At What Age do Dogs Stop Growing?

Once a dog reaches maturity, that is when they stop growing and reach their final size. When mature, these dogs may gain weight, but growing in actual size is unlikely.

If you have a mixed-breed puppy, it may prove a little trickier calculating its growth, which is why we’re here to help you! If you know one or both of the puppy’s parents and their breed, this information can greatly aid you in calculating how big your puppy will grow. A puppy will generally grow (more or less) the same size as one of its parents, unless there is a noticeable difference in their sizes. It’s also possible that sizes among mixed-bred litters are variable.

Wide and long-legged puppies generally reach a large size, but this too can depend, since some medium-size dog breeds can also carry this feature. It will be easier to determine the growth size of a dog when a puppy is slightly older. For example, a dog of roughly 6 months in age will already have nearly reached its maximum size. A dog will reach its medium size at approximately 4 month of age, both in weight and height at the cross, but this corresponds mainly to medium-sized dogs and again, varies largely according to breed.

But if you’re wondering, ‘‘At what age is a small dog full grown?’’ It’s important to know that smaller dog breeds usually reach their maximum size earlier than larger breeds.

For more, we recommend reading our article where we calculate a dog’s age in human years.

At what age dogs stop growing? This size is greatly linked to age. When a dog reaches sexual maturity, this usually marks the end of the puppy stage. This does, however, depend on the breed of the dog.

Small or mini-sized dog breeds stop being puppies from about 6 months, coinciding with the arrival of heat in females and sexual maturity in males. This is prolonged in medium-sized dogs of approximately 10 to 25 kg. In this case, maturity and/or heat can occur at 8-9 months, although it can sometimes take up to 12 months. Finally, large dog breeds are only considered puppies up until 18-24 months.

However, it is also important to note that the end of physical growth does not always coincide with the end of a dog’s puppy stage. Therefore, although a dog may not grow anymore, it doesn’t mean it is not still a puppy, as it may have not yet reached heat or sexual maturity.

For more, we recommend reading our article where we discuss dog heat stages and symptoms.

Data provided about the onset of heat or sexual maturity should be considered our main guides on when a dog stops growing. But, as we’ve seen, this growth will depend on a dog’s size. Therefore, once a dog experiences its first heat or we perceive that our male dog begins to show interest in females, you can conclude that your big or small dog will stop growing.

In large dog breed, this will happen between 6 and even 24 months, from this time, a dog may gain weight and grow a little, but it will have practically reached its adult size. In the case of dogs that have been sterilized or spayed before heat, they may still grow and gain weight due to the fact that they haven’t fully developed. For more, read, ‘‘I don’t want my dog to have puppies.’’

As we can see, knowing at when a dog stop growing generally requires the specific characteristics of the dog’s breed. Therefore, if, for example, you’re wondering when do German shepherds stop growing or when do Pitbulls stop growing or when do labs stop growing, it will be necessary to consult the average weight or time that the specific breed usually reaches at adulthood. For more, read, ‘‘At what age does a Yorkshire Terrier Stop Growing?’’

Knowing at what age mixed dogs stop growing can prove to be a little more complicated. If you adopt your mixed puppy very young, you may need to wait roughly 2 months until you can notice whether its features offer some information about its mix.

All dogs develop quite quickly during their first weeks of life but, very small dogs usually reach their adult size at roughly 3 months and this growth will slow down. In medium sized mixed breeds, this slowdown occurs at approximately 4-6 months and in large mixed dogs, at 6 . By periodically controlling your dog’s the weight, you can place your dog into one of these groups: small, medium or large.

For more, read about the advantages of having a mixed-breed dog.

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