Your puppy’s arrival home is an equally special time in both of your lives. From that moment on, you want to make sure he’s happy, healthy, and well cared for years to come.
However, while many owners think their puppy is on the proper track, almost 56% of puppies withinside the United States are overweight. One of the excellent ways to ensure your Labrador’s health is to track his growth throughout his first year.
Monitoring with a growth chart for Labradors
The first year of your puppy’s life has several critical developmental milestones, and tracking them is an excellent way to assess his overall health as he approaches adulthood.
How much does a Labrador puppy weigh?
As a general rule, your puppy should gain a pound and a half a week until he’s six months old, then a pound and a half a week until he’s a year old. Adult females around one year should weigh about 70 pounds, while males can be larger, reaching 70 to 80 pounds.
At birth (0-4 weeks)
Weight: 1-1.5 pounds
Milestones: Your pup will sleep plenty and spend much of his waking hours drinking his mother’s milk. In a few weeks, your puppy’s senses will begin to develop, and he’ll be introduced to soft solid food for the first time.
Eight weeks (2 months)
Weight: 10-15lbs
Milestones: At this point, you can take the puppy home with you. You can expect him to be curious and playful, so you’ll need to make your home puppy-proof. He will also learn to recognize his name, which means you can start puppy school.
16-24 weeks (4-6 months)
Weight: 30 pounds
Milestones: Until your puppy is six months old, he should continue to gain about two pounds a week. At that point, weight gain should drop to 3 pounds per week. It may be time to consider spaying or neutering, which you can arrange with your veterinarian.
30 weeks (7.5 months)
Weight: Males: 50-55lbs. Females: 45-50lbs.
Milestones: Your puppy is still a teenager, which means he is still growing, although it will become apparent over the next few weeks that a male puppy grows much faster than a female.
40 weeks (10 months)
Weight: Males: 66-70lbs. Females: 60-65lbs.
Milestones: Your puppy is on his way to becoming an adult.
One year (12 months)
Weight: Males: Between 70 and 80 lbs. Females: Approximately 70 years old.
Milestones: Congratulations! Your doggy is taken into consideration as a grownup at this point. By his second birthday, he can start switching from puppy food to adult food.
