I have an about 5 month old GSD and am trying to order him a seat belt and they have a package deal for puppy and an adult belt, I'm just trying to estimate his adult size so I decide to buy large or extra large. So many people say he's going to be huge, I don't think so my guess is 70 - 75 lbs. Thought some people who raised shepherds might be able to give me an idea based on their dogs. He's 44 lbs at 5 months and trim, not thin, and 20 inches at wither.

 Quote: Kathleen Heth

I have an about 5 month old GSD and am trying to order him a seat belt and they have a package deal for puppy and an adult belt, I'm just trying to estimate his adult size so I decide to buy large or extra large. So many people say he's going to be huge, I don't think so my guess is 70 - 75 lbs. Thought some people who raised shepherds might be able to give me an idea based on their dogs. He's 44 lbs at 5 months and trim, not thin, and 20 inches at wither.

Based on this chart, I think you're about right:

http://www.mygermanshepherdpuppy.com/

I have heard another very general rule of thumb, too, about doubling the weight at 4 months to get the approximate adult weight.

Man, those charts gave me so much trouble when my pup was growing up...

The best thing to do, if you can, is to ask your pup's breeder to tell you how the parents grew. Were they quick or slow developers?

My pup was wayyy behind on the charts until he was 5-6 months old and I worried so much that he wasn't growing right. Even his male sibblings were all about 10 lbs. heavier than he was at 4 months. Other "GSD people" around me said that he would be a small dog (70-75 lbs. grown up) but his breeder warned me to expect him to grow BIG, as his sire was also very slow to start growing as a pup.

Usually, a pup's growth is supposed to slow down after 6 months, but in my case, my pup really started growing at 6 months (identical growth pattern as his sire, only my pup ended up even bigger!)

He's now almost 9 months old and just about 100 lbs!!! He turned out to be the largest of his sibblings and is still nice and thin (you can see a hint of rib on him when he moves around).

Get the information on the parents, it's more accurate than those charts. Those things can really drive you crazy

lol, Connie, my pup was only about 40 lbs. at 4 months of age - maybe they should have different charts for different lines of shepherds. I hear they grow/mature at different rates...

WOW! 100 pounds!!!

I am looking at my 65-pound version and trying to picture him more than 50% bigger.........

And sounds like the chart WAS way off!

Unfortuneatly I have no breeder info he was a rescue. I'm going to order the large and hope it fits! If not my lab can use it! I have heard the double the weight at 4 months - he was so sick at 4 months. It was right on for my Rhodesian though.

Strangely enough, my little American line female shepherd grew just as the chart predicted, but ended up at 59-60 lbs.

My pup isn't giant or anything, he just has huge bone and is extremely muscular and dense... it's hard to explain, but he just has a lot of power to him (you can really see it when he runs full out, or when he leaps at you, ha... ha...).

Look at how tiny and baby-like he was at 3.5 months old: http://static.flickr.com/72/201141801_6c823ae8f8_o.jpg

At 4 months old, still tiny (40 lbs.) and way under weight according to the chart: http://static.flickr.com/94/222094623_42994a32a7_o.jpg

But as you can see in this action shot of him trying to catch sand, his musculature and bone structure suggest much more growth ahead: http://static.flickr.com/61/222099188_1ac5237c0f_o.jpg

Suddenly looks far more mature at 8 months: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/304965855_8d85da1c24_o.jpg

Aaand at 9 months and 100 lbs: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/131/338691685_615446cc92_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/338691682_93dae21301_o.jpg

Ok I hope this is not going off topic; this is just to show that you can tell far more from the puppy's parents and his structure than by the charts. The charts may be accurate for some, but don't rely too much on them...

the only rule of thumb i have ever heard was the 4 month wgt X 2, which seems to hold fairly true for most dogs.