A German Shepherd grows well till it reaches the age of 1 year. At this point, its growth slows down and stops completely at the age of 3 years. This is the age when a German Shepherd gets fully matured.
If you are planning to keep a German Shepherd as your new pet, you might be concerned about when does a German Shepherd stops growing. It is essential to know because you need to make an accommodation for your GSD that would be dependent on the growth rate.
German Shepherd is a friendly, active, alert, and intelligent dog. It belongs to one of the most famous dog breeds in the world.
How Big a German Shepherd can grow?
German Shepherd is a part of a dog breed that is considered to be large and heavy. A German Shepherd is often found in medium and large sizes.
Length and Height
As far as the length and height of a German Shepherd are concerned, it is said that a German Shepherd should be a bit longer than it is tall. The ratio of its length and height is 10:8.5.
A male German Shepherd usually measures 24 to 26 inches tall which makes 60 to 65 cm. while a female German Shepherd is 22 to 24 inches tall, 55 to 60 cm.
The length of a German Shepherd is measured from its front chest to the base of its tail and its height is measured from the highest point of shoulder blades to the bottom of feet.
Weight
The average weight of a male German Shepherd is 65 to 90 pounds (30 to 40 kg) until its growth ends at the age of 3. For a female, the weight is 55 to 70 pounds (22 to 32 kg).
Although the growth of a German Shepherd stops at the age of 3, however, there is still a 5% increase in the weight and height of a GSD in the next 1 year.
A German Shepherd is supposed to be active and slim but make sure that the ribs of your German Shepherd should not be visible, jutting out, or felt.
Your dog must be having a weight, height, or length different from the ones mentioned above but it doesn’t mean that your dog has some medical issue.
As far as your dog is healthy, active, and responsive, it doesn’t matter how heavy it is or how tall it is. These measurements vary for varying individuals. All cannot be the same.
Phases of Growth
As we know that a dog year is not similar to a human year. A 1-year old dog is equal to a 15 years old human being.
This takes us to the phases of growth in the life of a German Shepherd and we will get to know what are the phases that take place in the growth years of a dog.
Some dog breeds are famous for getting matured at a very early stage of life. German Shepherd is not one of those breeds. There is a proper transition in the phases of a GSD’s life from a puppy to an adult and from an adult to maturity.
Further Reading
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Let’s learn about these phases one by one.
- Neonatal Phase
This is the first stage of a German Shepherd’s life. This phase covers the first 2 weeks of the life of a puppy. By birth, the puppies are blind, deaf, and helpless. They are dependent on their mother even to maintain and regulate their body temperature. At this time, they spent 10% time in feeding and 90% time in sleeping. During this period, their weight grows with a rate of 65 to 90 grams per day.
A healthy puppy doubles its weight at the end of the first week. After that, their weight continues to grow 5 to 10% daily.
- Transitional Phase
This phase continues from week 2 to week 4. During this phase, the puppies open their eyes, they can see and hear voices around them. Their milk teeth start growing out. The puppy becomes conscious of its surroundings and starts trying to stand and walk and wag its tail.
- Socialization Phase
This phase starts somewhere near week 3 and continues until 3 months. It is the stage in which a German shepherd starts eating soft food ( Check out the best food for german shepherd ). Its body temperature gets stabled at 1000C and it stars communicating with other puppies and adult dogs.
This is the actual learning stage of a German Shepherd. This is the most important phase for a German Shepherd as it is known as a social animal. During this phase, it keeps on trying to understand the new environment, new objects, locations, the behaviors of new people around, behaviors of other animals, etc.
This is the time when a German Shepherd gets its training as a guard or a herding dog. If not trained properly at this stage, a German Shepherd can not learn to behave properly with the owner and with the strangers. It can get immune to aggression as well.
- Juvenile Phase
This is the life phase between 3 and 6 months. During this stage, the puppy teeth are replaced by adult sharp teeth and the ears must be standing up. At this stage, the puppy gains half weight than a grown-up mature German Shepherd and gets sexually matured at the end of 6 months.
The dog becomes more active, independent, and loves to explore its surroundings at this stage. Although the attention span gets smaller, yet you can train your German Shepherd with small sessions.
- Adolescent Phase
This is a long-lasting phase of the life of a German Shepherd. It lasts from 6 months to 2 years. At this stage, a German Shepherd goes through some hormonal changes related to sexual maturity. During this phase, a male starts making its territory, and a female goes into heat at the age of 5 to 8 months.
The body of the German Shepherd is almost fully grown and it looks the same as an adult. However, their mind, intellect, and emotions are still in the growing phase.
- Maturity Phase
A German Shepherd gets physically matured at the age of 2 and a half years of age and gets mentally matured at 3 years of age. A female matures faster than a male.
During this stage, the body of a German Shepherd is fully grown like an adult. The dog at this stage is mature both physically, emotionally, and sexually.
This is the stage where the dog will have built strong ties with you and will love to be a great companion of you for several coming years.
Data Table
If you are more curious about your dog and want complete info about the growth rate of a German Shepherd, then here it is. It will help you to figure out the exact weight and height of your dog and to keep an eye on the growth of your dog and find out a solution to any identified issue at an early stage.
Age | Male | Female | ||
Weight (lbs.) | Height (in.) | Weight (lbs) | Height (in.) | |
1 month | 5.5 – 9 | 4 – 6 | 4.5 – 8 | 3 – 6 |
6 months | 49 – 57 | 16 – 18 | 44 – 49 | 15 – 17 |
9 months | 64 – 71 | 21 – 23 | 55 – 60 | 19 – 21 |
1 year | 71 – 75 | 22 – 24 | 60 – 64 | 20 – 22 |
3 years | 79 – 88 | 24 – 26 | 66 – 70 | 22 – 24 |