weight concern with Rottweiler puppy

by santiago b
(madrid)

Hey, i have a 4 month old rottie male who weighs 39 lbs, according to the charts that is below average... is that normal or should i worry?

And is he going to end up being small like his mum or big like his dad?





Hi Santiago
Your pup is slightly below average in terms of weight for his age but not much. Also remember there's no such thing as an 'average' puppy. They're all different, and many will be above, or below, that middle-of-the-road figure.

As long as he's eating a premium, nutritious puppy food then he is getting everything he needs to grow and develop. His adult height/weight is determined mostly by genetics and diet only helps to ensure he reaches his maximum potential. Overfeeding does way more harm than good and you should never try to make a Rottie pup grow faster, or bigger, than comes naturally.

Generally a pup will fall somewhere in between the size of his mom and his dad, with male pups being closer to the dad's end of the scale and female pups closer to the mom's. But again, all puppies are different, and grow at different rates.

I wouldn't worry too much about the size of your pup as this is only part of what the Rottweiler breed is all about. They're not meant to be huge, 'giant' dogs, they're a large breed but that's all. Their character and temperament is what defines the breed and as long as your pup is healthy and has a sound temperament then that's all you need to worry about.

My Rottweiler Puppy Growth Chart explains in more detail what to expect as a pup grows, and my Rottweiler Breed Standard page details how a good Rottweiler should look when adult. This page... Rottweiler Weight and Development may also interest you as it contains a selection of questions from other visitors about this same issue, and the answers I gave.

Other pages such as Rottweiler Behavior and Rottweiler Temperament give you info. on how how your dog can be expected to behave and why.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your pup.