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 for all but three breeds. 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 the breed pages are the American Kennel Club standard for that breed, stored in kilograms and converted to pounds at display time. Three breeds are the exception. The AKC does not recognise the American Pit Bull Terrier or the Jack Russell Terrier, and its Cane Corso standard gives no weight, so those pages use the United Kennel Club or FCI standard and say so. The Bernedoodle has no standard at all, so its page gives no weight range of its own and cites only its parent breeds’ figures. 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.
- O’Neill DG, Engdahl KS, Leach A, Packer RMA, Church DB, Brodbelt DC (2023). Is it now time to iron out the wrinkles? Health of Shar Pei dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. Canine Medicine and Genetics 10:11
Used on: Chinese Shar Pei - Andersson L, Emanuelson U, Ringmark S, Bjørnvad CR, Hedhammar Å, Höglund K (2023). Exploration of body weight in 115 000 young adult dogs of 72 breeds. Scientific Reports 13:443
Used on: Portuguese Water Dog, Dalmatian, Samoyed, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Shetland Sheepdog - O’Neill DG, Darwent EC, Church DB, Brodbelt DC (2017). Border Terriers under primary veterinary care in England: demography and disorders. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 4:15
Used on: Border Terrier - O’Neill DG, Curtis TJ, York GOJ, Brodbelt DC, Church DB, Engdahl KS (2026). Giant dog breeds under primary veterinary care in the UK: demography, common disorders and mortality. Canine Medicine and Genetics
Used on: Irish Wolfhound, Akita, Tibetan Mastiff, Newfoundland, Saint Bernard, Alaskan Malamute, Mastiff - 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: English Cocker Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel - Bryson GT, O’Neill DG, Brand CL, Belshaw Z, Packer RMA (2024). The doodle dilemma: How the physical health of ‘Designer-crossbreed’ Cockapoo, Labradoodle and Cavapoo dogs’ compares to their purebred progenitor breeds. PLoS ONE 19(8): e0306350
Used on: Bernedoodle - O’Neill DG, Witkowska SD, Brodbelt DC, Church DB, Engdahl KS (2025). Yorkshire Terriers under primary veterinary care in the UK: demography and disorders. Companion Animal Health and Genetics 12:6
Used on: Morkie - Packer RMA, Hendricks A, Volk HA, Shihab NK, Burn CC (2013). How long and low can you go? Effect of conformation on the risk of thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion in domestic dogs. PLoS ONE 8(7): e69650
Used on: Basset Hound - Hall EJ, Carter AJ, O’Neill DG (2020). Incidence and risk factors for heat-related illness (heatstroke) in UK dogs under primary veterinary care in 2016. Scientific Reports 10:9128
Used on: Chow Chow - 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 - 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)
- O’Neill DG, Ballantyne ZF, Hendricks A, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, Pegram C (2019). West Highland White Terriers under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2016: demography, mortality and disorders. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 6:7
Used on: West Highland White Terrier - Pegram C, Raffan E, White E, Ashworth AH, Brodbelt DC, Church DB, O’Neill DG (2021). Frequency, breed predisposition and demographic risk factors for overweight status in dogs in the UK. Journal of Small Animal Practice 62:521–530
Used on: English Springer Spaniel, Rottweiler, Beagle, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd - Pegram C, Wonham K, Brodbelt D, Church D, O’Neill D (2020). Staffordshire Bull Terriers in the UK: their disorder predispositions and protections. Canine Medicine and Genetics 7:13
Used on: Staffordshire Bull Terrier - O’Neill DG, Khoo JSP, Brodbelt DC, Church DB, Pegram C, Geddes RF (2022). Frequency, breed predispositions and other demographic risk factors for diagnosis of hypothyroidism in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. Canine Medicine and Genetics 9:11
Used on: Doberman Pinscher - 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.