Chihuahua Growth Chart

Chihuahuas have a big personality hiding in a tiny package, they are charming and sassy. They get their name after the Mexican state of chihuahua, they also have been derived from the Techichi, an ancient dog breed in America. In addition, they are the smallest dog breed in the world, this is why people nickname them “purse dog”. Every Chihuahua owner is concerned about how big their dog will be? If and when their Chihuahua will stop growing? Chihuahua’s growth chart is not a one-way thing. You will be surprised that the smallest of your pup can come out to be the biggest when they clock one year.

Determination of how large your Chihuahua will be can be determined by looking at its pedigree. Height, size, facial look, color is all affected by heredity. The kind of gene a Chihuahua inherits from its parents determines how it looks. You can check the past generation of your dog to have an idea of the size of your Chihuahua.

Growth Rate

Newly born

source: pexels

At birth, they do not weigh more than a few ounces. The most rapid growth is during the first month of birth. Chihuahua increases in size almost every day.

Puppies

A Chihuahua will attain its adult size during the first year. But, you will have times where your Chihuahua gains weight rapidly and times where it seems to not gain weight. It is good if you keep an eye on your dog’s weight by measuring it monthly. If you notice that there is no weight gain for four weeks, it is better you visit the veterinarian.

A year to 18 months

Between the first year and 18 months, your Chihuahua will reach its maximum adult size. Your Chihuahua chest will still get wide a bit at the end of its growth.

Changes in the shape of the body

Chihuahua has a round shape. The body contains extra fats which serve as insulation against cold and also as fuel reserves. Your Chihuahua gaining more weight should not worry you. Chihuahuas are hyperactive and they do not usually have health complications that will make them gain weight.

Some Chihuahua loses some weight during their first year and one and a half years. As the growth rate increases, Chihuahua assumes a sleek and lean appearance. Also, the side of the body and ribs get thinner.

It is rare that an adult Chihuahua will be affected by overweight. But if there is a health condition that makes your Chihuahua not be active. It can lead to excessive weight gain. If there is an intake of calories but there are no corresponding activities to burn out the calories, overweight issues are possible.

How to use the Growth Chart

The Growth Chart is used to find the estimated weight of Chihuahuas when fully grown. This is achieved by using a weight chart. Remember, it is an estimate but it usually gives the correct weight with a one to two pounds difference.

There are factors that determine the size of a fully grown adult Chihuahua. They are:

1. The two-parent size: This factor is the most important factor that can determine a chihuahua future size,
2. The level of activity the dog is involved in: activities like exercises are very important in a chihuahua’s life, exercises can build strong muscles and bones. However, excessive exercise can have very bad effects on a chihuahua’s growth rate.
3. The nutrition of the dog: a chihuahua puppy gets all the nutrients they need throughout their mom’s milk, including, protein, fatty acids, amino acids, sugar, etc. After that, they will depend on their daily meals given by their human parents, so these meals must have the elements a chihuahua needs to boost healthy growth and development.
4. As it’s known some genes can’t be shown in some generations, but they can affect other generations as well. This means that a chihuahua can have genes of her grandparents, genes of size, color…
5. Hormones: the level of hormones plays also an important role. Because, if the pituitary gland of a puppy doesn’t make enough amount o vital hormones, the growth of the pup may be very slow.
6. Health problems: There are some health issues that can affect directly the growth of a puppy, such as some parasites that can live in a puppy’s intestinal tract like roundworms, and whipworms. These parasites prevent the puppy from nutritional intake and growth.

Instructions on how to use the growth chart

The growth chart is not difficult to use. The weights are calibrated in ounces.

If you have a weighing scale at home but it uses ounces, you can use it to weigh your dog and see if it corresponds with the weight on the chart.

How to convert pounds to ounces.

If your weighing scale is in pounds, you can easily convert pounds to ounces using this method.

For example, your dog weighs 2.2 pounds

What you need to do is to multiply the first number before the decimal point by 16. In this case, it is 2. Then add the number after the decimal point to the result of the multiplication.

2.2 pounds to ounce

i.e 2 x 16 = 32 + 2 = 34 ounces.

The growth chart has a column for ages. Look for the age of your dog. Then check the column for the weight (ounce) to find your dog’s corresponding weight. Stay at that column and trace it down to the last column to get the estimated adult weight.

To make it easy for you here is a Quick Reference Growth Chart using US Measurements 

Also, you can use Quick Reference Growth Chart using Metric Units