As breeders and as Weimaraner lovers, one of the most common questions we hear is, “How big will my puppy get?” Well, we hope we can help you figure it out! (Or at least provide some entertainment value and help keep the guessing game alive!)
So how big will he get? Unfortunately, there is no magical formula to give us an answer. Most often, we reply that you need to look at the size of your puppy’s parents and grandparents, if possible. Based on this, you can get a pretty good estimate about the size of your puppy as an adult. Where this gets tricky is if this information is unavailable or if the parents of your pup are overweight so you really can’t get a good idea of their “true” size.
There are plenty of 100lb “solid muscle” Weimaraners out there who should truly be down in the 75-80lb weight category. In addition, genetics can be tricky — as any breeder will tell you — and occasionally there will be a giant puppy or a midget born to two normal sized parents, which is why we recommend looking at grandparents as well.
Rate of growth also seems to be largely genetic, with some families of dogs growing much more slowly than others. Just because your dog hits 65lbs at 6 months doesn’t necessarily mean he will be a 100lb weimaraner. Unless you allow him to get fat!
Okay, we promised to help you figure our how big Mr. Nothing-But-Feet will get, so now on to the good part. We polled over a hundred owners of Weim puppies of various ages to get averages for both males and females at different ages. This is not a scientific method by any means but will help you get a basic idea where your pup stands on the curve.
We ran into one major issue when collecting this information: Most Weim puppies are a little bit FAT. And most Weim owners really had no idea. So before we give you our findings, we need to encourage you to show off a little rib, maybe even some hip bones in some cases. Don’t be scared! Skinny puppies are healthy puppies!
According to most research, overweight puppies have an increased risk of hip dysplasia as well as other joint, bone, and muscle problems. Your puppy is growing super fast until he’s around eight months old (when he should be 80% or more of his adult weight), and any extra stress on those joints can cause major problems as they get older. Some breeders will void a health contract if your puppy is overweight during these months — it’s that much of a risk factor!
Your puppy is also more likely to be overweight and less active as an adult if he is an overweight puppy. The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention found that 44% of pet dogs is obese, with that number growing at an alarming rate. They also polled veterinarians and found that many vets didn’t even recognize what a dog looked like in healthy, lean, working condition!
In addition to just being “a little pudgy,” your Weim pup is also getting more nutrition than he needs–a problem that is anything from benign in our breed. Extra Calcium can lead to problems like Osteochondritis (OCD), Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD), Wobblers, and other skeletal abnormalities.
Your puppy may have extra skin, but feel along his rib cage. What’s there? Rib bones should be easily felt. The muscles of his shoulders and thighs should be easily seen and firm to the touch. Hip bones may be easily seen and/or felt, depending on your dog’s structure. Some dogs will always show some hip, it’s just how they’re made.
As with an adult dog, when viewed from above, your pup should have an “hourglass” appearance, and his spine should be easy to feel but not prominent as long as he has a strong, straight topline. A “puppy belly” is normal and will be less noticeable as your dog gets older.
(If you think your Weimaraner may be fat, check out this article on how to determine if your Weim is fat.)
Your puppy will likely go through a stage of growth around four months when he is all legs. It is normal for him to look very slender to you during this time, he’ll grow out of it! Male dogs can be hard to keep weight on as they go through adolescence (age eight to 18 months) but females don’t seem to be quite as extreme in that regard.
You should also know that just because a pup is the biggest in his litter at eight weeks it does not guarantee that he will be the biggest. It only means that he eats the most as a puppy!
We hope you had some fun with this one. We did! Next time someone says “Wow, your dog is skinny” Take it as a compliment as say “Thank you!”
(Shameless plug: We discuss more puppy stuff in our ebook, Your New Weimaraner Puppy: How to Survive the First Six Months!)
I’ve shared this and the “Does This Collar Make Me Look Fat” post with a large group of folks who recently were discussing how to tell if your dog is fat or not. I’ve met more than few people who think that if you can see your dog’s ribs at all, it’s too thin.
Interesting topic! I am currently entertaining three 5 month old female puppies. I also have three adult bitches ages 10.5 (Puppies’ granddam) who weighs 54 #, a seven year old (Puppies’ dam) who weighs 52 # and a six year old (puppies aunt) who weighs 53 #. The adults range in height from 23.75 to 24.5. The puppies’ sire is a very moderate dog, I would say a little over 25″ and probably weighs a little over 60#.
The puppies are out of working parents; they’ve been going to a handling class for socialization, etc. Almost to a person everyone comments on how “skinny” they are, except for one couple who had owned a Weim in the past and said “Well finally a Weimaraner who is not too fat”.
We thought it would be interesting to show what “average” puppies weigh. Our dogs are also smaller (and skinnier!) than most, as we keep them in working condition. Interestingly as I plugged in numbers, my dogs were almost always under the curve, and ended up being smaller than the “average” as well: 50-56lbs and 23.5-25.5″ I have gotten comments about my puppies especially being too skinny during that 3-7 months stage. I take it as a compliment 🙂 Enjoy “entertaining” those puppies!
Thank you for all of the informative articles! As a new weimaraner owner, they have been very helpful. Many people have commented on how “skinny” my dog looks, but according to your articles she’s on the healthy side of normal.
Hi Jenny I have a female weimer her name is lilly she is over weight I started her a diet but she thinks she’s hungry all the time. Here’s my e- mail sherric615@gmail.com or if you would reply back i would appreicate it. Thanks. Maybe we can become sort of like pen pals? Thanks sherri
Oh thank heavens for this article. I swear I will go mad if one more person comments on how ‘skinny’ my puppy is or says “is it a whippet?”
I’ve really tried so hard to stick to my guns as I believe my 10 month old is growing perfectly but no-one else (apart from my vet) seems to agree. He’s highly energetic, healthy and very happy and bright eyed. Yes he is lean, tall and is showing ribs and hip bones. His muclses are developed in his shoulders and legs. He’s intact and is on Burns food. I’m so happy to have read this…it has reassured me no end ;))
Few things make me as sad as seeing overweight or obese weimaraners, and there are unfortunately a lot of them.
I think a lot of owners either don’t get theirs enough exercise or else feed them too much of the wrong food.
Enjoyed the chart and article very much. I found my first Weim 12 years ago. I visited a family breeder with no intention of taking home until I saw the sire, 100 lbs with a square head like a gray bear. I took the runt of the litter who became a skinny 85 lbs and 29″. He was my best friend for 12 years. Along the way we adopted an abandoned blue/almost black who is 28″ and a skinny 75 lbs. Our latest came from a big sire at 28″ and a very small dam, maybe 20″. We have been using the chart to guess his result, so far exactly the median weight at 10 months with a 25 inch height.
Weimaraners will always grow to the size of there environment.
If you keep them in a small aquarium, they will grow to be very small. If you provide them with a really large aquarium, they can become enormous.
I hope this helps answer your question!
This has been very helpful my pup Levi will be 4 months in two weeks he is 33 lb wide in the chest his dad was at the 100lb and mom 70lb so I feel he is on track I feel like he will end up around 80lb but after all that said I have had and been around a lot of dogs trained my own labs to retrevi and hand signals this dog has a lot of personality and his traing has to come a little different I think that get board a little easily as in ok I have got this next thank all of you