Alaskan Malamute Growth Chart & Weight Calculator
May 8, 2021 2024-06-20 2:54Do you have an Alaskan Malamute puppy and wonder how tall and heavy he or she will be fully grown?
Our puppy weight and growth chart calculator will help you figure it out. Simply put in your dog’s current weight and age:
Alaskan Malamute Weight Calculator & Growth Chart
Table of Contents
How big will my Alaskan Malamute get?
The Malamute is one of the largest Husky breeds. The American Kennel Club calls in its breed standards for the following sizes for adult Malamutes:
- Females are 22-24 inches in height and weigh 70-85 pounds
- Males are 24-26 inches tall and reach 80-95 pounds
How big your Malamute puppy will get largely depends on genetics. There is very little you can do to influence your dog’s adult weight. His genes will determine just how tall and how heavy he will grow up to be.
How long does it take for a Malamute to be fully grown?
You can expect your Malamute to be fully grown around 18-20 months of age.
Across all dog breeds, it holds true that smaller dogs finish growing earlier (some small breeds already before their first birthday), while large and giant breeds continue growing up until their 2nd birthday. As a large dog, the Alaskan Malamute also will continue growing past his first birthday.
As is true for all puppies, the steepest growth trajectory happens in the first 6 months – after that, the growth noticeably slows down until the dog is 12 months old, and tapers off in the next 6-12 months after that.
How much should a 4 month old Malamute weigh?
At 4 months of age, most dogs reach about ½ of their final adult weight.
You can expect your Malamute to weigh about 35-45 pounds at that age. If your puppy is significantly lighter or heavier, you should consult with your vet to rule out any deficiencies (in the case of your puppy being underweight) or overfeeding (if your pup is a lot heavier).
Note – dogs that appear to be way too small or large for their age do not always have an underlying issue causing their unexpected growth curve. Sometimes they were simply mixed with another breed and sold as a purebred.
Many Malamutes are crossed with Huskies. The puppies will still look just like Malamutes, but stay smaller or lighter.
On the other hand, if your Malamute puppy is especially large, it might be that he has some Great Pyrenees in his ancestry.
How much should a 6 month old pup weigh?
At 6 months old, you can expect your Malamute puppy to weigh between 50 and 65 pounds. Females will be at the lower end of this spectrum and males at the higher.
Remember that size is determined by genetics: As long as your dog is not overly skinny or chunky, he does not show vomiting or diarrhea, he is eating and drinking normally and he is active and happy, he is likely doing just fine – regardless of his exact weight.
Why is my Malamute so skinny?
A healthy dog has ribs that can easily be felt when running your hands across his sides – but they should never stick out. A dog whose ribs, vertebrae and hip bones are protruding is too thin.
If your Malamute is especially skinny, you might be worried about his health. While not every skinny dog is sick, there are certain conditions that can cause growing puppies to be very thin. These mostly are intestinal parasites, such as:
- Giardia
- Roundworms
- Hookworms
Luckily, these are easily diagnosed and treated with the right drugs from your veterinarian.
If your veterinarian finds your dog in perfect health and he is still very skinny, you should increase the amount of food he eats. Growing puppies can expend a lot of energy daily by running, playing and romping around. If you live on a big property on which your dog moves around freely, or he plays a lot with other dogs, he burns a lot of calories.
In this case, start to increase his daily food by 20% every week, until you notice that he is gaining weight.
How much should an adult Malamute weigh?
Once your Alaskan Malamute is done growing, he will be a large and impressive dog! Fully grown Malamutes can be as heavy as 95 pounds for the heaviest males.
If you own a female, your dog will be a bit lighter, topping out at about 85 pounds.
Remember that these are only guidelines. Your individual dog might be an especially small or light one, who always stays a good 10-15 pounds below the weights mentioned above. When wondering if your dog weighs enough, ask yourself the following questions:
- Did the dog receive a recent vet checkup and was found to be in good health?
- Is the dog active, alert and likes to run and play?
- Is the dog eating and drinking normally?
- Does the dog have a healthy digestion – with no signs of vomiting or diarrhea?
- Is the dog on all necessary preventatives, such as heartworm preventatives and worm medications (whether you need those will depend on where you live)?
If the answer to all questions is yes, your dog is most likely completely fine – he or she is simply a smaller specimen of the breed.
As mentioned above, Alaskan Malamutes often are sold as purebred dogs when in fact they were crossed with a different breed such as the Husky. In this case, your dog will never reach the weight of a full-blooded Malamute.
