How Many Years Do Dogs Grow For?

[Little Gifts]

This will all sound very uninformed. This is Tempeh's (shar pei) third winter with us. Every winter I have made her new coats and I always make them bigger so that when she lies down she gets a cape effect given she doesn't have a lot of hair and struggles with the cold. Last winter she was 2 years old so I figured any coats I made would last. NOPE! Have started putting coats on for this winter and they are too small again! Her bum and thighs are all on display!

My Stafford girl can still fit into the same coats she had from when she was around 18 months of age. Both breeds are medium so how come Tempeh is still growing at 3 years of age? Is this normal? It is her torso/frame/legs that are bigger - she is not fatter or even heavier on the scales. Do certain breeds continue to grow past say 2 years or is she abnormal? Should her growth stop around now or will I be making new coats every winter?

[Dame Aussie]

My Aussie was pretty much full grown between 7 and 12 months and hasn't changed since, but my Anatolian kept filling out (not fat but just muscle) till he was about 4-5. I think it depends on the breed.

[LisaCC]

I wouldn't call it abnormal at all. I'd say she's probably on the end of any filling out now though. But remember just like people if you do any new exercise with her, her body will change with that.

Nova just turned 2 this month and has muscled up heaps in the last year. Even in the last 3 months or so I've noticed muscle gains in certain areas. He is still intact, I think desexed animals might stop gaining muscle earlier?

He stopped growing in height around a year old but has definitely grown in weight and muscle since. He is actually quite hard to put fat on.

I'm pretty sure my lab was filling out well into around 3 years of age.

Edited May 16, 2015 by LisaCC

[Danois]

Mine finished filling out etc around 4

[grumpette]

Yep it depends a lot on the breed and whether they are desexed or not.

Rotties will reach their full height at about 2 years, but if left entire they will continue to mature and lay down muscle mass until about three years old.

This is the reason why it is recommended to desex larger breed dogs later, so that the muscle and tendons/ligaments can fully develop and protect the joints, hopefully preventing joint problems in later life.

[Little Gifts]

She was desexed at around 6 months. I know I've had to let her harnesses out here and there over the years but didn't think much about it until I saw the coats on her and could really see the difference (given I was expecting none). When I remeasure her for new coats I'll be able to tell just which part of her body has filled out the most. Hopefully she might be at the tail end of any further growth now!