Rottweiler Growth & Weight Chart (Puppy to Adult)

Adult Rottweilers can weigh between 70 and 120 pounds. As a breed, they are prone to obesity and being overweight, so it is important to keep an eye on your Rottweiler’s weight. Although sudden height and weight increase are to be expected in puppies, you should monitor them. Look for signs that they are growing too quickly or too slowly, and seek veterinarian help if you do notice anything untoward. Rottweilers are especially prone to hip and elbow dysplasia, as are many large dog breeds, so it is important that you and your vet closely monitor your dog’s development.

Check out our chart below for more on just how big you can expect your Rottie to be as he grows up.

Facts About The Rottweiler

A Rottweiler’s weight and height are primarily determined by genetics. Look at the size and weight of the sire and the dam and use this information to determine the likely size of your dog when they are fully grown.

With that said, diet also plays an important part in your Rottweiler’s weight. If you feed your dog an appropriate amount of good quality food, they have a better chance of growing to a healthy weight without becoming too fat or tall. Finally, exercise will determine how much weight your dog retains and also whether the protein they eat becomes muscle or fat.

The Rottweiler is a working dog. As such, they have been bred to be active. If they lead a sedentary life, they may be prone to becoming overweight. If your Rottie isn’t a working dog, ensure that he enjoys the kind of exercise he would experience while working.

Finally, avoid the temptation to try and force your puppy to grow quicker. Some owners feed extra protein or even put their puppies on food supplements when they are younger because they believe this will lead to them reaching full weight sooner. In reality, this can lead to developmental and growth conditions. It can cause injuries and joint problems, and it means that they will be more prone to being overweight when they reach maturity.

Rottweiler Puppy Growth and Weight Chart

Below is a growth and weight chart that shows an ideal range for your puppy. There is no guarantee that your Rottweiler’s weight and height will follow this course, and he may be slightly above or below the average for his age. However, you can use the chart to monitor your dog’s development and ensure that he falls within a healthy range.

Male Rottweiler Puppy Growth Chart

Female Rottweiler Puppy Growth Chart

Sources: von der Musikstadt, Paw Leaks, Belpatt

Rottweiler Growth Stages Pictures

Every puppy develops at a different rate, and while your dog may start to run around sooner than another dog of the same breed, he may not be as quick to learn his first commands or to go outdoors when he needs to use the toilet.

Below, we have included a guide for the various developmental stages of your Rottweiler so you can see what to expect and determine whether your puppy is meeting the expected developmental stages for the breed. This information is meant as a rough guide, so don’t be too concerned if your puppy is a little behind the curve.

8-Week-Old Rottweiler Puppy

By the 2-month stage, your Rottie should be learning to socialize with others. He should recognize that he is a dog and should learn plenty from his mom. Your puppy will watch how their mom interacts with other dogs, with humans, and in specific situations. He will determine what his mom finds scary, what she finds exciting, and even how she eats, drinks, and performs other actions. He will take most of these lessons through life with him.

At the age of 8 weeks, it is okay to take a puppy away from his mom. At this point, you should take over the role of his mother and his trainer. Introduce him to new people and new animals. Show him that new surroundings, environments, and conditions are nothing to be afraid of, and try to do this regularly.

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3-Month-Old Rottweiler

By 3 months, human socialization should be well underway. Your puppy will start to pile on the pounds and grow taller, and you can further his social development by enrolling your dog in puppy classes.

Puppy classes not only enable your dog to meet new people and socialize with other dogs, they also teach you and your dog the basics of training. You will learn some simple commands, your dog will be taught how to behave in certain circumstances, and you will have a friendly environment where your dog is allowed to meet new people and new dogs and react accordingly.

Many of the situations and responses that your dog experiences by this time will shape how he reacts in the future. Therefore, try to avoid very scary situations. If your dog has a negative experience with something, for example, he gets scared by a car, take things slowly and try to desensitize him to the situation.

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4-Month-Old Rottweiler

Expect your puppy to test boundaries by this stage. He will want to determine who is pack leader, and he will test to see what he can get away with, much like a young child. When it comes to training, you must stick to the rules and to the boundaries that you have set out. At this point, if you waver, your puppy will take advantage and try to take charge.

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6-Month-Old Rottweiler

By 6 months, you should be walking your dog outdoors regularly. Introduce him to new experiences constantly. As well as meeting new people, ensure that he has met new types of people, different types of animals, and that he is used to being walked at night and during the day. Ensure that he is used to seeing people walk past the windows at home and look for ways to enhance and increase his outdoor exercise.

Consider going to agility classes or enrolling him in some other form of canine sports class. Your dog will benefit, and you will bond even more with your puppy. By 6 months, your Rottie will be around two-thirds of his adult size, but he will still retain his puppy attributes and playfulness.

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9-Month-Old Rottweiler

A 9-month-old Rottweiler is similar in development to a teenage human. Although most small breeds would be fully grown by the time they reach this age, the Rottweiler has at least three more months of growth left in him. Your Rottie will have all of his teeth, will be sexually matured, and he will be shedding a considerable amount of fur on your furniture, your clothes, and pretty much everywhere. Although he may display some playfulness, your Rottweiler should be starting to calm down a little by this stage.

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1-Year-Old Rottweiler

A Rottweiler will reach full height by the time he is 12 months old, but he will actually continue to add weight. He can potentially keep putting weight on until he is 3 years old because of his considerable muscle as well as the sheer size of his head and other features. Your puppy will look more like an adult, but he still has the capacity to change his physical appearance as well as his size over the next 2 years.

When Do Rottweilers Stop Growing?

Rottweilers reach full height at the age of 12 months, or potentially even younger. They will continue to put on weight until they are 3 years old. By this stage, their large heads should have stopped growing, and they will only put extra weight on if they are being fed too much, exercised too little, or if they have any associated health complaints.

How Does Neutering/Spaying Affect My Dog’s Growth?

There used to be a common myth that desexing a dog would prevent or stunt growth. In fact, the reverse is true. If you spay or neuter a dog too soon, they can continue to grow in height and may grow taller than they would, otherwise. While this might not sound like a bad thing in a breed like the Rottweiler, it can cause joint and developmental problems.

Dangers of Growing Too Quickly or Stunted Growth

Rottweilers are large and heavy dogs. They are especially prone to joint-related health complaints like dysplasia. If your dog is allowed or encouraged to grow too much too quickly, this can put major pressure on the hips and elbows.

If they grow too quickly while the bones are still forming, it means that the additional pressure on their joints can cause misalignment. When the dog reaches adulthood, this can pose problems with their gait, their stance, walking, and other physical movements. When they age, this can become arthritic and musculoskeletal pain, but it may be too late to fix the problem.

Rottweilers are also prone to respiratory and heart complaints, which are exacerbated by being overweight and especially by being obese. Ensure that your dog is a healthy weight and does not put too much weight on, too quickly.

Conclusion

The Rottweiler is a large dog breed, so you should expect your puppy to experience some growth spurts, much like human children do. With that said, you should try to ensure that your puppy experiences slow and steady growth. This gives their body, including muscles and joints, the chance to develop at a steady pace and means that they are less likely to suffer joint pains and conditions like dysplasia.

The charts above are meant only as a guide for your Rottweiler’s weight and height, and every dog will develop differently at a varying rate. If your puppy is a long way above or below the guidelines, however, you may want to seek advice from your vet to ensure that they remain healthy.

See also:

• Top 25 Dog Breeds With the Strongest Bite Force (Ranked By PSI)
• Top 10 Dog Breeds Most Likely to Bite Humans

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Featured Image Credit: Ricantimages, Shutterstock