How Accurate is the Yorkie Growth Chart?
 

Krissie is 17 weeks old this week. Today she had her last set of shots including her rabies. She weighed in at 4lbs 2ounces. According to the Yorkie Growth Chart, she will be 4lbs 8ounces at 18 months old.

Have any of you found this growth chart to be accurate in calculating the size of your yorkies?

Just curious..

What growth chart are you using because I just looked it up on the growth chart that I got from YT and it says that your dog will be close to 7lbs... And to answer your question, Kallie weighs 2 lbs less than the growth chart and Stewie weighs 3 pounds more than the chart said he would.. So no I do not believe it is always accurate.. I can tell you that if your dog already weighs 4.2 then she is definately not going to stop growing at 4.8....:)

Joey stayed exactly on the chart, till about 8 months of age, and now he's about a pound over what was predicted. This isn't fat either.

I think it's different for every dog, but I think it's a great overall guide. I can't remember with my Wylie.

With Marcel - he was 1.4 lbs when I got him at 16 weeks - so, I was figuring (and hoping) he'd be btwn 3-3.5 pounds. Then, over the next few months - I was really growing nervous as he was tracking for 2.5 pounds. It was not until much later that he had a little spurt - and now finally he's settled in at about 3.3-3.4.

I think it all depends on the particular dog, the size of its parents/grandparents/etc and size at birth. In my experiences, most seasoned breeders (unless they aren't honest with you) can tell approx. how large a particular puppy will be full grown.
*My Baron has stayed right on track with most of the growth charts I looked up when I got him. At 12 weeks old he was under 1.5lbs and now he's 1 year old and almost 3 lbs.

is there a link to the growth chart? i would like to see it

This is the growth chart that I used. Maybe I am using it wrong.:confused:

Yorkshire Terrier Puppy Growth/Weight Chart

Krissie's Mom was 5 1/2 pounds and her dad was 3 1/2 pounds. Her mother had silver hair, short legs, longer body and a more terrier shaped face. Whereas her father has petite features, long legs compared to his body, but very petite. Krissie looks more like her mom.

I have not found the growth chart to be very accuratre. i do better with just doubling their weight at 12 weeks.

OK- I see that I was calculating it wrong. Wow!! Krissie will be a great deal bigger than both of her parents and she was the runt!!! Stature wise, she is still quite small. Short legs, small feet, longer body, but 7 lbs WOW!

She's my little smooshie, no matter how big she gets! :p

The chart seems to be a hit or miss in my exprience by a couple ounces. Also note that you may get a throwback and it end up being a much larger baby due to a growth spurt.

Ummm I don't think your reading the chart correctly. If you look at her current weight and project she should be over 6lbs. I would guess closer to the 7lb mark.

I think doubling at 12 weeks is usually closer. The chart is good as a general tool but genetics have slot t d quth it. When I got Evee the breeder was able to tell me what range she thought and she was right on. She definetly knows her lines. Its never a for sure but I think the breeder knows more egab a chart. Suri will probably be around 4 pounds.

pebbles has followed the weight chart exactly... but i know this is a rare occurance ;)

The growth chart was dead on accurate for both of my babies.

Growth chart
 

Hurray for all of you who have been able to follow a growth chart with success. I have yet to have a growth chart be accurate! We had a puppy born (delivered c-section, her head was so big!)as large as we have every seen at 8.25 oz and that charted to be close to 10 lbs - but ended up at 5 1/2.
Our runts and larger babies change places in the size rotation early on, etc. They don't even follow it nicely from week to week. :-)
Our experience has been that it is more the bone structure, then family histories that come into play pretty consistently. It's nice to know - but what I do know is healthy ... and we have far more effect on that. :-)

Wow ... this chart is quite different from most of the other charts ... Leo is charting to be 4.6 here, but at 12 weeks breeder & Vet estimated 5 to 5 1/2 lbs. And a lot of the other charts put him at 5 to 5 12 lbs. I hope they are all wrong and he hits at least 6 lbs :)

So far the growth chart has been spot on for Gunner. He is usually a few ounces more or less each week.

Which growth chart do you use?

I don't find the growth chart to be all that accurate all the time but it does give a bit of an idea. I have sometimes had a pup grow into bigger than I expected sometimes smaller.
BTW, please do not let Vet do Rabies vaccinations same time as other boosters. That is way too overwhelming and you can end up with a problem often it can trigger an auto immune issue you may never be able to overcome. Also never have vaccinations given if the dog is under or going under anesthesia for any surgical procedure. Liver, kidneys etc are already dealing with surgery gases and last thing you want to do is to challenge the immune system as well.

This is the one I have been using since I got Gunner.

I was wondering the same thing my Noah is 17 weeks and weighs 3.7lbs

A growth chart is only as accurate as the background of your pup. If your pup had an ancestry of dogs that were pretty much within the standard of what a Yorkshire Terrier should be then your pet will probably be close to the charting.

If your pup's ancestry contains a wide range of sizes then the chart will probably not be much help to you.

If your really want to know what size your pup may be then sit down with your breeder and go through the history of their dogs. A good breeder keeps accurate records of what they are producing.

Growth charts
 

Paid for a "smaller Yorkie", breeder insisted he would be under 5 pounds since parents were as he stated, mom 4.5 pounds and dad 5.5 pounds. Saw both parents many times, I would add a pound to each parent. My puppy is 11 pounds at 7 months! Have the AKC papers as well, not that they mean much either. Don't mind paying extra for anything as long as the seller/breeder is truthful and accurate...couldn't figure out why the breeder was so willing to let me have my male pup at 8.5 weeks of age...just got a female, 8 weeks old, again breeder insisted she would be small, mom is 4.5 lbs and dad is 3 lbs. didn't pay as much but took her to my own vet yesterday and she weighed 2.5 pounds, amazingly gained 8 ounces overnight if I believe the weight the breeder told me she was when I picked her up...very shady people out there and very sad when looking for responsible breeders...disgusted and disappointed...

Have had 7 yorkies over 30 years so know the breed well...love ALL my yorkies no matter how much they weigh!!!

This happens all the time top people, many back yard breeders know people looking for a Yorkie want a smaller one and the flat out lie or don't even know the truth themselves, which is worse, because no one should be breeding without knowing about plenty about genetics.

First of all, no breeder can guarantee size, there are sometimes throw backs that might be a pound or so heavier than all it's ancestors, but good breeders know the line on both sides 5 generations, so they are aware of all the different weights, and probably won't be more than a couple pounds off. Also, while parents weight is one factor, they may have been the runts of their litter and produce much bigger dogs, so knowing parents weight only helps a little. I always recommend that people go to the YTCA to look for a breeder. They are trying to produce dogs to standard and the standard is below 7 pounds, so you are much more likely to get a Yorkie that looks like a Yorkie. Also, good breeders won't breed a female under 5 pounds, so all those tinies are placed with pet owners not bred. Breeding a dog under 5 pounds does not guarantee the offspring will be under 7 all it does is put a smaller dog into jeopardy. Also, good breeders will not place a dog under 12 weeks, and this is especially important for tines, a dog should be around 2 pounds before it goes to the new home and if it's at 12 weeks, the final weight should be 4 pounds give or take a pound, and if it's at 8 weeks it would ultimately be 6 pounds give or take a pound.

Back yard breeders have been know to lie about birthdates as well, but your breeder should have known that your first dog won't be a tinie. I personally believe she lied to you. One more tip, good breeders don't charge more for tinies, they charge the same. Were you given breeding rights?


Just want to add, there are some very beautiful larger Yorkies out there, bigger Yorkies are great with kids and generally have good temperaments. I can think of many advantages of having a larger Yorkie, but I just never recommend going to a bad breeder.

Blossom has followed the growth chart almost exactly as predicted. She is charting to be 6 lbs. She was 5.1 lb the last time she was weighed and that was at 27 weeks. She is now almost 10 months and she may have gained another 1/2 lb since then but I'm just guessing at that.

Some follows the chart and some don't. Don't get your hopes up or down on it. Just love them for their personality!

Coco was born from a batch of 5 sibling. He was the biggest of his batch. Mom was 8lb and dad was 6lb. Coco ended up being 15lb. He's full of muscle and very very intelligent. Coco hardly ever bark and he just taps my leg with his paw if he wanted something. The only time when he barks is when I let him in the yard and he wants to come back in. All of Coco sibling were under 7lb. He has a sister that is full grown at 3 1/2 lb. So yea, the range is so different.

Like GracieLove said, "If your really want to know what size your pup may be then sit down with your breeder and go through the history of their dogs. A good breeder keeps accurate records of what they are producing."

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Too bad most don't know about backyard breeders until it's too late.

As mentioned above, you were lied to by your backyard breeder. So many red flags in your posts. Just be hopeful that both of your puppies will be healthy and that's all you can ask for :)

For everyone else, please take the time and effort to meet breeders in person at dog shows and ask questions in person to learn more. There are SO many backyard breeders on the internet because the internet is the easiest place for deceptive, greedy, and irresponsible people to hide behind. And FYI, there are backyard breeders who are AKC registered too, so sorry to disappoint you, but you can't really judge a good breeder purely by AKC status. And please...remember it's not how much they charge you, it's how reputable, responsible and experienced the breeder is. Websites selling Yorkies for $3000+ are not any better if it's coming from a puppy mill or another backyard breeder.

Growth charts
 

I do not find the charts to be especially accurate. As a breeder, I find knowing the genetic heritage of both parents, and charting the growth of puppies for the first year allows me to give a more accurate prediction to owners. No reputable breeder would guarantee a size. They will say I estimate about....... I kept back a beautiful female who was charting 5# at 12 weeks of age. At one year she was 2#8. She followed her fathers genetic line.

I didn't find the chart to be super helpful; and if anything I found myself obsessing, like I do when weighing myself during a "diet" haha.
We thought & I was hoping Monroe would be 6 pounds when I picked her out at 14 weeks. Then, around 10 months it was looking like she'd be lucky to hit 4 pounds. Then, she hit a growth spurt and now is between 4.5 & 5 pounds depending on the scale.

In the future I'll just focus on enjoying a healthy, happy baby!