Rottweiler puppy weight gain?

by Chloe
(Connecticut)

Hello,
We have just adopted two rottweiler puppies.

They are now 12 weeks old. Can you tell me what weight gain they should have per week?

Many thanks



Hi Chloe
Many new owners seem to worry about Rottweiler puppy weight gain, and the sort of growth they should expect, so you're not alone in this concern!

It's difficult to give any sort of exact figure in terms of weight gain, because so much depends on the size/weight of your puppies' parents and their bloodlines. At 8 weeks old some Rottweiler puppies may weigh 7 or 8 lbs, while others can be anywhere between 12 and 15lbs. Either is within 'normal' limits.

A Rottie pup could gain anything between 2.5 - 4lbs per week after 6 weeks of age, and the most rapid growth phase will be between birth and 5 months of age. These big dogs mature slowly, and aren't generally fully grown until they're between 18 months and 2 years old. Males seem to develop a bit more slowly than females.

Also, they will reach their full height before they reach their full adult weight. This means that during adolescence they may tend to look a bit gangly and awkward, even skinny at times, but this is also normal. Don't be tempted to overfeed your pups in an effort to make theme 'bigger' or grow faster, that only causes health issues. He'll get there by himself in the right time.

There are a couple of pages that might help you with prospective weight gain, growth etc., but there is no hard-and-fast rule about this as all pups are different and even Rottie puppies from the same litter even can grow at totally different rates, and end up quite different in size.

I'd recommend taking a look at my Rottweiler Puppy Growth Chart page as it has tons of information and advice that will help you figure out where your pup is headed in terms of size.

Because the diet that you give your puppy is so important to his future growth and development, I'd also suggest that you check out my Feeding Puppies page. You'll find lots of useful tips and advice there too.

Hope this helps. Congratulations on your new puppies, I wish you the best of luck with them.