he was definitely not fat. My neighbor has a Rottie/Shepherd mix that also weighs about 110, though he probably should be closer to 90-100 lbs. There's really no way to know, but I like hearing what other people have to say or have heard.

I've read the "double their weight at 4 months" estimate, too, but that would put him somewhere around 40-45 lbs and he already weighs 32. I weigh him about every 5-10 days and it's usually about 1-2 lbs increase every time.

Oh well, I guess time will tell. :shrug:

[Grace Erick]

It's pretty easy to tell a chis weight, but I think you really have to wait until they are close to being weined. They can start out a runt and really have a growth spurt.

There are chihuahua weight charts on the internet that will tell you within a certain amount, maybe 1/4 of a pound what your dog will be based on the age and current weight. It worked for my chi.

If a person buys a chi for a pet and to breed and does not check the weight chart, they can end up with a chi that is too small to breed which is okay by me since there are too many in rescues.