How Much Weight Should a Puppy Gain Per Week? By Size

Weighing your puppy every week and wondering if those numbers look right? How much weight should a puppy gain per week depends almost entirely on how big they'll be as an adult. Toy breeds gain about 3–5 ounces per week during peak growth, small breeds gain 5–10 ounces, medium breeds gain 1–1.5 pounds, large breeds gain 2–2.5 pounds, and giant breeds can add 4–5 pounds per week. But these numbers only apply during the fastest growth phase — and they drop off significantly as puppies age. Here's what to actually expect at each stage.

How much weight should a puppy gain per week, by size

The table below shows expected weekly weight gain during peak growth (roughly 8–16 weeks of age), when puppies are growing fastest. These figures are derived from veterinary growth data from Salt et al. (2017) — a PLOS ONE study built on over 8 million vet-measured weight records from Banfield Pet Hospitals. You can read more about how our growth predictions work if you want to dig into the methodology.

Size Category	Adult Weight Range	Peak Weekly Gain (8–16 wks)	Example Breeds
Toy	Up to 14 lbs	3–5 oz (0.2–0.3 lbs)	Chihuahua, Maltese, Pomeranian
Small	14–25 lbs	5–10 oz (0.3–0.6 lbs)	Beagle, Dachshund, Cocker Spaniel
Medium	25–50 lbs	1–1.5 lbs	Border Collie, Bulldog, Australian Shepherd
Large	50–90 lbs	2–2.5 lbs	Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd
Giant	90+ lbs	4–5 lbs	Great Dane, Saint Bernard, Newfoundland

These are peak growth numbers. By the time your puppy reaches 6 months, those weekly gains will be considerably smaller — we'll cover how they change by phase below.

Not sure which size category your puppy falls into? Use our puppy weight calculator to get a breed-specific growth curve and see exactly where your dog is tracking right now.

How puppy weight gain changes as they age

The weekly gains above only apply during peak growth. The truth is that a puppy's rate of weight gain follows a characteristic S-curve: it starts slow, accelerates to a peak, then gradually tapers off as the puppy approaches adult size. Understanding where your puppy sits on that curve is more useful than any single weekly number.

Here's how weekly weight gain changes across key growth phases, using a large breed puppy with a 70-lb adult weight as an example (based on our analysis of veterinary growth data):

Age Phase	Approximate Weekly Gain	% of Adult Weight at Start
8–12 weeks	~2.0 lbs/week	16.2%
12–16 weeks	~2.4 lbs/week (peak)	27.9%
4–6 months (16–24 weeks)	~2.1 lbs/week	41.4%
6–9 months (24–36 weeks)	~1.3 lbs/week	65.7%
9–12 months (36–52 weeks)	~0.4 lbs/week	87.8%

Notice the dramatic slowdown. A large breed puppy gaining around 2.4 lbs/week at 3 months is gaining less than 0.4 lbs/week by 9–12 months. This is completely normal — it doesn't mean something is wrong. Growth isn't linear; the rate naturally decelerates as your puppy approaches their adult size.

For small and toy breeds, the same pattern plays out on a smaller scale but faster: a toy puppy may gain 5 oz/week at 10 weeks but less than 1 oz/week by 5 months. For giant breeds, the slow-down is more stretched out — a Great Dane puppy is still actively growing well past 12 months, just at a slower weekly rate than during those explosive early months.

When is puppy weight gain the fastest?

Puppies don't gain weight at a steady rate — there's a specific point in their development where the rate of gain peaks before gradually slowing down. In growth modeling, this is called the inflection point of the growth curve: the week where weekly gain is at its maximum.

Based on veterinary growth data from Salt et al. (2017), the inflection point varies significantly by breed size:

• Toy breeds: Peak growth rate around week 10
• Small breeds: Peak growth rate around week 14
• Medium breeds: Peak growth rate around week 18
• Large breeds: Peak growth rate around week 23
• Giant breeds: Peak growth rate around week 30

What does this mean practically? A toy breed puppy has already passed its fastest growth period by the time it comes home at 8 weeks. A large breed puppy is still accelerating toward its growth peak at 8 weeks — gains are increasing week-over-week until around 5–6 months of age, then they begin to taper.

For giant breeds like Great Danes and Saint Bernards, the inflection point lands around 7 months. That's why giant breed puppies can look startlingly different from week to week even through their first year — the fastest growth phase extends much further into puppyhood than most owners expect.

Want to see where your puppy is on this curve? Our free puppy weight calculator plots your dog's current weight against their breed-specific growth trajectory so you can see whether gains are tracking ahead, behind, or right on target.

What percentage of adult weight your puppy is at each stage

One of the most useful ways to think about weekly weight gain is in terms of how far along the growth journey your puppy is. These exact figures come from our analysis of 8 million vet-measured weight records:

At 8 weeks old (when most puppies come home):

• Toy breed males: 31.0% of adult weight
• Small breed males: 26.2% of adult weight
• Medium breed males: 22.0% of adult weight
• Large breed males: 16.2% of adult weight
• Giant breed males: 12.4% of adult weight

At 16 weeks old (4 months):

• Toy breed males: 58.5% of adult weight
• Small breed males: 54.1% of adult weight
• Medium breed males: 49.4% of adult weight
• Large breed males: 41.4% of adult weight
• Giant breed males: 35.2% of adult weight

The gap between small and large breeds is striking. A toy puppy at 16 weeks is already over halfway to adult size. A large breed puppy at the same age has only crossed the 40% mark — they still have more than half their total growth ahead of them. This is why feeding guidelines, exercise restrictions, and joint-health considerations are very different between a 4-month-old Chihuahua and a 4-month-old German Shepherd.

For a deeper look at what's happening at each milestone, our puppy growth stages guide covers the developmental picture alongside the weight data.

Signs your puppy is gaining weight on track

Weekly weight gain numbers are useful, but they're not the only signal to watch. Body condition tells you things that the scale alone doesn't. A healthy puppy should:

• Have palpable ribs without them being visibly prominent. Run your fingers along your puppy's ribcage. You should feel the ribs with light pressure but not see them from across the room. This is the classic body condition check — no scale required.
• Show a visible waist when viewed from above. Even growing puppies should have a slight tuck at the waist. A puppy that looks uniformly round with no waist definition may be gaining too much fat, not just lean mass.
• Have energy appropriate for their age. A puppy in healthy growth is active and interested in play when awake. Lethargy outside of normal sleep periods can indicate illness that may also be affecting weight gain.
• Gain weight consistently over time. Minor fluctuations week-to-week are normal. What matters is the trend over weeks and months — steady upward movement in weight with normal body condition is the goal.

Your vet will also assess body condition at each checkup using a formal body condition score (BCS) scale from 1–9, where 4–5 is ideal for growing puppies. This gives you an objective benchmark beyond just the number on the scale.

When to worry: too slow, too fast, or none at all

Not gaining enough

If your puppy's weight is flat or trending down over two or more consecutive weeks, that's worth a call to your vet. The most common culprits:

• Intestinal parasites. Roundworms, hookworms, and other internal parasites are extremely common in puppies. They compete directly for nutrients and can significantly suppress weight gain. Regular deworming and fecal testing during the first year is standard care — and if your puppy seems underdeveloped, a fecal exam should be one of the first things you check.
• Inadequate food intake. Puppies may not be eating enough due to competition from littermates (if in a multi-puppy household), stress in a new environment, or simply being underfed. Make sure you're feeding according to the puppy-food guidelines and adjusting as your puppy grows.
• Illness. Any systemic illness — from parvovirus to a simple gastrointestinal upset — can temporarily suppress appetite and weight gain. A sick puppy that's not eating should be seen by a vet promptly.

Gaining too fast (especially in large breeds)

For small and toy breeds, rapid weight gain usually just means your puppy is a bit overfed and getting chubby — which is easy to address by reducing portions. For large and giant breed puppies, though, gaining too fast is a more serious concern.

Rapid early growth in large breeds puts excessive mechanical stress on developing joints and is strongly associated with orthopedic problems including hip dysplasia and osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD). The joints are being loaded faster than the bone and cartilage can properly mature. This is why large breed puppy foods are specifically formulated to support steady growth — not the fastest possible growth. If your large breed puppy seems to be putting on weight noticeably faster than the ranges above, it's worth reviewing food portions and caloric intake with your vet. More on this in our post on when large breed puppies stop growing.

How to track your puppy's weight at home

Tracking weekly or bi-weekly weight is one of the most practical things you can do as a new puppy owner. Here's how to do it reliably:

Use a baby scale for small and toy breeds

A kitchen food scale or baby scale works well for puppies under about 20 lbs. Weigh them at the same time of day (before a meal) and record the number. Consistency matters more than precision — same scale, same time, same conditions each week.

Use the "hold and subtract" method for larger puppies

Step on a bathroom scale yourself, note your weight, then pick up your puppy and weigh yourself again. Subtract your weight — what's left is your puppy's weight. It's not lab-grade precision, but it's accurate enough to track trends.

Weigh at your vet clinic

Most veterinary clinics will let you drop in for a quick weigh-in even without an appointment. If you're uncertain about your puppy's growth rate, a free clinic weigh-in every 2–4 weeks gives you clean data on a calibrated scale.

Plot against a growth curve

A single weight tells you very little. A weight plotted against a growth curve tells you whether your puppy is ahead, on track, or behind for their breed. Our puppy weight calculator generates a breed-specific growth curve and shows you exactly where your puppy sits on that curve — which is far more useful than comparing to a generic chart.

Track monthly once growth slows

During the first 4–6 months, weekly weighing is worthwhile because gains are large and fast. After 6 months, most owners can shift to monthly weigh-ins, since weekly gains have slowed to the point where the trend is clearer over longer intervals.

What affects how much weight a puppy gains per week

Genetics and breed

Breed determines the template. A puppy's ultimate adult size — and therefore how much it gains each week on the path there — is set by genetics before they're born. Purebred puppies are fairly predictable; for mixed breeds, the math gets trickier. Our calculator can work backwards from current weight and age to estimate adult size even for mixed breeds.

Sex

Males typically gain a bit more per week than females and reach a higher final weight. The difference is modest in terms of weekly gains but adds up over time. A male Labrador averaging 65–80 lbs fully grown will gain slightly more per week than a female Lab averaging 55–70 lbs, even though the weekly growth rate (as a percentage of adult weight) is similar. If you're tracking against breed growth curves, make sure you're using sex-matched data — our calculator accounts for this automatically.

Nutrition

Puppies require roughly twice the calories per pound of body weight compared to adult dogs. The key variables are total caloric intake and the balance of protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus. Under-feeding suppresses gains; overfeeding can push growth faster than the skeleton and joints can handle — particularly risky in large breeds. Feed a food specifically labeled for puppies (and "large breed" puppies if your dog will exceed 50 lbs) and follow the feeding guidelines on the packaging, adjusting based on body condition.

Health and parasite status

Intestinal parasites are the most commonly overlooked factor in below-normal puppy weight gain. A heavily parasitized puppy can eat well and still fail to gain because the nutrients are being shared with unwanted guests. Routine deworming at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age (before adoption) and fecal testing at the first vet visit are standard. If your puppy is consistently gaining less than expected and body condition is poor, this should be near the top of the differential list.

Curious how your puppy's current weight compares to the expected growth curve for their breed? Try our free puppy weight calculator — enter your puppy's breed, age, and current weight to see where they stand.

Puppy weight gain FAQ

How much weight should a puppy gain per week?

It depends on their size at adulthood. During peak growth (8–16 weeks), toy breeds gain roughly 3–5 oz per week, small breeds 5–10 oz, medium breeds 1–1.5 lbs, large breeds 2–2.5 lbs, and giant breeds 4–5 lbs. These figures come from veterinary growth data from Salt et al. (2017), covering over 8 million vet-measured weight records. Weekly gains slow considerably after 6 months of age for all size categories.

How much should a newborn puppy gain per day?

Healthy newborns should gain about 5–10% of their body weight per day during the first two weeks of life. Most puppies double their birth weight within 7–10 days when nursing adequately. A puppy that fails to gain weight or loses weight in the first week is at serious risk and needs veterinary attention quickly — neonatal puppies have very little reserve.

When is puppy weight gain the fastest?

The peak rate of weekly gain — the inflection point of the growth curve — falls at different ages by breed size. Based on growth modeling of veterinary data, it's around week 10 for toy breeds, week 14 for small, week 18 for medium, week 23 for large, and week 30 for giant breeds. Before the inflection, weekly gains are increasing. After it, they're still positive but gradually declining week over week.

My puppy isn't gaining weight — should I be worried?

A flat weight over two or more consecutive weeks warrants a vet call. The most common causes are intestinal parasites, inadequate food intake, or illness. A single slow week within an otherwise healthy, upward trend is less concerning — puppies aren't perfectly linear growers. If your puppy has good energy, a healthy coat, and a good appetite, a brief plateau is usually not alarming. Persistent flat or declining weight is.

Is it normal for puppies to gain weight inconsistently?

Yes. Some week-to-week variation is completely normal. Puppies don't grow in a perfectly straight line — brief plateaus and small spurts are part of normal development. What matters is the overall trend over weeks and months. If the general direction is upward and your puppy has good energy and appetite, minor fluctuations are expected and not a concern.

Can a puppy gain weight too fast?

Yes, and it's a particular concern in large and giant breeds. Rapid early growth puts excess stress on developing joints and has been strongly linked to orthopedic problems like hip dysplasia and osteochondrosis. Large breed puppy foods are formulated to support controlled, steady growth rather than maximum growth speed. If your large breed puppy is consistently tracking above the expected weight range for their age, it's worth discussing portion sizes with your vet. Small and toy breeds are less susceptible to joint problems from rapid growth, but obesity carries its own long-term health risks regardless of size.

For small breeds wondering about the end of the growth journey, check out when small dogs stop growing — it covers the full timeline through adulthood.

Knowing the expected weekly range for your puppy's size is useful, but a growth curve tailored to your specific breed tells you far more. Use our free puppy weight calculator to plot your puppy's current weight against their breed-specific trajectory and see whether they're right on track.