One of the first questions anyone asks when considering purchasing a dog or puppy is how big will it get? This is a very relevant and important question considering your need to ensure your puppy is cared for appropriately in your home.

If you are looking for a large or small sized dog and end up with an animal much larger than anticipated, this clearly is going to give you problems within the household. It is therefore, extremely important to understand the size of the dog you are thinking of getting and also importantly, the development stages of the dog within the first 18 months which is considered to be the primary growing period. Other considerations to take into account in terms of your puppy and eventual size are his or her exercise regime, its grooming requirements, and it's likely personality or temperament.

Puppy weight estimates are most effectively understood by looking at both the dogs parents wherever possible. This will give you an extremely good idea by looking at the puppy's family to ascertain what its end size and weight are likely to be. It is, however worth noting that mixed breed puppies are more difficult to assess in terms of size and growth. This is particularly relevant in situations where neither information around the size or the greed of the puppy's parents is available this is not an uncommon situation and can be overcome with a little research.

Here are some important considerations to give you an idea as to what the puppy's potential growth may be in the future;

1. Pay particular attention to the breed and the size and weight of parents

2. Look at the paws of the puppy, are they large? If so, it is likely that the puppy will develop into a much larger sized dog.

3. An unscientific formula which some believe is a good indication of eventual size is known as the 'double' formula, this, in essence, suggests that whatever the puppy weighs at around 14 weeks of age is doubled to provide an understanding of its final weight. This of course is not an exact science and the above methods should be used wherever possible.

So, what are the growth chart points of your puppy from 1 month to 18 months?

1 Month - puppy begins to wean and the teeth start to appear.

1 to 2 Months - your typical puppy begins cheering and playing with small items.

3 Months - your puppy enjoys chasing things in responding to his or her name.

4 Months - puppy begins to respond to simple commands and will heed when beckoned.

5 Months - Vaccinations and training regime to begin (Near adult height and weight for smaller breeds up to 25lbs)

6 Months- your puppy should fetch and understand simple commands and will be reaching sexual maturity for some small dogs.

7 Months - permanent teeth are cutting through which is a good time to schedule dental checkups with your veterinarian (near adult height and weight for medium breeds up to 55lbs)

9 Months - puppy training should be completed.

12 months - your dog will now be reaching adult height and weight for larger breeds over 55lbs.

18 months - your dog has now reached sexual maturity and the majority of large breeds over 50lbs - all dogs at 18 months will be approaching social maturity.

I hope the above puppy growth chart information and details around how to assess how big your dog will get has proven to be useful to you. Please visit my website for further dog training ideas and information.