Every figure on PupTimeline is cited next to where it appears. This page collects those sources in one place so they can be checked, and so a reader who wants the underlying data knows where to go.
Three kinds of source are used. Adult weight ranges come from breed standards published by the American Kennel Club. Growth curves come from one peer-reviewed study and the open dataset published with it. Breed-specific facts come from named peer-reviewed papers, most of them from the VetCompass programme at the Royal Veterinary College, which analyses anonymised records from primary-care veterinary practices.
Growth curve data
The growth curves behind every chart and the calculator come from a single study and its dataset. How the site’s percent-of-adult-weight table was derived from that dataset, and what it cannot tell you, is set out on the growth data page.
- Salt C, Morris PJ, Wilson D, Lund EM, German AJ (2017). Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes. PLoS ONE 12(9): e0182064
- Supporting dataset, University of Liverpool DataCat (CC BY 4.0)
Breed standards
Adult weight ranges on every breed page are the American Kennel Club standard for that breed, stored in kilograms and converted to pounds at display time. Where the standard gives one range for both sexes, the page says so; where it describes one sex in words rather than numbers, the page says the figure is derived.
Breed-specific studies
Breed-specific studies supply the “Worth knowing for this breed” note on each breed page and, where a comparable measured adult weight exists, the “What this breed actually weighs” note beside the table. Each is listed with the pages it is used on.
- Tobias KM, Rohrbach BW (2003). Association of breed with the diagnosis of congenital portosystemic shunts in dogs: 2,400 cases (1980–2002). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 223(11):1636–1639
Used on: Maltese, Yorkshire Terrier - O’Neill DG, Skipper AM, Kadhim J, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, Packer RMA (2019). Disorders of Bulldogs under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013. PLoS ONE 14(6): e0217928
Used on: Bulldog - Engdahl KS, Brodbelt DC, Cameron C, Church DB, Hedhammar Å, O’Neill DG (2023). Demography and disorders of English Cocker Spaniels under primary veterinary care in the UK. Canine Medicine and Genetics 10:4
Used on: Cocker Spaniel - O’Neill DG, Butcher C, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, Gough AG (2019). Miniature Schnauzers under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013: demography, mortality and disorders. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 6:1
Used on: Miniature Schnauzer - Schrank M, Mollo A, Contiero B, Romagnoli S (2019). Bodyweight at Birth and Growth Rate during the Neonatal Period in Three Canine Breeds. Animals 10(1):8
Used on: Bernese Mountain Dog - O’Neill DG, Skipper AM, Barrett K, Church DB, Packer RMA, Brodbelt DC (2023). Demography, common disorders and mortality of Boxer dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. Canine Medicine and Genetics 10:6
Used on: Boxer - O’Neill DG, Meeson RL, Sheridan A, Church DB, Brodbelt DC (2016). The epidemiology of patellar luxation in dogs attending primary-care veterinary practices in England. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 3:4
Used on: Pomeranian - Summers JF, O’Neill DG, Church DB, Thomson PC, McGreevy PD, Brodbelt DC (2015). Prevalence of disorders recorded in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels attending primary-care veterinary practices in England. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 2:4
Used on: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - O’Neill DG, Darwent EC, Church DB, Brodbelt DC (2016). Demography and health of Pugs under primary veterinary care in England. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 3:5
Used on: Pug - Hedhammar Å et al. (1974). Overnutrition and skeletal disease: an experimental study in growing Great Dane dogs. Cornell Veterinarian 64(2 Suppl):1–160
Used on: Great Dane - Packer RMA et al. (2016). DachsLife 2015: an investigation of lifestyle associations with the risk of intervertebral disc disease in Dachshunds. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 3:8
Used on: Dachshund - Liu N-C et al. (2017). Conformational risk factors of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in pugs, French bulldogs, and bulldogs. PLoS ONE 12(8): e0181928
Used on: French Bulldog, Shih Tzu - Parker HG et al. (2009). An expressed Fgf4 retrogene is associated with breed-defining chondrodysplasia in domestic dogs. Science 325(5943):995–998
Used on: Pembroke Welsh Corgi - Raffan E et al. (2016). A deletion in the canine POMC gene is associated with weight and appetite in obesity-prone Labrador retriever dogs. Cell Metabolism 23(5): 893-900
Used on: Labrador Retriever - O’Neill DG et al. (2017), Canine Genetics and Epidemiology
Used on: Rottweiler - O’Neill DG et al. (2018), Canine Genetics and Epidemiology
Used on: French Bulldog - O’Neill DG et al., Yorkshire Terriers under primary veterinary care in the UK
Used on: Yorkshire Terrier - O’Neill DG et al. (2018), Canine Genetics and Epidemiology
Used on: Labrador Retriever
Body condition
- WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines and body condition tools
- WSAVA body condition score chart for dogs and cats (PDF)
- Pegram C et al. (2021). Frequency, breed predisposition and demographic risk factors for overweight status in dogs in the UK. Journal of Small Animal Practice
Used on: Rottweiler, Beagle, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd - O’Neill DG, Packer RMA, Lobb M, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, Pegram C (2020). Demography and commonly recorded clinical conditions of Chihuahuas under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2016. BMC Veterinary Research 16:42
Used on: Chihuahua
Pregnancy and gestation
- Concannon PW. Parturition prediction and timing of canine pregnancy
Used on: dog pregnancy calculator - England GCW, Allen WE, Porter DJ (1990). Association between the preovulatory luteinising hormone surge and the early ultrasonographic detection of pregnancy and fetal heartbeats in beagle dogs. Theriogenology
Used on: dog pregnancy calculator
Large-breed nutrition
Reporting an error
A figure that does not match its source, a broken link, or a source that has been superseded can be reported to [email protected]. Reports are checked against the source cited and, where the report is right, the page is corrected and its modified date updated.