Puppy Weightcheck: A Digital Health Tool to Check the Weight of Your Puppy
Why Is Monitoring Puppy Weight Ranges Important?
Puppies that grow too quickly or too slowly may suffer from health problems into adulthood. For example, overweight puppies are more likely to become overweight adults that are at a greater risk of diabetes, osteoarthritis and a shorter life expectancy.
Your puppy’s weight can be influenced by a range of factors, including sex, breed, diet and exercise, and it can be tough to know whether your puppy is growing at a healthy rate! Puppy Weightcheck was developed as an easy way to get a snapshot of your puppy’s growth to help keep them on track into adulthood.
How Does Puppy Weightcheck Work?
Puppy WeightCheck is designed for use with male and female puppies aged between 12 to 55 weeks, with an expected adult weight of up to 88 lbs. By providing their sex, age, breed, expected adult size, and current weight, Puppy WeightCheck lets you know if their current weight is lighter, similar, or heavier compared to similar puppies their age.
How Was Puppy Weightcheck Developed?
To determine what healthy growth looks like, a team of Waltham veterinarians and scientists monitored the development of 50,000 healthy young dogs (Salt et al. 2017). From here, they created the WALTHAM™ Puppy Growth Charts, built with ten distinct curves to account for differences in body size and sex. A puppy’s weight is then mapped against percentile lines via repeated measures throughout puppyhood to explore their growth pattern.
The data that powers the Puppy Growth Charts was used to create Puppy WeightCheck to provide a snapshot of how your puppy's current weight at one point in time compares to similar puppies their age.
References:
Salt et al (2017): Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes, PLOS ONE 19(11): e0314711.
Puppy Growth Charts | WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute(Opens a new window)
Disclaimers:
Puppy Weightcheck does not diagnose your puppy with obesity or any weight conditions - only their veterinarian can do this and can treat disease. It’s important to understand that our assessment is an estimate that focuses solely on comparing your puppy’s current weight today to other healthy puppies of a similar size and same age. It is not a substitute for a full physical exam.
Puppy Weightcheck cannot yet predict how your Giant breed pet (adult weight expected to be over 88lbs) compares to others. Please consult your veterinarian on an appropriate growth plan.