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“Do you by chance have a newborn puppy weight chart? We want to make sure our litter is gaining the right amount of weight.” – A.R.
We’ve raised three Golden Retriever litters and from day 1 we start weighing the puppies. It’s uber important to track weight because if a pup is not gaining or even worse losing weight then something is probably wrong.
A couple years ago we noticed Falken from our second litter wasn’t gaining weight and ended up taking our little pup to the vet when he was only 12 days old.
The good news is Falken pulled through after getting antibiotics and fluids from our emergency vet. He did fall behind on his weight gain and ended up being one of the smaller puppies from that litter.
Let’s get back to our question:
Question: Do you have a newborn puppy weight chart?
Answer: Yes. We tracked the weight of all 24 of our puppies (3 litters) from newborn until they were 8 weeks old.
And the second part of our question: “We want to make sure our puppies are gaining the right amount of weight.”
I’m not going to share all 24 puppy weight charts, but maybe sharing the puppy weight chart for one of our litters will help answer Part II of the question.
Remember this is based on our 3 litters of Golden Retriever puppies which is a larger breed of dog. Our mama dog, Raven weighs just under 70 pounds.
Also, Raven was bred with different sires resulting in different size puppies in each litter.
If you’re raising a litter of Chihuahuas you can definitely expect smaller puppies. On the other hand if you have a litter of Great Danes you can expect bigger pups.
QUICK RECOMMENDATION: If you’re raising or about to raise a litter of puppies you might want to check out our Whelping Checklist. We list all the supplies we use to whelp our litters.
How Much Should A Newborn Golden Retriever Puppy Weigh?
I’m going to make an assumption that we’re talking about a puppy at birth.
We weighed all 24 of our Golden Retriever puppies the day they were born and there was a decent gap between our heaviest and lightest puppy.
As I noted earlier each litter had a different sire and Raven is a Golden Retriever which are a larger dog breed.
Question: How much should a newborn Golden Retriever puppy weigh?
Answer: In our first litter the average newborn puppy weighed just over 1 pound (16 ounces). However, out of 3 litters (24 puppies) our largest puppy at birth was 17 ounces and the smallest was 10.5 ounces.
At 8 weeks old our largest puppy was from the first litter at 16 pounds 5 ounces.
At 8 weeks old our smallest puppy came from the third litter at 8 pounds 8 ounces. And everything in between.
That is a huge difference! The largest is nearly twice the size of the smallest!
One thing to note: We had litters of 6, 8, and 10 puppies. The larger the litter the smaller the puppies were at birth and through their first eight weeks.
This is the newborn puppy weight chart from our first litter of Golden Retriever puppies. There were 6 puppies in the litter and the puppies from litter #1 were larger then the puppies from litters #2 and #3.
Each puppy wore a different color collar represented by the header in the first row in our table. The puppy weights were measured in pounds and ounces.
Example: Day 1, Black Collar Puppy = 1:1 = 1 pound, 1 ounce
Hopefully that all makes sense.
Without further adieu:
Raven’s 1st Litter – Puppy Weight Chart
We put together 2 printable PDF documents in our Resource Library. One has the Puppy Weight Chart below in printable PDF.
You can access our Resource Library by joining our email list:
I put together a second blank Puppy Weight Chart PDF that you can print and fill out if you’re going to have a litter of puppies.
Raven’s 1st Litter (Veterans) – Puppy Weight Chart
| Week 1 | ||||||
| 1 | 1:0.5 | 1:1 | 1:0 | 1:0 | 1:0 | 1:0.5 |
| 2 | 1:2 | 1:4 | 1:2 | 1:2 | 1:3 | 1:2 |
| 3 | 1:5 | 1:6 | 1:3 | 1:4.5 | 1:3 | 1:4 |
| 4 | 1:7 | 1:9 | 1:5 | 1:7 | 1:5 | 1:6 |
| 5 | 1:10 | 1:11.5 | 1:8.5 | 1:10 | 1:8.5 | 1:7.5 |
| 6 | 1:11.5 | 1:14.5 | 1:10.5 | 1:13 | 1:10.5 | 1:10 |
| 7 | 1:13 | 2:1 | 1:13.5 | 1:15.5 | 1:12.5 | 1:13.5 |
| Week 2 | ||||||
| 8 | 1:12.5 | 2:2 | 1:15 | 2:2 | 1:13.5 | 1:14.5 |
| 9 | 1:13.5 | 2:4 | 2:0 | 2:3.5 | 1:14.5 | 1:15 |
| 10 | 1:15 | 2:6 | 2:0.5 | 2:3.5 | 2:0.5 | 2:1.5 |
| 11 | 2:0 | 2:8.5 | 2:3.5 | 2:7.5 | 2:3.5 | 2:3.5 |
| 12 | 2:2.5 | 2:10.5 | 2:5 | 2:9 | 2:4 | 2:5 |
| 13 | 2:5.5 | 2:12.5 | 2:6.5 | 2:12.5 | 2:6.5 | 2:6.5 |
| 14 | 2:7.5 | 2:15.5 | 2:9.5 | 2:15 | 2:10.5 | 2:7.5 |
| Week 3 | ||||||
| 15 | 2:11.5 | 3:1.5 | 2:11 | 3:1 | 2:11.5 | 2:10.5 |
| 16 | 2:14.5 | 3:3.5 | 2:13.5 | 3:4.5 | 2:13 | 3:0 |
| 17 | 3:2 | 3:6 | 2:14 | 3:5.5 | 3:3 | 2:14 |
| 18 | 3:2.5 | 3:8 | 3:1 | 3:7.5 | 3:7.5 | 3:0 |
| 19 | 3:4 | 3:10 | 3:2 | 3:10.5 | 3:8.5 | 3:3 |
| 20 | 3:6.5 | 3:12 | 3:4 | 3:12.5 | 3:12 | 3:7.5 |
| 21 | 3:10 | 4:0 | 3:6.5 | 4:1 | 3:15.5 | 3:10 |
| Week 4 | ||||||
| 22 | 3:12.5 | 4:2.5 | 3:8 | 4:4 | 4:3.5 | 3:13 |
| 23 | 3:13.5 | 4:4 | 3:9 | 4:6 | 4:3 | 3:14 |
| 24 | 4:0.5 | 4:5.5 | 3:11.5 | 4:8.5 | 4:3.5 | 4:0.5 |
| 25 | 4:5 | 4:10 | 3:15 | 4:11 | 4:6.5 | 4:4 |
| 26 | 4:8 | 4:13 | 4:0.5 | 4:14 | 4:9.5 | 4:7.5 |
| 27 | 4:10 | 4:15 | 4:4 | 5:0 | 4:12.5 | 4:10 |
| 28 | 4:12.5 | 5:1 | 4:6 | 5:3 | 4:14.5 | 4:12 |
| Week 5 | ||||||
| 29 | 4:15 | 5:4.5 | 4:9 | 5:7 | 5:1.5 | 5:0.5 |
| 30 | 5:2 | 5:7.5 | 4:12 | 5:9.5 | 5:3 | 5:3 |
| 31 | 5:4.5 | 5:10 | 4:14.5 | 5:12 | 5:6.5 | 5:7 |
| 32 | 5:12 | 6:3 | 5:6 | 6:4 | 5:14 | 5:15 |
| 33 | 5:13 | 6:1.5 | 5:7 | 6:4 | 6:0.5 | 5:15 |
| 34 | 6:3 | 6:7.5 | 5:12.5 | 6:10.5 | 6:5 | 6:4 |
| 35 | 6:10 | 6:15 | 6:3.5 | 7:3.5 | 6:12 | 6:12 |
| Week 6 | ||||||
| 36 | 6:15 | 7:5 | 6:9 | 7:12 | 7:0 | 7:15 |
| 37 | 7:5.5 | 8:0.5 | 7:1 | 8:8.5 | 7:8 | 7:11 |
| 38 | 7:9 | 8:3 | 7:3 | 8:11 | 7:10 | 7:15 |
| 39 | 7:10.5 | 8:9 | 7:7 | 8:13.5 | 7:15 | 8:1 |
| 40 | 7:15 | 8:13 | 7:11 | 9:6 | 8:4.5 | 8:7 |
| 41 | 8:6 | 9:8.5 | 8:1.5 | 9:15 | 8:13 | 9:1 |
| 42 | 8:9 | 9:9 | 8:5 | 10:1 | 9:0 | 9:4 |
| Week 7 | ||||||
| 43 | 8:15.5 | 10:1 | 8:13 | 10:9 | 9:4 | 9:11 |
| 44 | 9:1 | 10:7 | 9:2 | 11:1 | 9:11 | 9:14 |
| 45 | 9:8 | 11:2 | 9:8 | 11:10 | 10:5 | 10:12 |
| 46 | 9:12 | 11:5 | 9:14 | 12:2 | 10:9 | 10:15 |
| 47 | 10:6 | 12:1 | 10:4 | 12:11 | 10:14 | 11:5 |
| 48 | 10:9 | 12:5 | 10:7 | 13:2 | 11:5 | 11:8 |
| 49 | 10:12 | 12:8 | 11:0 | 13:6 | 11:11 | 12:0 |
| Week 8 | ||||||
| 50 | 10:15 | 12:12 | 11:1 | 13:9 | 11:11 | 12:4 |
| 51 | 11:7 | 13:9 | 11:9 | 14:6 | 12:5 | 12:13 |
| 52 | 11:11 | 13:12 | 11:12 | 14:10 | 12:9 | 13:5 |
| 53 | 12:1 | 14:4 | 12:4 | 15:3 | 13:0 | 13:14 |
| 54 | 12:10 | 14:8 | 12:7 | 15:8 | 13:5 | 13:15 |
| 55 | 13:4 | 14:13 | 13:7 | 15:14 | 13:11 | 14:7 |
| 56 | 13:11 | 15:6 | 13:8 | 16:5 | 14:2 | 14:12 |
Don’t forget if you’d like our printable Puppy Weight Chart PDFs then visit our Resource Library.
When weighing your puppies try to be as consistent as possible. If you’re not consistent with your weighings then you will notice a lot more fluctuation in your puppy weight chart.
- Weigh your puppies the same time every day.
- Weigh your puppies right after feedings. We prefer doing it this way because puppies are usually more docile and easier to weigh. Also, you’ll see a lot of fluctuation in weights if some days you weigh before feedings and some days after.
Be consistent with your weighings and it will be much easier to analyze your puppy weight chart.
How Much Weight Should A Newborn Puppy Gain Per Day?
When we have a litter of newborn puppies we weigh each puppy every day for the first 8 weeks (as you can see in the above puppy weight chart).
So, just look at the above chart and you can see how much each puppy gained each day.
As newborn puppies get older they gain more weight so there really is not simple answer to our question:
Question: “How much weight should a newborn puppy gain per day?”
Answer: During the first week our newborn puppies only gained about 1-3 ounces per day averaging about 2 ounces per day. In week 8, some days our pups gained as much as 10+ ounces in a day with an average of about 4-5 ounces per day for our bigger puppies.
The extreme fluctuations we saw with puppies gaining 10+ ounces in a day was because I wasn’t consistent when weighing the puppies. Somedays I weighed the pups before feeding and some days after.
*Of course these numbers are based on our litters of Golden Retrievers.
QUICK TIP: When it comes to your newborn puppy weight chart the most important thing is to make sure each puppy is gaining weight every day. If a puppy does not gain or loses weight one day then monitor him very closely and make sure he gains weight the next day.
Printable Puppy Weight Chart PDF
Did we mention that we put together a Printable Puppy Weight Chart PDF?
Yes, yes we did. Well, let’s go into a little more detail.
First, you have to join our email list to get access to our Resource Library. We have other printable PDFs on this page, you’ll want to go to the section labeled “Newborn Puppies”
Here’s what’s currently available in our library:
- Puppy Weight Chart PDF – this is a blank puppy weight chart that you can print and use to track your own litter.
- Puppy Weight Chart PDF: Raven’s 1st Litter – The same information from above, but in a printable PDF form just in case you’d like to print out the document.
We have the puppy weight charts for litters #2 and #3, and sometime in 2020 we’ll have weights for litter #4.
We weren’t planning on adding these charts to our resource library. They’re still written on a piece of paper, but I could transfer them to digital by updating my spreadsheets.
If you’d like us to add these puppy weight charts to our library for comparison please let me know by leaving a message in the comment section below.
Conclusion
Okay guys and gals, does that answer your questions?
Let’s Recap:
I know we all want to be sure our puppies are progressing the way they should so they grow to be healthy happy dogs.
So, take a look at the Raven’s first litter’s puppy weight chart. However, you might take the information with a grain of salt.
After experiencing Raven’s three litters I learned a few things about puppy weight charts:
- Puppy sizes vary greatly between litters even from the same mama. As we mentioned Raven had different sires and different sized litters which influenced each litter’s puppy weight charts.
- Even within a litters there’s a decent size difference between puppies. In Raven’s first litter the biggest puppy was 16 pounds 5 ounces at 8 weeks old and the smallest was 13 pounds 8 ounces.
- Be consistent when weighing your puppies. As our puppies got older I wasn’t as consistent when weighing the pups. Thus you see days of huge weight gains and the following day very little gains.
- Weigh your puppies every day and make sure they’re gaining weight. If a puppy is not gaining or losing weight then monitor him closely and consider taking him to the vet if he continues to lose weight.
That’s a wrap folks!
Have you ever cared for newborn puppies?
Do you keep a puppy weight chart when raising a litter of puppies?
Do you have any tips for weighing and tracking your puppies?
Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below.
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DISCLAIMER: Guys I’m not a veterinarian. This information is for entertainment purposes only. If you have questions about your dogs or puppies please consult with your veterinarian.
Top Picks For Our Puppies
- BEST PUPPY TOY
We Like: Calmeroos Puppy Toy w/ Heartbeat and Heat Packs - Perfect for new puppies. Helps ease anxiety in their new home. - BEST DOG CHEW
We Like: Bones & Chews Bully Sticks - All of our puppies love to bite, nip, and chew. We love using Bully Sticks to help divert these unwanted behaviors. - BEST DOG TREATS
We Like: Crazy Dog Train-Me Treats - We use these as our high-value treats for our guide dog puppies. - BEST FRESH DOG FOOD
We Like: The Farmer's Dog - A couple months ago we started feeding Raven fresh dog food and she loves it! Get 50% off your first order of The Farmer's Dog.
Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist.
Colby Morita has been raising and training guide and service dog puppies for over 13 years. He has puppy graduates from Guide Dogs of America, Tender Loving Canine Assistance Dogs, Cascade Service Dogs, and Canine Support Teams. Colby has been writing to the PuppyInTraining.com blog and sharing his puppy training tips from his experiences since 2007. Follow his puppy adventures at Facebook | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest