When Do German Shepherds Stop Growing?

When you adopt a German Shepherd as a puppy, you bring home this tiny, cute, cuddly bundle of fur that fits in your hands. He or she amazes you with adorableness ,and it seems as if “Aww” became the puppy’s name.

Fast-forward by a year, and you probably wonder if your dog decided to grow at the 98th percentile. After two years of owning a German Shepherd from puppyhood to the not-so-terrible twos, you probably consistently ask yourself, “When will this dog stop growing?”

The short answer is that German Shepherds reach their full growth at about three years of age. The five-pound puppy you brought home will grow into a full-grown dog weighing approximately 90 pounds. Essentially, she or he will grow to the size of a teenager in weight, but about 26 inches in length. Of course, that’s measured as the dog stands.

When the dog jumps up to greet you, you’ll probably come close to looking each other in the eyes. You chose one of the largest dog breeds in the world.

As long as you feed your German Shepherd healthy food and walk it each day, it will remain lithe and physically fit.

While these dogs reach physical maturity at three years of age, they typically have a median lifespan of approximately ten years. That’s in human years. In dog years, that’s about 66 years old. Many German Shepherds live longer than that. Your dog might live to be 12 or 13 years old, which translates to approximately 77 to 82 years in human years. You will get many years of love from this breed of dog.

While every dog differs, in general, female German Shepherds reach full maturity before the males do. A female German Shepherd typically grows to two inches shorter than the male and a weight of about 70 pounds. All in all, German Shepherd growth is divided into seven stages.

Perhaps you got to visit with the puppies when they were firstborn. That tiny phase of newborn puppyhood doesn’t last long. Enjoy it while you can.

Your GSD puppy will remain a newborn for just two weeks. They gain weight quickly in their early days. Each day, your puppy will gain between 2.29 and 3.35 ounces (65 and 95 grams). As a newborn, your German Shepherd probably weighs around four pounds. The puppy eats and sleeps but doesn’t do much else.

Most people think of a dog’s rapid growth as a childhood phase. When you calculate the median age of a dog’s growth in human years, overall, it comes out to about seven years of dog life to one year of human.

That’s averaged out, though. In a dog’s first year of life, it ages equivalent to 15 years for a human. That means that in its first year of life, the dog goes through childhood, pre-teen or tween years, and half of its teen years.

That’s pretty rapid growth. They gain weight and height accordingly. At the end of one year, the dog typically weighs about 49 to 50 pounds. The German Shepherd will have nearly reached its full height by this time as well.

Let’s break it down by months, how your German Shepherd moves through childhood to teen years in one year.

• Transitional Stage: Veterinarians refer to this stage as occurring every few weeks, then progressing to months, as a different growth phase of early development. They call the two to four weeks period a transitional stage. In four weeks, the typical female weighs between 4.5 and 8 pounds and stands three to six inches tall. The males may weigh between 5.5 and 9 pounds and stand four to six inches in height. When it comes to the maturity stage of training, you can start even at the transitional stage, especially when using positive reinforcement. 
• Socialization Stage: The socialization stage lasts through their third month. During this phase, the German Shepherd puppy typically undergoes a growth spurt. By the end of the three months, your GSD puppy will measure about 10 to 11 inches in height. Females will weigh between 11 and 17 pounds, males will weigh between 22 and 30 pounds.
• Juvenile Stage: Try not to think of your German Shepherd pup as a juvenile delinquent as they pass through this period from three to six months.
  • At four months, your furry friend reaches the halfway point of height and weight.
  • At the end of their fourth month, your puppy becomes a full-grown dog. At this point in German Shepherd development, it reaches sexual maturity.
  • At six months, the German Shepherd exits the juvenile stage. By now, you’re probably saying, “When will my German Shepherd stop growing?” Well, they have reached about 70 percent of their final growth.
  • Your male German Shepherd will exit this phase weighing between 49 and 57 pounds and standing at a height of 16 to 18 inches. In contrast, your female puppy will weigh between 44 and 49 pounds and reach a height of 15 to 17 inches.
• Adolescent Stage: The adolescent stage ranges from six months to two years. At the end of one year, though, your puppy becomes an adult dog. At the age of one, he or she enters adulthood. At this point, the female German Shepherd typically weighs between 60 and 64 pounds and stands 20 to 22 inches in height. The male German Shepherd typically weighs between 71 and 71 pounds and stands at a height of 22 to 24 inches. Your German Shepherd dog’s growth slows down at this point and enters its second year of life.

When do German Shepherds stop growing? Some German Shepherds reach physical maturity at the age of two years, but most continue to grow until they reach the end of their third year.

If you have a male German Shepherd, he’ll likely weigh between 79 and 88 pounds and reach a height of 24 to 26 inches. Female German Shepherds typically reach a height of 22 to 24 inches and weigh between 66 and 70 pounds. As long as their diet remains stable, the adult German Shepherd dog should maintain a relatively stable weight for the rest of its life. 

Like a human, your dog will grow to a smaller or larger size based on its genetics. To get an idea of how large your dog will grow, meet the parents. Tracing the genealogy can also help determine what the potential German Shepherd health issues (even German Shepherd skin issues) are that your pup might have down the road.

At Vetericyn, we offer wellness products designed to help keep your pup healthy and happy.

Sources: 

1. All Shepherds. When do German Shepherds stop growing. https://www.allshepherd.com/when-do-german-shepherds-stop-growing/
2. All Things Dog. Large dog breeds. https://www.allthingsdogs.com/large-dog-breeds/
3. Blitz Results. Dog Years ⇔ Human Years | Calculator, Age Chart and Converter. https://www.blitzresults.com/en/dog-years/
4. German Shepherd Love Club. What Age Do German Shepherds Die. https://www.clubgermanshepherd.com/what-age-do-german-shepherds-die/
5. World of Dogz. When Do German Shepherds Stop Growing? GSD Growth Chart. https://worldofdogz.com/when-do-german-shepherds-stop-growing/