It’s not surprising that puppies grow up so fast compared to an average human child, who takes years and years to reach adolescence. For all the puppies’ owners, it might seem that One day they’re resting and taking a nap on your lap, and the next day they’re too big to fit in. But there’s always a curious side that wants to know when your puppy stops being a puppy and becomes an adult dog and how long a puppy is called a puppy. Every stage of your pup’s life is as important as your child’s. Therefore we understand how essential it is for you to cherish each and every stage of their life and treasure these memories for a lifetime. To answer all your queries, we have provided all the particulars about puppy growth stages like aging, and its whole transition process.
How Long is a Dog a Puppy?
In general, puppies become adult dogs in a time span of one and two years after their birth. Similar to humans, all puppies are unique too, and it goes with saying that all puppies grow at their own pace, different from all their littermates. Though puppy development by weeks and months follows a certain timeline, that doesn’t mean that the slow growth process indicates the existence of any deformity.
How Long are Dogs Considered Puppies?
After they reach their first year, puppies are officially considered adult dogs. However, puppies continue to grow while their bones are still developing, which can take anywhere from six months to two years. The average lifespan of purebred dogs is approximately 10 years. In comparison, crossbred dogs live an average of one year longer, around 12-13 years. The development depends on the type of puppy’s breed. The puppies evolve through the four life cycle stages at different paces and vary from breed to breed.
How Puppies Grow Up to Be Dogs?
The growth process is not, in any case, a sudden growth. One must remember that puppy stages of development is a process that varies from dog to dog based on its size, breed, socialization, and more. Understanding the growth in dogs helps us comprehend our canine best friend’s traits and know what to expect in the next stage. The rate of aging is also determined by factors such as genetics, nutrition, and quality of care, breeds like small breed dogs and largest dog breed ones, etc.
Growth Chart of Small Breed Dogs
| Age | Weight Range in Kg |
| 8 Weeks | 0.6 Kg to 1.6 Kg |
| 4 Months | 1.3 Kg to 3.6 Kg |
| 6 Months | 2.2 Kg to 5.6 Kg |
| 8 Months | 2.9 Kg to 7.9 Kg |
| 10 Months | 3.6 Kg to 9.7 Kg |
| 12 Months | 4.4 Kg to 11.7 Kg |
Growth Chart of Largest Dog Breeds
| Age | Weight Range in Kg |
| 8 Weeks | 4 Kg to 6.8 Kg |
| 4 Months | 8.2 Kg to 13.6 Kg |
| 6 Months | 13.5 Kg to 22.1 Kg |
| 8 Months | 17.8 Kg to 29.7 Kg |
| 10 Months | 22 Kg to 36.5 Kg |
| 12 Months | 26.5 Kg to 44.2 Kg |
| 18 Months | 39.8 Kg to 67 Kg |
Growth Chart of Giant Dog Breeds
| Age | Weight Range in Kg |
| 8 Weeks | 7.2 Kg to 9.5 Kg |
| 4 Months | 14.5 Kg to 19.5 Kg |
| 6 Months | 23.5 Kg to 30.8 Kg |
| 8 Months | 31 Kg to 41.6 Kg |
| 10 Months | 39 Kg to 51.2 Kg |
| 12 Months | 47.2 Kg to 62 Kg |
| 18 Months | 70.7 Kg to 92.2 Kg |
| 24 Months | 56 Kg to 92 Kg |
Life-stage Transition for Dogs
How long do puppies grow and what stages of development your canine buddy goes through? Well, here is the answer. The growing stages of puppies into an adult dog are divided into 4 stages. They are puppy, adolescent, adulthood, and senior or Geriatric.
From Puppy to Dog
The puppy stage commences on the very same day your canine friend is blessed on the earth. Sometimes cute pups are born without senses, deaf, blind, and incapable of regulating their body temperature. The senses are developed over time. The senses, baby teeth, and crawling can only be found after a week or two. These newborns’ lives are called puppies until they are around six and eighteen months old.
With these initially developed senses, puppies learn about their surroundings and become more vocal. They also develop the habit of barking and growling during this time.
The neonatal stage, a puppy’s initial eight weeks, is when they should only be kept with their mother and siblings.
Process of Socialisation and Interaction
If you have adopted a puppy from a dog breeder, this phase is the right time for the beginning of the socialization process. The new owner can also develop house training techniques for their new Puppies. It is also crucial for the owner to ensure that they are correctly vaccinated on the vet’s suggestion. You should always keep your puppy in a positivity-permeated environment. This phase of the pup’s life cycle requires a lot of comforts that keep them away from becoming anxious grown puppies and then an adult. One should, at the same time, keep them safe from infectious diseases till the time they are not vaccinated. Human interaction and friendly behavior with a puppy during this time help them to become more human-friendly and less dangerous. Just like a human kid, puppies at this phase are most influenced by their littermates — both dogs and humans.
During this stage, your little pup will start to comprehend and use ranking with regard to submission and dominance. When the puppy is four months old, they face a fearful and baffling stage. It is that time of your pup’s life when teething and chewing issues start to grasp their senses. Providing pacifiers during this time can help prevent them from satisfying their craving to chew on something like your beautiful rug and pair of favorite shoes. Also, picking good chew toys for puppy is necessary at this time.
Adolescent
The stage when your doggo hits puberty begins around 6 and 18 months. This transitional stage can be called the bridge between the transformation from puppies to fully grown dogs. Just the way puberty hits humans, hormones start to kick in at this stage of your dog’s life cycle. If not spayed or neutered, your adolescent dog may indicate moody ‘teenage’ behavior, similar to humans. Other significant traits include a second chewing state, reluctance to play, and lack of attention. These character traits begin to develop around 7 to 9 months.
This period between social and sexual maturity is filled with several changes in both male and female dogs. Female adolescent pups experience their first heat, like menstruation in women. Whereas male adolescent pups become more intrusive in marking with urine and sniffing around every new thing. The partial puppy and dog stage may continue until your canine family member reaches 18-24 months in smaller breeds and almost 34-36 months in comparatively larger breeds.
Adulthood
It is the right time to say goodbye to your doggies puppy phase and embrace their adulthood as a grown dog. One of the first few changes you will discover is that they will start shedding all of their baby teeth. As dogs grow physically, they develop a more robust set of chopper teeth to chew down on tougher food, grip sticks, and pacifiers. Your puppy will no longer be a puppy, but a fully grown dog, when these new teeth are entirely developed. At this time they will require the best organ meat for dogs which would mostly be raw to make even the picky eaters drooled all over.
This stage begins at about 1-5 years and 3 years, when your puppies grow and can be called a fully grown dog is their adult stage. Smaller breeds experience this early, while larger dog breeds experience these changes gradually, a year later. Dogs, when fully grown, become manageable, as they are earlier trained and molded well. Dogs become more independent and often try to assert themselves, establish dominance, and stark out their territory. Sometimes, they also try to push their boundaries and challenge the control of their humans. Not only humans, but they also challenge any other pets like cats that make up their “pack.” If you are a cat lover, too, be a little cautious right at this time. Your canine also shows no physical growth, indicating that he is no longer a puppy but a full adult.
Looking for a great time with your canine? In this stage of dogs growth, you can discover all the fun activities you and your dog can enjoy together.
Puppies have a distinct quality of fur from adult dogs. Puppy fur is short and fuzzy, whereas adult fur is often coarser and slightly longer. Dogos will gradually shed their puppy fuzz when they grow and mature. This phase generally occurs somewhere around 6 months or a year.
Maturity
Everyone wants their puppy to stay little forever, but as per the law of nature, they have to grow up eventually and become dogs. Even though they evolve gradually, they grow up very fast. Dogs in all this time permeate one’s home with happiness, so it is important to cherish every moment. Dogs jump onto their golden years when they are roughly 7 to 10 years old. Their maw will turn a bit grey, and they will slow down, preferring a quiet stroll over-energetic and enthusiastic run. They demand more sleep and commonly face joint or dental problems. Therefore it’s essential to keep up with the transition. Especially large species of dogs that generally grow faster, with an average lifespan of 11-12 years. However, some other breeds of dogs can live upto 20 years.
Suppose you still wonder if your puppy is a puppy or a dog. Then you can know that when you find changes in their physical appearance, sexuality, emotional behavior, and response to training. You can also notice reactions towards other dogs and responses to them as a fellow adult dog. In terms of dog years, some puppies reach full maturity by the age of 1, whereas others take up to 2 years to fully grow into adult dogs. Veterinarians’ advice can be helpful in this matter as they can inform in a more detailed manner. Another alternative way to ensure that your pup is grown into a dog is to interact with them during infancy and puppyhood fully!
Conclusion
Well, for those wondering, ‘when does a puppy become a dog?’, must say that the answer depends on many factors. Additionally, as you can see, there is no definitive answer to the question of how long do dogs stay puppies. Depending on the breed of dog, they could be considered a puppy anywhere from two months to two years old. Ultimately, it is up to the owner to decide when their pup has grown into a full-fledged adult dog.