Old English Sheepdog Growth Chart – Size & Weight Chart

Whether you have adopted an Old English Sheepdog puppy or are considering adopting one, you will need to know how to properly care for your pup.

One way to keep your dog healthy is to monitor his growth with an Old English Sheepdog growth chart.

Growth charts can help guide you through averages for the breed, helping you keep your pup’s weight in check.

This is only one aspect of raising a puppy, of course. You will also want to make sure that he is eating well and has regular vet visits. But, using a growth chart will take a lot of guesswork out of raising your puppy.

When Do Old English Sheepdogs Stop Growing?

A common question from recent Old English Sheepdog puppy owners is when the puppy will stop growing. They are a larger breed, so you will see major growth within the first year of his life.

By 48 weeks, or 11 months, most Old English Sheepdogs will have reached the majority of their adult size.

After the 12-month mark, Old English Sheepdogs should slow down their weight gain, but they will still continue to gain a little bit of weight until they are between 16 and 18 months.

Weight gain beyond that should be avoided as it is likely excess weight.

Old English Sheepdog Size Chart

You can use an Old English Sheepdog growth chart to keep track of how your puppy is growing. You can also use it for insight on how big your Old English Sheepdog will be when he is an adult.

Always remember that weight charts are based on averages, so your puppy may not be on the weight chart at all.

What matters is that he stays on his growth curve, which means he grows consistently, as he is predisposed to do.

For example, if you are looking at the Old English Sheepdog weight chart and see that your Old English Sheepdog puppy is 42 pounds at 15 weeks, you can follow the higher end of average and see that your pup should be about 90 pounds at 45 weeks.

The Old English Sheepdog size chart can help you be sure that your puppy is growing well. For example, he was 42 pounds at 15 weeks and is only 44 pounds by 25 weeks, you will know that he has only gained 2 pounds in 10 weeks and has fallen off his growth chart.

Naturally, weight fluctuates, but any big differences like this should be addressed by your vet.

Old English Sheepdog Weight Chart

Old English Sheepdog Puppy Development Stages

Birth – 2 Weeks

The period between birth and 2 weeks is known as the Neonatal Period. An Old English Sheepdog puppy will be completely reliant on his mother at this stage.

His eyes will still be shut and he will be relying on taste, touch, and smell to help him nurse his mother’s milk.

Puppies must never be removed from their mothers at this stage as it would be detrimental to their development and they are completely dependent on others for care.

3 Weeks – 12 Weeks

When an Old English Sheepdog puppy has reached between 3 weeks and 12 weeks, he will be in the socialization period.

The puppy will have full use of all of his senses and will learn to live without his mother, which means transitioning him from mother’s milk onto puppy kibble.

Your puppy should be biting, barking, and playing chase at this stage, which is also the period that he will learn social skills and good behaviour.

4 Months – 9 Months

Your Old English Sheepdog puppy will be considered a juvenile between 4 months and 9 months of age. His teeth will begin to fall out and be replaced by his permanent adult teeth.

He should still be eating puppy kibble at this phase, though you can reduce his meals to 2-3 times a day. You can still expect naughty puppy behaviour as well, while the puppy learns his boundaries and tests them.

10 Months – 18 Months

Between 10 months and 18 months your Old English Sheepdog puppy will be in an adolescent period and still really a puppy. He should stop growing and gaining weight around this time as well.

You should transition your Old English Sheepdog puppy from puppy kibble to adult food during this time as well.

He should be calming down on any behaviour antics, but remember that despite his size, he is still a puppy.

Adult

Your Old English Sheepdog will finally be considered an adult by 2 years old. They might be physically mature by their first birthday, but they will not be emotionally mature until about the age of 2.

Your dog should be completely off of puppy food and eating adult food.

He should also not be gaining any weight at this stage and maintaining both a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. You can still expect your Old English Sheepdog to have energy for years to come.

How Big Do Old English Sheepdogs Get?

While Old English Sheepdogs are such a lovable and huggable dog breed, especially when they are puppies, you will need to anticipate how big the dogs really can get when they are done growing.

You may not have a crystal ball to give you the answers, but there are some things that you can look for to get insight on your dog’s final size.

The easiest thing to do is to look at a dog’s parents as the puppies should align with the parents’ size.

If you don’t know the dog’s parents, you can look at a puppy’s paws and see how much growth he has to do in order to fill them in well.

You could also do a DNA test to see what results you can get, but our favourite method is still to use an Old English Sheepdog weight chart.

A weight chart can help you use a dog’s current weight to guess his final adult weight.

Male Vs Female Old English Sheepdog Size Chart 

As is true with most dog breeds, the male Old English Sheepdogs are larger in size than female Old English Sheepdogs are.

On average, an adult male Old English Sheepdog will stand about 22 inches while a female Old English Sheepdog will stand slightly shorter at 21 inches.

To measure a dog’s height, you will want him to stand up on all-four legs and use a tape measure from the withers down to the ground.

The difference in size is more noticeable in weight, where an adult male Old English Sheepdog can weigh between 80 to 90 pounds, while females weigh between 68 and 78 pounds.

Weighing an Old English Sheepdog can be tricky as they get older. When they are puppies, you can just hold them on a bathroom scale, mark the weight, and then weigh yourself and subtract the difference. As they get bigger, you should go into the vet to use their large scale.

Will Neutering/Spaying My Old English Sheepdog Affect His Growth?

Spaying and neutering a puppy is the norm for dog owners who really do not want to have a surprise batch of puppies on their hands.

Traditionally, puppies would be spayed and neutered by the 6-month mark, when they are old enough to handle the anaesthesia, but not old enough to have reached maturity.

Yet, in more recent years, it has come out that large breed dogs may suffer from joint complications when they have been spayed too early in their development.

By this new information, it is better to wait until your Old English Sheepdog has finished growing before having him spayed or neutered.

Sheepadoodle vs Old English Sheepdog Size

Both Old English Sheepdogs and Sheepadoodles are fluffy dogs that have similar attributes, but they are not the same breed.

Old English Sheepdogs are a pure breed, while Sheepadoodles are not. The differences don’t stop there.

Since Sheepadoodles are a mix between an Old English Sheepdog and a Poodle, their size varies. They can be anywhere from 13 to 24 inches tall. Their weight varies as well, ranging from a mid-sized 45 pounds up to a large 80 pounds.

Old English Sheepdogs are generally larger, though potentially shorter, standing around 22 inches tall, but weighing between 60 and 100 pounds.

Factors That Affect Old English Sheepdog Growth 

Genetics & Gender

There are a few factors that can affect your Old English Sheepdog puppy’s growth and final size. The first one is genetics and gender.

If your Old English Sheepdog puppy has smaller parents, then your dog is likely to be smaller. It would be unusual to have a dog much larger or smaller than his parents were. Likewise, female Old English Sheepdogs weigh less than males do, so will be naturally slightly smaller.

Nutrition

Just like with humans, nutrition can affect the growth of your Old English Sheepdog puppy. A puppy who is malnourished will not be able to grow as large has he might have grown if he had the right nutrition.

This is why puppy food is so important. It has all of the vitamins and nutrients that a growing puppy needs to stay healthy.

Even if poor nutrition has not stunted your dog’s size, it can cause problems with bone and joint development, causing disability later in life.

Physical Activity & Health

All dogs need to have the right amount of exercise in order to maintain a healthy weight and body size. Keeping your puppy active and healthy will help your puppy grow steadily and properly.

A puppy that is overworked will not be able to grow as well as a rested and exercised puppy. You also don’t want to keep your dog stagnant and unexercised. This could cause obesity, leading to other growth complications.

How Much To Feed A Growing Old English Sheepdog Puppy?

It can be easy, unfortunately, to overfeed your Old English Sheepdog puppy. Their fur is so fluffy that you cannot do the visual checks that you can do with breeds with shorter coats.

To work out how much you should be feeding your Old English Sheepdog, you will need to focus on his age.

Puppies between 8 and 12 weeks will need about 4 equal meals a day. Between 3 and 6 months, this can be reduced to 3 meals a day, dropping to 2 meals at 6 months.

The quantity of food will depend on the type of food that it is as well as the size of your dog and his activity level.

Take your pup in for regular weight checks with the vet to ensure he is growing on his growth curve and that you are feeding him the right amount.

What Are The Most Common Conditions To Be Aware Of In Growing Old English Sheepdog Puppies?

Unfortunately, Old English Sheepdogs are prone to certain genetic conditions.

Most of these conditions will not show up until your dog has aged, so you might not even know ahead of time that they will present themselves, but others you might be able to watch for younger.

The first to know is that Old English Sheepdogs can have hypothyroidism, which will cause weight gain.

Monitoring your puppy’s growth will give you clues as to whether your dog is gaining too much weight too quickly. You can also look into thyroid-healthy diets to help avoid issues later on.

Do Old English Sheepdogs Experience Growing Pain?

Growing pains, also known as panosteitis, are an inflammation along the surface or the shaft of the long leg bones in bones.

The inflammation itself is what causes the pain or discomfort, rather than the pain coming from the bones themselves.

Large breed dogs, such as Old English Sheepdogs, are more prone to growing pains because of how quickly the bones grow and stretch.

You can know if your dog is suffering from the pain by whether the dog seems lame. If he is shifting weight between legs or refusing to bear weight, he might be experiencing growing pains.

What To Do If My Old English Sheepdog Is Not The Right Weight?

Keeping your Old English Sheepdog puppy at the right weight will help him have a long and healthy life. If your puppy is not at the right weight, there are a few things to keep in mind.

The first is that weight does fluctuate as dogs grow, moving from periods of growth spurts, to slower growth periods.

The biggest question is whether your puppy has been remaining on his growth curve. If he is falling off of his growth curve, there might be a couple of explanations.

Have you recently changed your puppy’s food or recently adopted him? Puppies are sensitive to change, so if you have only recently adopted your puppy or are in the process of changing out his food, you might find that he is losing weight.

Otherwise, it is best to take your puppy in for a check-up, just to be sure that he is ok.

How To Properly Weigh My Old English Sheepdog?

Keeping an eye on your Old English Sheepdog’s weight will help you in the long-run. Use an Old English Sheepdog weight chart, you can monitor whether your dog is growing properly along his growth curve.

Since it is difficult to visually check an Old English Sheepdog’s weight due to his fur, you will want to weigh him every two weeks while he is growing.

As a young puppy, you can do this using the bathroom scale, weighing yourself while holding the puppy, then weighing without the puppy and subtracting the difference.

As he gets too heavy to lift, you will need to go into the vet’s office for weight checks.

Old English Sheepdog Genetics And Common Health Problems

All pure-bred dogs are prone to certain genetic conditions, which varies by breed.

For an Old English Sheepdog, you will need to be on the lookout for hip and elbow dysplasia, eye problems, autoimmune hypothyroidism, heart disease, and deafness.

While you will want to know ahead of time whether you need to be worried about these conditions, most will not show up until your dog is older.

Your vet will know to screen for these conditions at check-ups and do whatever prevention they can. Autoimmune diseases can often be controlled through diet, so you might need to look into a thyroid-healthy diet.

For puppies, this means that you will want to spay or neuter your dog later, helping those joints fully develop.

Talk to your vet about possible joint supplements or what food can help these joints develop well and avoid dysplasia as much as possible. Otherwise, just keep your dog active and healthy.

Final Words

Adopting an Old English Sheepdog is a big decision, but one that is completely worth it. Yet, as is the case with any adoption, you must make sure that you are taking proper care of your growing puppy.

Use an Old English Sheepdog growth chart to help you keep track of how well he is growing and guide you into keeping him the right weight.

With proper care and attention, your Old English Sheepdog puppy can grow healthy and live out a fun and happy long life with you. Using an Old English Sheepdog weight chart can help you achieve that.