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Growth
of Large and Giant Breed Puppies
The greater
the size of the adult dog, the more limited the proportional
weight of the puppy. A newborn Yorkshire terrier (3 to 4 ounces)
is 5% of the weight of the dam. In comparison, a Great Dane weighs
only about 1 ? lbs at birth, which is around 1% of the weight
of its mother.
Large breed
dogs will weigh between 55 and 100 pounds at adult status, while
giant breeds will weigh over 100 pounds.
The puppy's
weight increases very rapidly. It doubles within seven to ten
days, triples within three weeks and is four or five times its
birth weight after a month.
A giant
breed puppy is half its adult weight by five months. It continues
to put on weight until the age of 18 to 24 months, by which time
it has multiplied its weight by a factor of 80 to 100 (compared
with 20 to 30 for a small breed dog). This means that its growth
is a particularly delicate phase, subject to many nutritional
errors.
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