Is there a way of predicting a dog's future size/weight?

Question

I want to get a mixed breed puppy, so let's say I know his weight and/or height at around 3 months old, is there a way to approximate his adult height & weight?

I am aiming for a dog that will be about halfway between a beagle and a lab in size.

Answer 1

in a word no not really. Sometimes mixes end up bigger than either parent (I have one). And with a mix you can't say FOR SURE what they are. A purebred dog you have a good idea what size they will be.
There's a lot of 35-50 pound dogs out there. Many claim the size of the paws, which is an indicator but is not foolproof. The size will also factor somewhat on available food.
I do know for fact a 35 pound border collie X 40 pound blue heeler and their son is over 50# and looks neither border collie OR heeler. He's black and tan and I've had people argue with me he's half rottweiler (like no other breed is black and tan). He is stocky bodied like a heeler but bigger. He's 9 years old now and as a pup I'd have guessed he'd be about 40#...not reality.
Many mixed breeds even "experts" can't tell FOR SURE what they are. I know of one 'rescue' that said all short nosed stocky dogs were boxer or boxer mix because they had a hard time adopting pitbull mixes that came in. No one could prove otherwise but most areas don't have THAT many roaming boxers!
Generally speaking if you know for sure what the parent breeds are you can guess, but it's truly a guess. It might be like Bruiser and get bigger than either parent.

Answer 2

They say double the weight at 4 mos, but I know dogs that this just hasn't worked with. If you are really concerned about size, mixed breeds are the most difficult to gage their adult size, as if they are a mix of a mix, then you really have no idea what their bloodline is, and it's a guessing game at best. I foster dogs for a rescue group, and I love mixed breeds, think they make some of the best dogs you will ever own. Get on line and read up on the pure version of the mixed breed you may be interested in, such as labs, which as I have owned several pure I can tell you they can weigh in from 50 lbs to 100 + for a large male. If you are truly concerned about size, you may want to stick to the medium size or smaller dogs. Otherwize, when you get that lab mix pup, just be prepared for him/her to be larger than you would have expected, but will probably still be the love of your life. When getting a pup, some of the joy is watching them grow, and they can and do grow until they are 18 mos of age.

Answer 3

The size of the feet are a good indication of what the size of the dog will be. Weight is a little different. You have to take into consideration the breed. Example Shepherds and Labs are about the same height, however Labs are more stocky, Shepherds leaner. Here's a good place to start. http://www.dog-breeds.net/. Click on the directory and select a breed. There are pictures. It tells what the height of the dog is and gives a discription of the breeds temperament.

Answer 4

Most of the time its easy enght to take the two weights of the breeds, and you'll most likely end up with a dog thats about that. But, you can never really know, especially if your getting the dog from the pound. They might not know everything when it comes to them. The other thing is that you might think more on the mix of dog you're getting a beagle is a dog that has a tendency to bark and howl alot, and a both have high energy.

Answer 5

The only reliable way to determine the ultimate size of a mutt is to get one that you can see both parents and both are about the same size. If the parents differ in size the off spring can easily take after either one. Since different breeds grow at different rates there is no formula that works for all dogs to determine their adult size from their puppy size.

Answer 6

get a border collie/ corgi those are awesome andare about the size you want