This page sets out the rules PupTimeline writes to: where its numbers come from, how its ranges are calculated, what it will not publish, and how errors are handled. The rules are the same on every page of the site.
Where the numbers come from
Adult weight ranges use the American Kennel Club breed standard as their only basis, on every breed. Where a peer-reviewed study has measured what pet dogs of the breed actually weigh, that figure is disclosed beside the table with its sample size and source; it is never swapped in for the standard, because a mixed basis would make “adult range” mean different things on different pages.
Growth percentages come from Salt et al. (2017) and the open dataset published with it, 8,459,668 bodyweight records from veterinary clinics. Breed-specific facts come only from peer-reviewed papers or from the breed’s AKC parent club. A fact that cannot be sourced that way is not published.
How the ranges are calculated
Breed pages multiply the median growth curve for the breed’s size class by the breed’s adult range from the standard, separately for each sex. The calculator instead multiplies the puppy’s current weight by the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile shares for its age and size class.
The two methods are never combined. Applying the percentile spread on top of the adult range would count the same variation twice, because at 24 months the spread between percentiles is the spread of adult size.
What the site does not publish
- Feeding amounts, diets or supplement advice.
- Medication doses of any kind.
- Guidance on symptoms, illness or whether a dog needs to see a vet, beyond noting when a weight trend is worth raising with one.
- Breed “facts” that cannot be traced to a peer-reviewed paper or the breed’s parent club. Where no such fact exists for a breed, the page says what can be said about its size class and stops there.
- Ratings, reviews or product recommendations.
How uncertainty is handled
Where the data is weaker, the page says so in the place the reader will see it. The medium size class is interpolated from the classes either side because the source records contain no breeds of that adult size. The giant class is the site’s own percentiles from the same records because the source study could not model dogs over 40 kg.
Where a breed’s measured pet population runs heavier than its standard, as most toy and small breeds do, the breed page discloses the measured figure and says that a dog above the chart is in ordinary company. Body condition, not the chart, decides whether a dog is overweight.
How content is produced
Pages are drafted with software, including AI writing tools, working from the source data, the curve arithmetic and the sources listed on each page. Every figure, source and claim is checked by the publisher against its source before publication, and again whenever a page is revised. The date shown on each page records the last revision.
Corrections
Errors can be reported to [email protected]. A report is checked against the source cited on the page. Where the report is right, the figure is corrected, the modified date is updated, and any other page carrying the same figure is corrected at the same time; the site runs an automated check for figures that disagree between pages.
Independence
PupTimeline carries no advertising, affiliate links or sponsored content, and accepts no payment or product from breeders, pet-food companies or veterinary businesses. If that changes, this page will say so and the affected pages will carry a notice.