“Tall or short, stocky or long legged. Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, each special in their own way, but do they all grow at the same rate?” is a question currently being asked in Science Daily.
That article makes for interesting reading as we currently monitor how our dogs are developing from puppy to adult by weighing them, using breed specific charts for guidance which though helpful, at the same time seems rather a best-guess approach.
New research has produced evidence based growth standard charts “for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes”, in other words not breed specific; and is akin to a percentile monitoring approach, similar to that used for humans.
The conclusion states “A series of evidence-based growth standards, based on bodyweight, have been developed for male and female dogs across 5 different size categories.”
Interestingly these charts may also be used for the growth standards of mixed breed dogs as well.
Here are the links: