Golden retrievers have fun-loving personalities, and because of this, they are America’s favorite breed for families. So if you are thinking about adding this wonderful dog to your family you may be wondering; do golden retrievers grow fast?
Yes, A Golden Retriever will grow relatively fast. On average, by three months, a golden retriever will weigh over 20lbs anywhere from 14 to 19 inches tall!
Let’s go over what you could expect in the growth for your male and female golden retriever.
A good place to start when wondering how big your puppy will grow up to be is always considering your puppy’s parents’ size. While not all golden retrievers will end up the same size or grow at the same rate, the parents are usually a good indicator.
Table of Contents
First 12 weeks
This is an exciting time for you and your puppy. Everything in the world is new, as your puppy leaves its mother and littermates and joins your family. This usually occurs around 8 to 12 weeks. Your puppy will also leave behind infancy and go through several development stages.
As rapid learning takes place, exploration and social experiences are important. This is a great time to enroll your puppy in a kindergarten class. Your puppy will physically grow every week in weight and height. By the end of 12 weeks, your golden retriever puppy will also start to slightly take on a different look, more of an adult.
Your puppy will also be eating up to 4 times a day, starting to master potty training, vaccines should be underway, and did I mention chewing and biting. It’s not only a busy time for the puppy but also their owners.
What To Expect 3 to 6 Months
This is the stage your puppy will experience rapid growth and start to really loose their baby face. They will start to resemble an adult version of themselves.
It will seem that they are growing right before your eyes. You will notice your puppy having very long legs one day. No worries, they will quickly grow into them. By the time your golden retriever puppy is 4 months, they will have reached half their adult height.
It is likely your puppy is starting to lose their baby teeth and growing more of and adult coat
Remember to offer chew toys since the puppy will be biting and chewing everything in sight, including your hands and possibly your furniture.
This is also a great time to introduce your puppy to swimming and continue to work on mastering basic commands. Short walks can be introduced.
6 To 12 Months
In the stage from 6 to 12 months, your puppy’s growth will slow down. By six months, your puppy will weigh two-thirds of its adult weight. They will continue to grow in weight until 18 months. However, they will reach their full adult height by a year old.
As long as your puppy is health they usually can maintain on two meals a day at this point.
Your puppy will test the waters, so it’s important to continue training and mastering recall with your puppy.
Teething will have been in full force and by the end of moth 7 your puppy should have all 42 of their adult teeth.
During these months your puppy, female or male will be reaching sexual maturity. It’s likely by month six your female puppy may have come in heat for the first time.
At the end of this stage, around 12 months is a great time introducing more strenuous activities you want your puppy to partake in, such as jogging, swimming, and dock jumping.
When Do Golden Retrievers Stop Growing?
Golden Retrievers stop growing around 18 months of age. Golden Retrievers generally reach their full height by a year old and weight by 18 months.
Golden Retriever Puppy Too Fat Or Skinny
The easiest and fastest way to get an idea if your puppy is too fat or skinny is simply to look and feel your puppy and determine this.
Look at your puppy from above and determine if he has a waistline. A dog at ideal weight should have a waitlist and not a round belly.
Another way to determine a healthy weight is to put your hand on your puppies ribs on both sides, you should be able to feel the rib when applying light pressure. If you can’t feel the ribs at all your puppy could be overweight.
Also important in the ribs are too visible your puppy could be under weight.
Golden retriever have a history of being over weight and even obese it is say almost 63% of adult golden retrievers are obese.
Below we have added some data that we have collected from breeders. You will find female and male weight and height charts. These charts will show weight and height from 8 weeks up until a year old.
Female Golden Retriever Weight Growth Charts
| AGE | SMALLEST | LARGEST | AVG |
| 8 weeks | 5 lb | 24 lbs | 9.92 lbs |
| 9 weeks | 8.2lb | 17 lbs | 11.99 lbs |
| 10 weeks | 12.5lb | 21.8 lbs | 15.36 lb |
| 11 weeks | 11.8 | 20.3 lbs | 17.23 lb |
| 3 months | 16 lb | 43 lbs | 22.41 lb |
| 4 months | 24.5 lb | 44.1 lb | 30.27 lb |
| 5 months | 25 lb | 57 lbs | 39.63 lb |
| 6 months | 27 lb | 72 lbs | 43.56 lb |
| 7 months | 27 lb | 67 lbs | 44.77 lb |
| 8 months | 40 lb | 68 lbs | 52.18 lb |
| 9 months | 44 lb | 68 lbs | 52.18 lb |
| 10 months | 50 lb | 68 lb | 60 lb |
| 11 months | 52 lb | 80 lb | 65 lb |
| 1 Year | 55 lb | 90 lb | 70 lb |
Female Golden Retriever Puppy Height Chart
| AGE | SMALLEST | LARGEST | AVG |
| 8 weeks | 6” | 15” | 9.76” |
| 9 weeks | 8″ | 17″ | 11″ |
| 10 weeks | 11” | 18” | 13.65” |
| 3 months | 11” | 19” | 14.09” |
| 4 months | 12” | 22” | 17.21” |
| 5 months | 13” | 24” | 19.02” |
| 6 months | 15” | 24” | 18.77” |
| 7 months | 16” | 25” | 21.95” |
| 8 months | 16″ | 25” | 20.87” |
| 9 months | 18” | 25” | 22” |
| 1 Year | 20.5” | 26” | 23.03” |
Male Golden Retriever Weight Growth Charts
| AGE | SMALLEST | LARGEST | AVG |
| 8 weeks | 3 lbs | 15 lbs | 11.23 lbs |
| 9 weeks | 6.8 lbs | 18 lbs | 13.04 lbs |
| 10 weeks | 10 lbs | 28 lbs | 17.12 lbs |
| 3 months | 9 lbs | 34 lbs | 23.47 lbs |
| 4 months | 15 lbs | 55 lbs | 32.63 lbs |
| 5 months | 20 lbs | 67 lbs | 41.55 lbs |
| 6 months | 38 lbs | 75 lbs | 52.15 lbs |
| 7 months | 35 lbs | 70 lbs | 58.55 lbs |
| 8 months | 40 lbs | 77 lbs | 60.66 lbs |
| 9 months | 45 lb | 77 lb | 61 lb |
| 1 Year | 65 lb | 77 lb | 68 lb |
Male Golden Retriever Puppy Height Growth Charts
| AGE | SMALLEST | LARGEST | AVG |
| 8 weeks | 6” | 15” | 10.96” |
| 9 weeks | 9” | 15” | 12.45” |
| 10 weeks | 11” | 15” | 12.62” |
| 3 months | 10” | 20” | 15.23” |
| 4 months | 12” | 24” | 18.93” |
| 5 months | 13.5” | 24” | 19.30” |
| 6 months | 19” | 24.5” | 22.03” |
| 7 months | 19” | 26” | 22.53” |
| 8 months | 21″ | 26” | 23.4” |
Summary Of Puppy Development Stages
Of course, we want to mention this is a rough guide to follow not all puppies will develop exactly the same.
8-12Weeks – Busy time for you and your puppy, Rapid learning and developmental stages occur at this time. Also, vaccines, potty training, social experiences, getting used to grooming, and being handled in general is important.
3-6 Months During this time you puppy will have its biggest jump in height and weight. Your puppy will also start to lose baby teeth and chewing will be its number one hobby. They will start to look more as a version of the adult selves.
6-12 Months Growth will slow down, adult teeth will be coming in, sexual maturity for both females and males, they will also be ready around 12 months for more strenuous exercises and activities. Puppy will reach their full height by 12 months
Your puppy will continue to fill out in the weight department until 18 months.
If you puppy more time and effort into training your puppy, it will learn faster than the puppy that doesn’t receive as much training. If you’re working daily on training compared to once a week, you will see your puppy making more headway learning their commands. You will get out what you put in the training department.
Remember to enjoy your puppy; he will eventually stop biting and chewing, so try to him job them while they are little. It doesn’t last very long with a golden retriever. In just a few short months, you won’t be able to carry you golden around. So enjoy your puppy and have fun!