All dogs pass through the same puppy development stages. Small dog breeds develop more quickly and reach maturity at an earlier age than larger breeds.

Each stage in development includes important milestones such as ears and eyes opening, learning to walk and starting to eat solid food.

How would you like to search this guide?

Follow the key puppy development stages week by week, and use our puppy growth chart to find out what to expect from your puppy as he turns into an adult.

You’ll also find links to guides that will help you with puppy problems such as biting and potty training

Many people worry about whether their puppy is getting enough to eat, or the right kind of food.

They worry about whether he is growing at the right speed, whether he weighs too much, or too little.

Normal puppy development stages

We all want to know that our puppy is developing normally in every respect, and it’s fun to record our puppy’s progress through the various puppy milestones.

The information in this guide will support you on your puppy’s journey to becoming an adult dog.

It will reassure you when your puppy’s development is healthy and normal, and alert you to any problems if it is not.



Puppy Milestones – FAQs

Of course, puppy development stages start long before you bring home your bouncy 8 week old puppy.

And it is fun to find out how puppies develop while they are still tiny and dependent on their Mom.

Let’s start off with a very popular question!

When do puppies open their eyes?

Your puppy’s eyes will open during the second week of life.

This is one of the earliest puppy development stages each puppy will go through.

Puppies’ eyes don’t just pop open suddenly

A tiny gap appears between the eyelids in the corner of the eye and the puppy will peep out through it.

Over the course of a day or two the eye will open fully.

Sometimes one eye opens faster than the other

And some puppies will open their eyes a day or so earlier than the others.

When do puppies start walking?

The third week is all about getting puppies up on their legs.

And most puppies are standing and taking their first wobbly steps by the end of the third week of life

When do puppies start barking?

Newborn puppies make tiny squeaking noises when they are cold, but for the most part are silent.

Proper dog sounds begin to appear during the second to third week

Recognizable barking is usually established by eight weeks old, and almost all pups will be able to make cute little puppy woofs by ten to twelve weeks.

When do puppies stop biting?

Puppies bite as part of their normal play, and because biting helps relieve the discomfort of teething.

With the right help, most puppies have learned not to bite hard enough to hurt you by about five months, and stopped biting altogether by six months.

The word “help” is the key though, because “not biting” is something you need to actively teach your puppy not to do.

Check out that link for instructions.

Puppy development stages in socialization

Puppy socialization is a big part of the puppy development stages.

It is the process that all dogs need to go through in order to help them live comfortably in our human world.

It’s all about learning not to be scared of new experiences, and to welcome human beings as friends.

You probably know that puppies need some help with this process because at just around three months old, they start to become nervous of unfamiliar people and events.

The Kennel Club in the UK divide this puppy socialization process into ten stages.

You can use that link to find out more and download a list of tasks to carry out with your puppy

The important key phases for you to be aware of are

The window for socialization in puppies

The teenage dog fear period

The window for socialization closes at around three months old and is the time when your puppy will most readily accept and adapt to new experiences.

This is the stage where you need to take him everywhere and ensure he meets as much of the world as he possibly can

The teenage fear period is a time between 6-12 months when young dogs that were fully socialized as puppies may again become fearful and need their socialization programme refreshing once again

When will my puppy be a grown up?

There are actually three aspects to puppy development that all need to come together in order for him to be truly an adult dog.

Physical maturity

Sexual maturity

Mental maturity

Your puppy needs to reach all three aspects of maturity before he is a “grown up”.

To confuse matters, these processes don’t happen at the same rate. And the point at which all three are complete varies from one dog breed to another. Let’s take physical maturity first and talk about puppy growth.

Puppy growth FAQs

How fast do puppies grow? – Differences in puppy growth rates

People often write to me and say “I have a 3 month old (or 4 or 5 months) Cocker Spaniel (or Labrador, or Springer), how much should he weigh?”

They often tell me how much food in grams or ounces he is getting, and ask me if this is enough.

As you have probably guessed, there isn’t an exact answer to a question of this nature.

However, we can and do give you some rough guides in the charts and graphs you’ll find in this article.

The most important thing, is to give you the tools to recognize when your own individual puppy is growing and thriving, and when things are not right.

Growth rates in different breeds of dog

The reason we can’t be more precise, is that dogs vary in their growth rates, as well as in the final size that they are likely to reach.

We can’t predict exact weights at any of the main puppy development stages.

There are not just differences between breeds, there are differences between individuals of each breed, and even between litter-mates.

Development in dogs of different sizes

The most significant differences in growth rates and patterns though, is between dogs of different sizes.

In the puppy growth chart you can see just how much more intense the growth rate of larger dogs is, and how much longer they carry on growing.

We’ve divided the dogs into five groups

Toy

Small

Medium

Large

Giant

And we’ll look at those more closely below.

When Do Puppies Stop Growing?

How old are dogs when they stop growing? It’s a common question.

Physical maturity is reached at different ages, depending largely on the size of your dog. Little dogs stop growing much sooner than big dogs.

So the answer to the question at what age do dogs stop growing, varies from dog to dog.

Puppy Growth Chart

The puppy growth chart below will give you an idea of what I mean. The squares that are left blank indicate that the dog has stopped growing by that point.

The chart above will also give you an idea of what you might expect your puppy to weigh at different stages in his development.

Again, this is closely linked to the size of the breed he belongs to.

But if this is just a rough guide, how will you know for sure if your puppy is underweight or overweight, or just right?

And what exactly do I mean by Toy, Small, Medium, Large and Giant. Let’s look at the size categories first. I’ve picked examples of a well known breed in each category to give you an idea.

Toy dogs

The example given here is based on the growth rate of a Toy Poodle.

Dogs of this kind of size and weight typically stop growing somewhere between 6 and 8 months of age, but the vast majority of their growth is complete by around six months of age.

Small and medium dogs

The example given of a small dog is based on a Miniature Schnauzer. The medium dog is an English Springer Spaniel.

Bear in mind that Springers come in a wide range of sizes

From very small working bred dogs to the larger chunkier show type.

We’ve picked a moderately sized Springer for the purposes of this illustration.

Small to medium sized dogs tend to have completed their growth by around the end of the first year.

With close to their adult height reached by around nine months.

Again, this is not set in stone. Just a rough guide.



Large Dogs

In this example the growth rate of the large dog is based on the growth rate of a moderate sized German Shepherd Dog.

Most larger breeds will finally complete their growth somewhere between 18 and 24 months, though they may be close to their adult height by their first birthday.

Giant Dogs

Our Giant Dog is a Great Dane. Some giant breeds reach even greater weights than this and grow for even longer.

Some giant breeds will continue growing for up to three years.

Again, these are general guidelines. For more information on your specific breed, visit our breed review page.

But the general rule is this: the larger the dog, the longer he grows for.

How big will my puppy get?

Have you ever had a visitor look at your puppy’s giant paws and give you a knowing smile “He’s going to be a BIG dog” they say wisely. “You can tell by the size of his paws”

But is it really true? Is there any sure fire way of knowing how big a puppy will get – any signs that he is going to be a ‘monster’ of a dog!

Of course we need to take breed into account, but there are wide variations in size within a breed, and if you have a mix or a cross bred dog you may be hoping for a clue.

Unfortunately there are no really reliable methods for how to tell how big a dog will get, apart from looking at where your puppy lies on general growth curve.

Even paw size is not a great indicator.

What we can guess

Many average size puppies go through a stage where their paws, or their ears seem too big for the rest of them.

If your puppy is consistently large for his age, as each month passes, he may well turn out to be a larger than average adult. But that’s about as much as we can say.

Breed size is not the only factor influencing growth. Gender has a role to play too.

Do puppy development stages differ between male and female puppies?

Our graphs and charts show an average dog. Male dogs are usually a little heavier and larger than female dogs of the same age and breed.

So females may be lighter than our chart suggests, and males may be heavier.

These differences can be quite substantial in adult dogs from the larger breeds, but are less noticeable in smaller breeds and in very young puppies.

Piling on the pounds?

Remember also that some dogs will carry on growing for a little longer than the guidelines above.

But if a dog is still piling on the pounds long past the point where other dogs of his size has stopped growing, you need to ask yourself some questions, such as “am I overfeeding my dog” and maybe get him a check up with your vet.

While gender may affect your dog’s final size, there is nothing you can do about it.

There are quite a few factors though that can affect how fast your puppy will grow or long your puppy will grow for, which are at least partly within your control. They include:

Neutering

Diet

General health

How neutering affects a puppy’s growth

Neutering affects the final size of your dog because your dog’s sex hormones are involved in the puppy development stages.

They tell your dog’s body to ‘stop growing’.

A dog neutered before he stops growing, may carry on growing for longer because he lacks the sex hormones to switch off that growth.

So a neutered dog may end up taller than his entire brothers or sisters.

This continuation of growth is not to the dog’s advantage and may predispose the dog to joint problems.

Several quite large recent studies have shown that neutered dogs are more likely to suffer from cruciate ligament tears and from hip dysplasia.

You can find out more about this in my articles on neutering.

Neutering and weight gain in puppies

Many experts believe that neutering may also impact on your dog’s appetite, though not everyone agrees on this.

I found my own male dog required less food after neutering, but that my female dogs did not seem to be affected.

But I have only neutered a few of my dogs so it isn’t a good sample.

In any case neutering should not affect your dog’s body weight in any way provided that you adjust how much food you give him according to how he looks and feels. (More on that in a minute).

How feeding affects puppy growth

Despite the fact that the impact of neutering is not relevant if you adjust your dog’s food intake accordingly, many people really struggle with this.

Which brings us to the role of diet in your puppy’s growth and development.

Underfeeding puppies

Not many puppies are underfed these days, but it does happen.

More often, puppies are malnourished because people are feeding them inappropriately, rather than simply not feeding them enough.

Sometimes this is a cultural thing.

For example, in some societies people eating vegetarian diets for religious reasons are reluctant to feed their dogs any form of meat.

This can lead to puppies being fed an inappropriate diet of vegetables and grains.

Poor growth and other health problems are likely if puppies are not fed a balanced diet suitable for a carnivore.

Check out the information here in order to find out how to feed your puppy a healthy balanced diet.

We tend to think of malnutrition as being feeding the wrong things or starving a puppy, but overfeeding is a form of malnutrition too.

Speeding up your puppy’s growth rate

Sometimes people ask me if it is possible to speed up their puppy’s growth rate or make him grow bigger.

But can you really make the puppy development stages happen more rapidly?

The answer is yes, it is, but it is not necessarily a good thing.

An underfed puppy may benefit from overfeeding for a while, though this needs to be done with care if you want to avoid digestive problems.

But a healthy puppy that is fed more than he needs will simply get fat.

How to avoid overfeeding a puppy

Overfeeding of both puppies and adult dogs is very common, and obesity is a significant and growing problem in dogs all over the world.

The end result of overfeeding a small puppy is not just one of obesity – overfeeding can actually speed up the puppy’s growth rate and this in turn can be harmful to his joints.

This can cause problem during the early puppy development stages.

Ad libitum feeding for puppies

Many people think that if a puppy is allowed constant access to food, he will eat what he needs and no more.

Based on this idea, for a time, it was popular for breeders to ‘hopper’ feed puppies. This is called Ad libitum feeding.

A study carried out on 48 Labrador Retrievers compared dogs fed ad libitum, with puppies that were fed on a more restricted diet.

They found a significantly greater incidence of joint problems in the ad libitum fed puppies.

It wasn’t a huge study, but it certainly does not offer any support for the free feeding of puppies in this way, and I personally would be cautious of buying a puppy that had been raised this way.

What should MY puppy weigh exactly?

We’ve looked at some charts which give you rough guides to weight at different ages, for dogs of different sizes.

And we’ve noted that male dogs will be a bit heavier than average, and females will be a bit lighter.

But if these are rough guides, how are you supposed to know exactly what your puppy should weigh?

Does the dog in your life have a cat in theirs? Don't miss out on the perfect companion to life with a purrfect friend.



The Happy Cat Handbook - A unique guide to understanding and enjoying your cat!

Well, the truth is no-one can give you an exact weight for your puppy. Remember how even puppies from the same litter can vary?

So what you need to do is decide whether or not your puppy is too thin or too fat, and stop worrying about what the scales say.

How to tell if your puppy is too thin or too fat

Because actual bodyweight is not a reliable guide to whether or not a puppy is too thin or too fat, you need another way of estimating whether or not your puppy is growing as he should.

And the correct way to do this is with your hands and eyes. To help you, we’ve given you a handy puppy weight guide checklist. It’s very simple.

Let’s take a look.

Healthy weight puppy guide

If your puppy is the right weight, you should be able to check the box for each of these sections

1 No visible ribs

When you look at a puppy under six months old, you should not be able to see his ribs.

Some of the racing breeds may have visible ribs as they mature but this will normally be just the last two or three ribs, no more.

2 Ribs can be felt

When you run your hands down your puppy’s sides and press gently you should be able to feel his ribs.

They should be covered with a thin layer of fat, but you should still be able to feel that they are there. If you cannot feel your puppy’s ribs at all, he may be too plump.

3 Puppy has a waist

Look down at your puppy from above. His sides should go in at his ‘waist’ just before his hips and rump.

4 Puppy has a tuck

Look at your puppy from the side. His tummy should slope gently up so that it it highest just before it disappears between his back legs.

Thin puppies

If you can see ribs in a young puppy, feel the knobbles on his spin, or see his hips, he is too thin. If he is being fed a balance diet, you can increase his daily ration.

Adding in an extra meal, rather than making his existing meals bigger, is always a good idea.

If you are not sure what a balanced diet is, check out our feeding section. Very thin puppies should always see a vet, in case there is a physical problem.

Fat puppies

Overweight puppies should have their daily ration reduced. Puppies that are getting fat need their food measured accurately, and a small amount deducted from the normal ration for a few days.

Don’t forget your puppy is growing, so provided you don’t increase his rations until his weight is under control, he will soon slim down.

We’ve looked at some of the more obvious physical aspects of your puppy’s growth and development, but what is going on behind the scenes?

Let’s take a look now at sexual maturity.

Sexual maturity – when will my puppy be able to breed

Most puppies reach sexual maturity before they are fully grown, especially with larger breeds. So it is quite possible for your puppy to breed while he or she is still very much a puppy.

Obviously this is not a good thing.

female puppies

A female puppy will come into season for the first time, any time in the second half of her first year.

Somewhere between six and nine month is common, but it is not unusual for the first heat to appear after the first birthday.

What this means is that your female dog will be able to mate and have puppies at some point after she is six months old.

Breeding at such a young age could harm your puppy so you need to make sure this cannot happen.

male puppies

Many male dogs will also start showing an interest in females in the second half of that first year, and once they are interested, you can assume they can breed. And again, it is your responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen.

There are various ways to achieve birth control in dogs, and we’ll look at this in more detail in our section on neutering.

Mental maturity- when will my puppy calm down!

While a puppy may be sexually mature at 8 or 9 months old, and physically mature a few months later, he will still be a puppy for a while longer.

This is because his brain needs to grow up too!

Puppyish behavior, including ‘silliness’ and ‘excitability’ can persist well into the second year, and many dogs are not fully mentally mature before they are two.

So the second birthday is a major milestone in this respect, and the point at which you can consider your puppy to be a fully grown up dog.

Be careful not to confuse puppyish behavior with lack of training though. Even quite young puppies can be trained to behave nicely.

Let’s have a closer look at those puppy milestones now, on a week by week basis.

PUPPY DEVELOPMENT STAGES WEEK BY WEEK

This is your window into the world of puppy growth and development.

Let’s start with your puppy’s development inside the womb

Beginning the puppy development stages before birth

Amazingly, in a way the puppy development stages begin before your dog is even born.

But there isn’t much to see at this point!

Your puppy spends approximately 9 weeks developing inside his Mom. The mother dog has a womb or uterus, that has two long tubes, and the puppies grow in a row along each tube rather like peas in a pod.

The puppies are joined to their mother by a placenta which provides all the nourishment they need for those few weeks

To begin with, the puppies have plenty of room to move but they grow fast and as the time for birth draws near they are packed in quite tightly.

The one week old puppy

Your puppy is born fully furred but with his eyes and ears closed so he cannot hear or see. His front feet are strong and he can pull himself towards his mother with them.

He can cry if he is uncomfortable and his mother will respond to his cries by moving him towards her and licking him.

Your puppy spends most of his time sleeping or suckling. If orphaned he’ll need feeding by hand every two hours!

He cannot regulate his own body temperature and needs his mother for heat, or an artificial heat source.

If he is going to be docked, this procedure will take place in the first two to three days. In the first week to ten days of his life your puppy grows rapidly and will double his birth weight.

2 week old puppies

Puppies grow in independence gradually as they pass through the key puppy development stages.

During this week, your puppy’s eyes will start to open. He probably can’t see very much yet.

His forelegs are getting much stronger. He’ll continue to grow rapidly, adding 5-10% of his body weight.

The puppies’ mother is constantly attentive, only leaving her babies to eat or for toilet purposes.

She licks the puppies bottoms to stimulate a bowel or bladder movement and eats the result. There is no cleaning up for the breeder to do yet.

The breeder will begin to handle the puppies more though, and get them used to human contact. She will worm the puppies for the first time at the end of this week.

3 week old puppy

During this week a lot happens. Puppies begin to get their personalities.

Your puppy can stand and sit up by the end of the week. Tails can be wagged, ears will be completely open and puppies start play growling and interacting with their littermates.

Your puppy can regulate his body temperature more effectively and will start to cut his first teeth in preparation for weaning.

The front teeth, canines and incisors are cut first. Toward the end of the week he may have his first tiny taste of puppy food.

4 week old puppy

In the 4th of these puppy development stages, puppies become really active and strong on their legs, and play actively with one another. They also start to move away from the sleeping area to empty their bowels and bladder.

They may try to climb out of the whelping box.

The puppies’ mother will start to spend more time relaxing away from the puppies. She will gradually stop cleaning up after the pups, that is now the breeder’s problem!

If she lives indoors, she may rejoin the family for more of each day.

Your puppy will cut his back teeth and the breeder will get weaning underway this week and by the end of it, your puppy will be getting quite a bit of his nourishment from puppy food.

She will also worm the puppies a second time.

If the mother is allowed near the puppies after she has been fed, she may regurgitate her dinner for them. This is completely natural and normal.

5 week old puppy

Your puppy can now really run and play. He is a proper little dog.

Rolling around with his brothers and sisters and playing with toys. Teething toys, puppy Kongs, balls and rope toys are big favorites with puppies.

He can bark too and some puppies can be quite noisy at this age! He chases after his mother whenever she appears and suckles hungrily, but she is starting to get fed up with it, and may be reluctant to feed her brood for very long.

His mother is teaching him not to bite too hard. And his breeder is introducing him to lots of new experiences so that he won’t be afraid of them later.

If he lives in outdoor kennels he should spend part of each day indoors with the family.

6 week old puppy

Puppies require different feeding frequencies at different puppy development stages.

By the end of the sixth week, most are fully weaned, and eating five or six little meals of puppy food each day.

Your puppy may still suckle from his mother, but he doesn’t need to.

From now on, a small breed puppy may gain around 5 ounces a week in weight, whereas a large breed puppy puts on a massive 21/2lbs.

7 week old puppy

Some puppies go to their new homes towards the end of this week – many puppies show the beginnings of fearfulness at this point and will startle or jump at strange sounds an sights.

Socialization must begin in earnest. Your puppy’s mother continues to teach him bite inhibition when she visits him to play.

8 week old puppy

This is normally the week when your puppy leaves his first home and joins his forever family.

The Perfect Companion For Life With A New Puppy

He is now two months old and ready for his new life. From now on, we’ll be looking at your puppy’s development month by month, from three to eight months

3 month old puppy (12 weeks)

From eight to twelve weeks is a very important period for puppies. It is the time during which they become fearful of anything unfamiliar and need to be thoroughly socialized.

This is also the time during which most puppies get to grips with house-training, learning to wait before eliminating and start sleeping through the night without a potty break.

It is a busy time for new puppy owners. Your puppy will have his vaccinations during this month.

Biting can be a big problem during this stage and you need to be patient and consistent in order to teach the puppy not to hurt people when he plays.

Provided you use force free methods, this is a great time to get puppy training under way, and especially to teach a puppy recall, and to get your puppy used to working with food.

You’ll be feeding him four times a day, and/or using much of his food in training

Handle your puppy all over, every day. If he is a long coated breed he will need regular grooming and although he won’t have much coat yet, now is the time to begin.

4 month old puppy

Most puppies can drop down to three meals a day at twelve weeks old. This means slightly larger meals, so watch your puppy doesn’t get an upset tummy.

And at twelve weeks, if you take a small breed puppy’s weight in pounds, divide it by his age in weeks, and then multiply by the number of weeks in the year, you will have a rough idea what your puppy’s final weight as an adult will be.

So, for a 2.5lb puppy at twelve weeks the formula will be (2.5/12) X 52

Calculate the bit inside the brackets first. You can do the same calculation for medium pups at sixteen weeks and large breed pups at 20 weeks – just divide his weight by his age in weeks before you multiply by 52.

From twelve to sixteen weeks puppies start to lose that very young puppy ‘look’ and more closely resemble a miniature version of their adult selves. Medium to large pups will reach about half their adult height by the end of the month.

Puppies under four months don’t need formal walks, just lots of opportunity to play and run around in your garden or yard.

If the weather is warm you can get your puppy swimming now.

Most dogs swim instinctively, but don’t allow brachycephalic (flat-faced) puppies such as Bulldogs, to swim unsupervised – some are not able to swim at all.

You’ll enjoy training your puppy now as he is getting more attentive and can concentrate for longer. He should be able to come when he is called, in and around your home, provided there are not too many distractions.

He’ll probably understand sit, touch your hand on cue, and perhaps be able to sit in his basket for a few seconds when asked. It all depends on what you have taught him.

5 month old puppy

Your puppy will start losing his baby teeth from around four months of age. He’ll probably have a more adult coat by the end of this month.

He may still be chewing a lot and biting too. Use frozen Kongs to help him and give your furniture and fingers a break.

Puppies can go for short walks now. By the end of this month your puppy could have a twenty minute walk each day.

He may also enjoy fetching a ball and playing with other dogs, but take care to stop before he gets very tired.

And don’t walk brachycephalic puppies very far, or in warm weather.

Less dependence

This is the month during which some puppies start to become less dependent on their humans for security.

Keep your puppy close to you outdoors by changing direction frequently so that you puppy has to keep coming to find you. And engaging him in games.

Reward your puppy generously for ‘checking in’ with you on walks. The foundations of a great recall are often build or spoilt during this month.

If your puppy knows how to sit or lie down at home, start some simple proofing exercises with him in public places. And start teaching him to ‘stay’ for short periods of time

6 month old puppy

This is one of the most significant puppy development stages as it signals the end of your puppy’s babyhood and for some pups, the beginnings of sexual maturity.

A healthy puppy can usually manage on two meals a day from around six months. During this month a Retriever, Spaniel or GSD puppy will reach around two thirds of his adult weight.

A Great Dane and other large breeds will have reached about half their final weight and little dogs will have almost completed their growth.

Some female dogs will come on heat for the first time during this month, or the next, so keep an eye open now for swelling of her vulva and any discharge.

Your dog will become increasingly confident over the next few months so practice, practice and practice that recall! Make it a habit he cannot break. And be generous with your rewards.

7 month old puppy

By the end of this month, your puppy will have all 42 of his adult teeth and be looking quite grown up. Small breed pups may now be more or less mature.

Your puppy will enjoy half hour off lead walks now, and should be able to walk on a loose lead for short periods with plenty of encouragement and rewards.

Keep practicing that recall! Teach your dog to recall away from all kinds of interesting things such as ‘other people’, other dogs, frisbees, etc.

8 month old puppy

Unless you have had your puppy neutered he now has plenty of sex hormones zooming around his system.

These help to slow his growth further and to build his confidence.

Make sure you practice good outdoor management on walks to maintain the good recall you have built and work hard on thoroughly proofing all his obedience skills.

9 month old puppy and beyond

Many female dogs will be neutered once they have completed their first season. Read our information on neutering before you take this important step, for dogs of either sex.

Once your dog is a year old he can participate in more strenuous activities and sports.

Now is the time to think about the kinds of activities you would like to do with him – go jogging together for example – and if necessary, to start to get him fit.

Puppy development stages – Summary

There is huge variation in the way in which dogs develop and mature. The puppy development stages and ages outlined above are a rough guide.

We hope you enjoyed them and found the information interesting.

When it comes to training, you get out what you put in. Your progress depends as much if not more on you rather than your puppy.

If you train your puppy five times a day, six days a week he will learn many, many times faster than a puppy that is trained once a day at the weekend.

Enjoy watching your puppy grow and develop. Puppyhood doesn’t last very long in the grand scheme of things, so make the most of it. And have fun!

More information

Did you enjoy Pippa’s guide to puppy development stages? If so, you’ll love The Happy Puppy Handbook.

Packed with helpful information and advice

It contains everything you need to raise a happy, healthy puppy

The Happy Puppy Handbook is available in bookshops and online.

References:

Body-Weight Changes during Growth in Puppies of Different Breeds by Hawthorne et al

merckvetmanual.com

Puppy Development Stages has been revised and updated for 2019