When do puppies stop growing?

With such an enormous variety of dog breeds, not to mention crossbreeds, there’s also huge variation in their growth. 

Different size dogs tend to grow at different rates, so if your puppy is a toy breed, such as a Yorkshire Terrier, you’ll find that they are not too far from their adult size by the time they are around six months old. In contrast, if you have a giant dog breed, for example, a Great Dane, they will carry on growing for much longer, potentially up to their second birthday! Medium to large breeds will fall somewhere between these two extremes and reach their adult height somewhere between nine months and a year.

Your puppy probably won’t grow any taller after this stage, however, they will continue to fill out as their muscle and fat will still be developing.
At one year old, your dog is considered an adult, even if they are still growing.

How big will my puppy get?

Just like children, puppy growth doesn’t always happen evenly. Sometimes it will seem as if your puppy has grown before your very eyes, but don’t worry – all puppies will have rapid growth spells as well as times where their rate of growth is a little slower.

Not surprisingly, the biggest factor influencing your puppy’s eventual size is their breed. If your puppy is a recognised breed, this will give you a pretty good idea of the adult size. Usually, adult males are a little larger than females, but even within specific breeds there can be some size variation.

If you have a crossbreed puppy, their final adult size will be a little harder to predict. Your puppy may end up as an average of the two parents, or they could be a fair bit smaller or larger than you expected!

The best advice is to see both parents of your puppy – which you should be doing anyway – and this will give you a good indicator of just how big your puppy will grow.

Big or small, enjoy the puppy phase – before you know it, your new addition will be an adult dog!