Every breeder and novel owner should track their golden retriever’s weight by age to adjust its diet and timely spot health problems.
Comparing your dog’s weight with the weight chart for golden retrievers is crucial until it celebrates its first birthday.
The weight is directly linked with height, so you should be familiar with golden retriever growth milestones and keep track of your puppy’s metrics to ensure it develops as intended.
Accelerated weight gain in puppies can lead to obesity and joint problems, whereas too slow weight gain may signal parasitic infection, developmental issues, or insufficient nutrition.
Although adult dogs don’t need to have their weight checked as frequently as puppies, it’s still worth weighing your adult golden once in a while to ensure it’s living a healthy life.
Under Three Months Old
The first golden retriever puppy growth stage is neonatal, which lasts until three weeks. Until that time, puppies are helpless and typically weigh under five pounds.
While all puppies are born different and may have variations in size, keep an eye on puppies smaller than their siblings. They shouldn’t lose weight or weigh twice less than other puppies in the litter.
Female golden retriever puppies should weigh five to 17 pounds at seven weeks old, with an average of nine pounds. That’s considered a perfect weight, but how the weight relates to the height is more important.
Until 11 weeks old, female golden retriever puppies should gain about one or two pounds per week. So, a healthy female golden retriever puppy weighs about ten pounds at eight weeks old, 12 pounds at nine weeks, and 14 pounds at ten weeks.
The difference between female vs. male golden retriever puppy weight is insignificant at such an early age. At seven weeks old, male golden retriever puppies weigh ten pounds on average, at eight weeks – 12 pounds, and at ten weeks – 14 pounds.
If a male golden retriever puppy weighs under seven pounds at eight weeks old, it may not be getting enough nutrition. In contrast, if it weighs over 18 pounds, it may be gaining weight too rapidly.
Three to Four Months Old
By 12 weeks or three months old, a female golden retriever puppy should weigh 16 to 33 pounds, with an average weight of 22 pounds. Male golden retriever puppy weight at three months old is slightly higher, 17 to 34 pounds.
Golden retriever puppies should be gaining about two to a half pounds per week at this age. From about three months, male goldens start gaining weight more rapidly than females, making the difference more noticeable.
So, a 13-week-old female puppy will weigh 24 pounds on average, and a male 27 pounds. Two weeks later, the female puppy will weigh about 28 pounds and the male 32 pounds.
At three months old, puppies complete their second round of vaccinations, which may affect their immune system. If a puppy refuses to eat or has lost weight after the vaccination, bring it to a vet.
Four to Five Months Old
By four months old, a female golden retriever puppy’s weight should reach 30 pounds on average. Some female goldens weigh as little as 22 pounds or as much as 44 pounds at four months old, but they shouldn’t go beyond these extreme values.
A four-month-old male golden retriever puppy’s weight should be around 33 pounds. The lowest healthy weight is 25 pounds, and the highest is 55 pounds. Most importantly, the weight should be appropriate for the height.
In the following four weeks, puppies should continue gaining two to two and a half pounds weekly. Ideally, weigh the puppies every week to spot growth abnormalities.
Too rapid growth can result in joint issues, and too slow growth may indicate insufficient nutrition or developmental disorders.
If your puppies are gaining weight too slowly or rapidly, adjust their diet. Sometimes, weaker puppies fail to eat enough because stronger siblings take away the food.
Five to Six Months Old
A healthy five-month-old female golden retriever puppy should weigh 25 to 52 pounds. At this age, one puppy can be twice the size of its sibling, but this is undesirable.
If some puppies are significantly larger than their siblings, you may need to pay more attention to their feeding process and ensure the food gets distributed evenly. The ideal weight for a five-month-old female golden is 40 pounds.
Male golden retrievers typically weigh slightly more at five months old, ranging from 27 to 67 pounds, averaging 42 pounds. Sometimes, females weigh more because they were born stronger or eat more.
At five months old, most puppies begin to grow their permanent set of teeth. As a result, some may refrain from eating because of extreme itchiness, so keeping an eye on weight is especially important at this developmental stage.
Six to Seven Months Old
A healthy female golden retriever puppy should weigh around 44 pounds at six months of age. The lowest healthy weight is approximately 27 pounds, and the highest is 61 pounds.
The difference between male and female golden retriever puppy weight becomes even more apparent at this age. Male puppies typically range from 29 to 75 pounds with an average of 52 pounds.
After six months old, golden retriever puppy growth slows down, and they begin gaining weight less rapidly. The average weight gain rate is about one to one and a half pounds per week.
Teething still continues at six to seven months old, so continue keeping an eye on your puppy’s weight to ensure they eat sufficiently. Don’t forget to also measure the puppy’s height because it matters no less than the weight.
Seven to Eight Months Old
A seven-month-old female golden retriever puppy’s weight shouldn’t be lower than 31 pounds but shouldn’t exceed 67 pounds. That’s a wide range but remember that extremes are undesirable even if they are within the norm.
The average weight of a female golden retriever puppy at seven-month-old is 45 pounds. That’s a weight you should be striving for, provided that your puppy has appropriate for the age height.
Male golden retriever puppies should range from 32 to 75 pounds, so some puppies may be twice larger than their siblings. The perfect weight is about 59 pounds.
Until eight months old, puppies should be gaining half to one and a half pounds a week. The weight gain will continue to slow down until a puppy reaches its adult size.
However, the growth shouldn’t stop completely at this age. Most puppies reach about 66% of their adult weight at seven months old, so they still have a long way to go until they become mature golden retrievers.
Eight to Nine Months Old
At eight months old, a female golden retriever puppy should weigh 52 pounds on average, although some puppies weigh as little as 40 or as much as 67 pounds. Males range from 40 to 77 pounds with an average of 61 pounds.
At any age, extremes are undesirable and should raise concerns if the puppy used to stay within averages previously. Don’t worry if your puppy seems to have stopped growing at eight months old – the weight gain can become very slow at this age.
Some puppies may not gain any weight throughout the next four weeks, while others will gain half a pound per week. You don’t have to weigh your puppy as frequently anymore because you won’t see the difference.
However, you should weigh the puppy at the end of each month and continue tracking milestones.
Nine to Ten Months Old
Some golden retriever puppies will only gain two or three pounds throughout the month, while others will gain nine. On average, a nine-month-old female golden retriever puppy weighs 53 pounds and male 63 pounds.
Most puppies will gain about 83%-85% of their adult age by nine months. The growth speed will continue to slow down, so you will see even less difference between your puppy’s weight at nine and ten months.
Ten Months to One-Year-Old
A ten-month-old female golden retriever puppy should weigh 60 pounds on average, although acceptable weight ranges from 50 to 68 pounds. By 11 months old, the puppy should gain another five to ten pounds.
Male goldens range from 52 to 77 pounds at ten months of age, with an average of 63 pounds. By the age of 11 months, they should gain another three to five pounds and reach 93% of their adult weight.
Most golden retrievers stop growing in height at ten to 14 months old. However, they don’t yet reach their full weight. A one-year-old golden retriever will reach about 95% of its adult weight.
For this reason, distinguishing between a young adult and a mature golden is usually simple – young goldens are usually lanky. A one-year-old female golden should weigh around 55-60 pounds and reach 60-65 pounds by the age of two years.
A one-year-old male golden retriever’s average weight is 65 to 70 pounds. Most dogs gain another five to ten pounds throughout the following year. Gaining extra weight in old age is typical for goldens, but it shouldn’t be extreme.