Rescue Puppy Ends Up Growing Much Larger Than Anyone Expected
Adopting a mixed-breed dog from a shelter can be rewarding and offer the best feeling in the world — for both you and your new pet. But when it comes to rescue puppies, you never quite know what you're in for until you get them home and wait a few months. A lot of a dog's temperament has to do with breed and training, and then there's size...with a mixed-breed rescue mutt sometimes growing much larger than anyone ever expected, as chronicled by this Threads user who wound up with a much bigger pup than she had hoped!
On Threads, the original poster shared images of her sweet rescue pooch, who, at 7 months old, has already outgrown seven metal dog crates since being taken home at just 8 weeks old. She explains that she was told the furry friend wouldn't weigh more than 60 pounds full-grown, but has since proven to be taller, lankier, and have longer legs than ever anticipated. Still, she admits she's happy she got him, noting that he's as sweet as can be.
"He is massively cute though! ❤️❤️❤️❤️," noted one person in the comments, as another joked, "1/2 Beagle, 1/2 Moose. Love it!!" Meanwhile, others jumped in with their own stories of adopted dogs who wound up larger than expected: "We adopted a 12wk old puppy from a rescue during COVID. She and her mom looked like black labs, so we expected her to be ~60lbs or so. She's now 4 years old and 110lbs. 🙃" Just more to love, we say!
Can you guess how big a dog will get?
If you fully know a puppy's breed, you can make a fairly accurate assumption about how big that puppy will be as an adult, based on breed standards. But when it comes to mixed-breed rescue pups of unknown origin, all bets are off. That 8-week-old puppy looks small now, but their full-grown size could be a surprise!
Outside of clearly small-breed dogs that will stay under 10 pounds, there are a couple of ways to try to guess the final size of medium-to-large breeds, based on paw size and doubling the puppy's weight at 16 weeks. One possible sign that a puppy might be large is if their paws appear oversized compared to their legs, meaning they are still growing into their frame. Then, there's the 16-week rule, where you double a medium-to-large-sized dog's weight to give you an indication of how big they might be in the end.
Toy and small breeds reach full size by 9 to 12 months, while medium-sized breeds grow till around 12 to 14 months. Meanwhile, large and giant breeds can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months to reach full maturity. Most puppies reach 80% of their adult weight by 12 months old. No matter a dog's final size, though, their love is often even bigger!