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Golden Retriever puppy growth: milestones and weight estimates

How fast a Golden Retriever puppy grows, illustrative weight estimates and the limits of predicting adult size.

Golden puppies go from about 400 g at birth to roughly 9 to 12 kg (20 to 26 lb) by 12 weeks and 20 to 27 kg (44 to 60 lb) by six months. Height is mostly finished by 12 months, but the chest, head and coat keep filling out until 18 to 24 months. A large-breed puppy food, which controls calcium and calories, helps bones grow at a steady pace rather than in spurts.

Joints are the thing to protect. Keep a puppy lean enough that ribs are easy to feel, avoid long runs on pavement and repeated jumping out of cars or off beds until growth plates close at around 12 to 14 months, and let the puppy set its own pace in free play. Limping that lasts more than a day or two, or a youngster that sits down reluctantly on walks, deserves a vet check.

Golden Retriever puppy growth in numbers

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Illustrative size-based model for a male Golden Retriever, in kg, by age in months

AgeFemaleMale
2 months4.3 kg4.8 kg
3 months7.4 kg8.3 kg
4 months11 kg12 kg
5 months13.5 kg15.5 kg
6 months16 kg18 kg
7 months18.5 kg20.5 kg
8 months20.5 kg23 kg
9 months22 kg25 kg
10 months23.5 kg26.5 kg
12 months26 kg29 kg
14 months27 kg30.5 kg
16 months28 kg31.5 kg
18 months28.5 kg32 kg

This is an editorial model scaled to a typical adult weight, not an observed breed average, a validated growth standard or a healthy-weight range. Do not adjust food to make a puppy follow this line. Discuss actual growth measurements with your vet.

Puppy growth guides for similar-sized breeds