The simplest way to weigh a puppy is to place it on a digital scale, either a kitchen scale for newborns or a bathroom scale using the subtraction method for larger pups. But getting an accurate number depends on choosing the right equipment for your puppy’s size, weighing at the right frequency, and knowing what the numbers should look like as your puppy grows.
Choosing the Right Scale
The scale you need depends entirely on your puppy’s size. For newborn and toy-breed puppies, a digital kitchen or postal scale with 1-gram increments is ideal. At this stage, puppies may weigh just a few hundred grams, and small daily changes matter. A scale that only reads in 10-gram or 1-ounce jumps can miss critical shifts in weight.
Once a puppy outgrows the kitchen scale (typically around 5 to 7 kg, or about 14 pounds), you can switch to a regular bathroom scale. If your puppy is small enough to hold, step on the scale alone and note your weight, then step on again while holding the puppy. Subtract the first number from the second, and that’s your puppy’s weight. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds alone and 162 pounds holding the puppy, your puppy weighs 12 pounds.
For puppies that are too heavy to lift or too squirmy to hold, your vet’s office will have a floor-mounted pet scale you can use. Many clinics let you walk in for a quick weigh-in without scheduling an appointment.
Techniques for Squirmy Puppies
Puppies rarely sit still on command, especially on an unfamiliar surface. A few simple tricks make the process easier. Place the puppy in a small box, laundry basket, or pet carrier on top of your scale. Weigh the empty container first, then weigh it again with the puppy inside and subtract the container’s weight. This works well for puppies of any size and keeps them contained long enough to get a stable reading.
If your puppy keeps shifting on a flat scale, try placing a towel or rubber mat on the platform. The added grip helps them feel secure, and they’re less likely to scramble off. Just remember to zero the scale with the towel on it first, or subtract its weight afterward. For very young puppies (under two weeks), they’re not mobile enough to be a problem. You can set them directly on a kitchen scale lined with a light cloth for warmth and traction.
How Often to Weigh
For newborn puppies, record the birth weight and then weigh every single day for the first four weeks. Daily weigh-ins are the most reliable way to catch feeding problems or illness early, since neonatal puppies can decline fast. If you’re bottle-feeding or supplementing, weighing before and after a feeding session lets you estimate how much milk the puppy actually took in.
Starting in the fifth week, you can switch to weekly weigh-ins. This remains a good habit through the first year of life, especially during the rapid growth phase between 2 and 6 months. After your puppy reaches adult size, monthly or quarterly checks are enough to monitor for unexpected changes.
What Healthy Weight Gain Looks Like
A healthy puppy should gain 5 to 10% of its body weight every day during the first two weeks. That means a puppy born at 300 grams should be gaining roughly 15 to 30 grams daily. By 10 to 14 days of age, most puppies have doubled their birth weight.
Some weight loss in the first day or two after birth is normal. Puppies lose a small amount as they pass their first stool and urine. In healthy newborns, this loss stays under 4 to 5% of birth weight. A loss reaching 10% is a red flag. Research on neonatal puppies found that weight loss at or above 10% of birth weight is a negative indicator for survival, and those puppies need immediate attention, whether that means supplemental feeding or a vet visit.
Keep in mind that breed size dramatically affects what “normal” looks like on a growth curve. Scientists studying puppy growth across breeds identified at least six distinct size categories with meaningfully different trajectories. A Great Dane puppy and a Rottweiler puppy don’t even follow the same large-breed curve, despite both being big dogs. Toy breeds reach adult weight by 8 to 10 months, while large breeds may not finish growing until 18 to 24 months. Don’t compare your Labrador’s growth to your neighbor’s Beagle. Instead, track your own puppy’s trend line over time and look for steady, consistent gains.
Tips for Accurate, Consistent Readings
Small details make a big difference in tracking accuracy. Weigh at the same time each day, ideally before a meal. A puppy weighed after a full feeding can appear significantly heavier than the same puppy weighed on an empty stomach, which distorts your trend data. Place your scale on a hard, flat surface every time. Carpet, uneven tile, or soft flooring can throw off readings by several grams or even ounces.
Record the date, time, and weight in a simple log. A notebook works fine, but a spreadsheet or a puppy growth app makes it easier to spot trends at a glance. The WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute offers free online growth charts for most breed sizes where you can plot your puppy’s weight in either kilograms or pounds. For giant breeds like Great Danes, Mastiffs, and Saint Bernards, standardized charts don’t exist because these breeds vary too much from one another. If you have a giant breed puppy, tracking against its own week-over-week trend is your best tool.
Why Accurate Weight Matters Beyond Growth
Precise weight isn’t just about tracking development. It directly affects medication safety. Dewormers, flea preventives, and other treatments are dosed by body weight, and the margin for error is smaller in a 2-pound puppy than in a 60-pound adult dog. Premeasured deworming products, for instance, come in specific packet sizes (1 gram, 2 grams, and 4 grams) matched to weight ranges. An inaccurate weight can mean your puppy gets too little medication to be effective or, worse, too much. This is especially important for puppies under six months, when their small body size leaves less room for dosing mistakes.
Keeping a reliable weight log also gives your vet useful data at checkups. A puppy that’s been gaining steadily and then plateaus for a week tells a different story than one that’s been inconsistent from the start. The numbers you bring in can help your vet catch nutritional issues, parasites, or other problems earlier than a single in-office weigh-in would.