Have you just adopted a Weimaraner puppy and wondering how big they will get when they are fully grown?
There is no need to worry as this article will explain in detail the Weimaraner growth chart which you can use to track your puppy’s weight as they grow.
Weimaraners are playful and energetic making great hunting companions.
They require a lot of exercises to keep them occupied and active, and they do not like being left alone for long periods as they get bored easily.
Continue reading to know the final size of your Weimaraner puppy, factors that can impact their growth, when to neuter or spay them, and many more.
When Do Weimaraners Stop Growing?
Generally, Weimaraners reach their adult height at the age of one year but continue adding weight until the age of about 15 months.
Some puppies may take longer than 15 months depending on their genetics, health conditions, nutrition, and level of physical activity.
When it comes to emotional and mental maturity, your puppy may take up to three years to behave like an adult dog.
To ensure that your puppy reaches their adult size and achieves all of the developmental milestones, you should provide them with a healthy diet with all the necessary nutrients, adequate exercise, and regular health check-ups.
Weimaraner Growth Chart
A Weimaraner weight chart shows the general weight range of your puppy at different ages.
You should know that your puppy’s weight can be slightly different than what is shown on the growth chart. However, if their weight is much lower or higher than the range, consult with your vet.
To ensure that your Weimaraner maintains a healthy weight throughout their life, you should provide them with balanced meals, vet visits, and adequate exercise.
At three months, your Weimaraner puppy should weigh about 21 pounds, at six months, they should weigh about 48 pounds, at 9 months, they should weigh about 68 pounds, and at 12 months, they should weigh about 74 pounds.
Weimaraner Weight Chart
Age | Weight lbs | Weight kg |
---|---|---|
3 Months | 21 lbs | 9.5 kg |
4 Months | 36 lbs | 16 kg |
5 months | 39 lbs | 17.5 kg |
6 months | 48 lbs | 22 kg |
7 months | 54 lbs | 24.5 kg |
8 months | 59 lbs | 27 kg |
9 Months | 68 lbs | 31 kg |
10 Months | 72 lbs | 32.5 kg |
11 Months | 73 lbs | 33 kg |
1 Year | 74 lbs | 33.5 kg |
Weimaraner Puppy Development Stages
Birth – 2 Weeks
During the neonatal stage, your Weimaraner puppy is toothless, blind, and deaf, but has a sense of touch and taste.
Since they cannot walk, they spend most of their time sleeping, hence needing care and nursing from their mother just like babies.
When they are two weeks old, they can finally see and hear and can now be more aware of what is going on in their environment.
Their mother’s milk is the main source of food, but they can be fed puppy formula if it is not enough.
3 Weeks – 12 Weeks
This is the developmental stage where your puppy will grow faster. They are more aware of their surroundings, and they begin showing their biting instincts.
During weeks 6 and 7, they start socializing by playing with their littermates and mother.
At 8 weeks old, the puppy can be dewormed, vaccinated, and rehomed.
They also need socialization training and to be taught primary commands and manners. At this stage, they become shy and are afraid of things, people, and situations.
4 Months – 9 Months
This is the stage where your puppy will put on muscles and add more weight and start growing taller.
More training is needed during this period to ensure that they know how to behave and socialize with other people and dogs. They should respond to various commands by the age of six months.
Expose your puppy to different situations and socialize them by going to new places and parks so that they can adapt and behave well in any circumstances.
Additionally, you should watch their weight and provide them with adequate exercise.
10 Months – 18 Months
Your puppy will reach their adult size at the age of one year, but some of them will continue adding weight until the age of 15 months.
Keep in mind that your puppy still needs socializing and training, therefore, you should treat them like a true companion by taking them everywhere you go to improve their adaptability.
Do not engage them in strenuous exercises because their joints and bones are still growing and developing. You can also spay or neuter them at this stage.
Adult
As an adult, the bones and joints of your dog have reached full development and stopped growing.
You can switch their diet from puppy food to adult food as they now have different needs. Feed them once or twice per day and ensure that you watch out for weight gain.
You can start jogging with them and enjoy daily activities together. Regular vet visits should be part of their routine.
How Big Do Weimaraners Get?
The adult size of your Weimaraner can be affected by health issues, genetics, and nutrition.
There are ways to predict the final size of your puppy including checking the paws, parents, Weimaraner growth chart, or doing a DNA test.
Because genetics play an essential role in the physical characteristics of a puppy, looking at the parents is an obvious way of knowing their adult size.
The odds are your puppy will look exactly like their parent in terms of size and appearance.
However, if you cannot see the parents, you can predict the final size of your puppy by doing a DNA test.
Looking at the paws is another way of knowing whether your puppy has reached their final size or not.
If they are bigger and not proportional to the rest of the body, then your puppy is still growing and has not reached their adult size.
On average, Weimaraners weigh between 55 and 88 pounds with a height of between 23 and 27 inches.
Male vs Female Weimaraner Size Chart
Since Weimaraners are descendants of the Great Dane, English Pointer, Huehnerhund, and German Shorthaired Pointer, they are medium to large-sized dogs.
The male stands between 25 and 27 inches at the shoulder and are about two inches taller than their female counterparts who stand at a height of between 23 and 25 pounds.
Male Weimaraners have more muscles hence heavier than female Weimaraners, and they weigh between 66 and 88 pounds while the females weigh between 55 and 77 pounds.
You can measure the height of your puppy at home. The first step is to let them stand straight on the floor so that you can get the measurements accurate.
Then measure from the floor to the withers using the tape measure, and this is your Weimaraner’s height.
Will Neutering/Spaying My Weimaraner Affect His Growth?
Spaying and neutering are surgical procedures done by vets to remove a dog’s reproductive organs.
The recommended time for spaying or neutering your Weimaraner is 12 months, that is after the females have had their first heat and when the males have matured sexually.
Your puppy has a higher chance of growing taller than they should if the procedures are done too early as the growth plates will not close.
This is because growth hormones work together with reproductive hormones.
Neutering is known to prevent testicular cancer and reduce aggressive behavior while spaying prevents ovarian cancer and unwanted pregnancies. Also, these procedures make training your dog easy.
Vizsla vs Weimaraner Size
The Vizsla is slightly boned and smaller than the Weimaraner, but they tend to have a longer body.
A male Vizsla weighs between 45 and 62 pounds while a female weighs between 42 and 55 pounds.
When it comes to height, a female Vizsla is around 21 to 23 inches tall while their male counterpart stands at around 22 to 24 inches tall.
On the other hand, a male Weimaraner weighs between 66 and 88 pounds with a height of between 25 and 27 inches.
A female Weimaraner weighs between 55 and 77 pounds with a height of between 23 and 25 inches.
Factors That Affect Weimaraner Growth
Genetics & Gender
Genetics play a big influence on the rate of growth and final size of your Weimaraner puppy. The odds are high that your puppy will look like their parents when they reach adulthood.
If your puppy’s bloodline is made of larger dogs, your puppy will be a big dog. If their bloodline is made up of small genes, then your puppy will be a smaller dog.
Puppies can also inherit health issues from their parents; therefore, you should ask the breeder to give you the medical records of your puppy’s bloodline. In terms of gender, females are lighter and shorter than males.
Nutrition
Nutrition can affect the overall health and growth of your puppy. If you feed your puppy a low-quality diet with no essential nutrients, your puppy will experience deficiencies and stunted growth.
Therefore, your puppy needs to eat a balanced and complete diet with enough proteins, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Ensure that the commercially prepared dog food that you purchase is recommended by your vet.
Physical Activity & Health
Weimaraners are hunting dogs meaning that they need to be kept active and busy. If they are not mentally stimulated and occupied, they may be destructive around the house.
Physical activity helps your dog develop their bone density and achieve their developmental milestones. Keeping your dog active will also help them maintain a healthy weight.
If your puppy is suffering from a health problem, their growth may be slowed down, so you should take them to the vet regularly for check-ups.
How Much to Feed A Growing Weimaraner Puppy?
Because of the different nutritional requirements, younger Weimaraners should be fed differently from older ones to help with their growth and development.
There are other things that need to be considered when deciding how much to feed them including the age, level of daily physical activity they are getting, and the type of food you are feeding them. Also, consider their health and body condition.
Fortunately, most dog food companies put feeding guidelines on food labels or their websites to help guide you. If you have concerns about the amount of food your puppy needs, speak to your vet about it.
Ensure that your puppy’s diet contains healthy fats, high in proteins, and carbs as well as minerals and vitamins.
Before the age of 3 months, your puppy eats between ½ and 2 cups of food, four times per day.
From four to twelve months, the amount of food your puppy needs is between 2 and 4 cups, eating twice or thrice per day.
How To Tell If Your Weimaraner Is Underweight or Overweight?
Weighing your puppy weekly and recording their weight will let you know if they are on their way to being underweight or overweight, as it shows their growth trajectory.
However, if you cannot weigh your puppy weekly, you can use their body condition to tell whether their weight is normal or not.
To tell the body condition of your puppy, observe them closely to see whether the bone structures are sticking out or not. Next, feel the bones and fat with your hands.
If you cannot feel the ribs because of a thick layer of fat and the tummy is bulging outwards, your puppy is overweight.
But if you can easily feel the ribs and notice an abdominal tuck in the stomach region, your puppy is underweight.
What Are the Most Common Conditions to Be Aware of In Growing Weimaraner Puppies?
Even though your puppy has been vaccinated, they may still suffer from health conditions as they grow up.
Heartworm disease is a common condition that affects the lungs and can move to the heart. It causes difficulty breathing, coughing, weight loss, fatigue, and breathlessness.
Another condition is lymphoma which is a type of blood cancer that affects the white blood cells causing symptoms such as loss of appetite, lethargy, skin issues, and unnatural smell throughout the body.
Weimaraner puppies are also prone to ear infections caused by bacteria which leads to headaches, pain when the puppy opens their mouth, and loss of balance.
Regular visits to the vet will ensure that any of the conditions are caught early and treated.
Does Weimaraners Experience Growing Pain?
Since Weimaraners are medium to large-sized breed dogs, they may experience growing pains in their joints and bones.
This condition is also referred to as Panosteitis and it affects most dogs during their first year of growth. For some puppies, it may last up to two years.
Weimaraners with growing pain show signs such as shifting legs, heavy limping, being hesitant to go for walks, and reduced energy when running or playing.
Growing pain can lead to joint problems such as arthritis and hip dysplasia if not treated.
Therefore, if you notice that your puppy is having the symptoms mentioned, you should bring them to the vet for diagnosis and treatment.
What To Do If My Weimaraner Is Not The Right Weight
Your dog may not be right weight if they are underweight or overweight. When your dog is overweight, there are two ways you can do to help your dog lose weight; exercise more and eat less.
When a dog is overweight, it is mostly because of inactivity. Therefore, encouraging your dog to exercise will help her to trim their belly and build their muscle mass.
Your Weimaraner may lose weight because they are not eating, encourage your dog to eat small and tasty meals regularly.
If your dog still does not eat, ask the vet for advice because they may give you an appetite stimulant.
If the food you are giving is not enough follow the instructions given on the food packaging. Your vet may also recommend a weight management plan.
How to Help your Weimaraner Lose Weight if He is Overweight?
There are several ways you can use to help your dog lose weight:
- Physical activity– exercise is important in the life of a Weimaraner. Encourage your dog to be physically active by taking them for walks and playing. Creating an exercise schedule and routine will help your dog to exercise regularly.
- Physiotherapy– elderly dogs can be recommended for physiotherapy especially if they have mobility problems. This will strengthen the muscles and joints and help the dog to lose weight.
- Balanced diet– changing your dog’s diet is good because it will provide a balanced meal and provide enough minerals and nutrients. This will compensate for the lost energy used when exercising. The diet should have fewer calories and more proteins.
How to Properly Weight my Weimaraner
Two methods can be used to measure the weight of Weimaraner.
The first method is more accurate and better is using a dog’s weighing scale. Using the weighing scale will help you to monitor the growth of your Weimaraner regularly to detect any abnormal growth early.
A weighing scale is good to have so that you can check on your Weimaraner’s weight regularly without a problem.
Another method is using the bathroom scale. Using your bathroom scale hold your dog and stand on the weighing scale to weigh yourself.
Then weigh yourself without the dog using the same scale. Then find the difference between your weight when holding the dog and when not holding the dog.
This second method, however, is not accurate and can be difficult for you to use if your Weimaraner is heavy if he cannot stay still when being held.
Weimaraner Genetics and Common Health Problems
The following are Weimaraner genetics and common health problems:
Von Willebrand’s Disease – It is a bleeding disorder and common in large dogs. It is caused by protein deficiency that helps the blood clot.
It is identified through the buccal mucosal screening test because there are no outward symptoms.
Bleeding can affect dogs to lose blood quickly, therefore the vet may suggest that you avoid certain medication when your dog is diagnosed with this condition.
Hip Dysplasia – This condition occurs when the hip joint does not align with the socket causing inflammation, pain, and irritation.
Your dog may struggle to put weight on one or both hind legs and have general difficulty in daily activities.
This condition is hereditary but can be treated. Lifestyle can be suggested but surgery can be recommended according to how severe it is.
Spinal Dysraphism – This genetic disorder is caused by the spinal canal and is present at birth.
Dog with this condition may face difficulty walking because of the absence of rear condition hence weak legs. It is a genetic condition hence discuss it with your potential puppy breeder.
Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy – is caused by swelling and painful bones and is seen between 2 and 6 months.
It affects large breeds like Weimaraner and causes lameness, irritation, and immobility. It needs pain management, and the vet may recommend pain medication or steroids.
Final Words
Understanding your puppy’s growth throughout their stages of life will help you in monitoring their weight so that you can tell whether they are gaining or losing.
You need to put into consideration the nutrition, exercise, health, and genetics of your puppy when predicting their growth.
Hopefully, this article has provided you with information about the growth of your Weimaraner puppy.