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When Do Malamutes Stop Growing & How Big Do They Get? Chart

When your malamute continues to pile on the pounds at two years of age, you’re likely wondering when will the growing stop!

These friendly giants have a surprising growth timeline, and this article will explain exactly how big, and when your malamute will reach his or her full size.

When Do Malamutes Stop Growing & Reach Full Size?

Malamutes reach their full height by around 12 months but continue adding weight and muscle mass until 2-3 years of age.

The vast majority of their growth will happen in the first 12 months, which is considered to be their major growth and development stage.

After 12 months, the weight will still come for both females and males, but at a much slower rate.

Although this isn’t always the case, females do tend to reach their full adult size sooner than males do.

This comes down to males continuing to develop muscle mass and bulk whereas the females would have likely stopped by the 2 year mark.

Recommended Read: How To Help Malamute Lose Weight

How Big Do Malamutes Get?

Malamutes have an average adult height range of 22-26 Inches with the males edging towards the upper end, and the females towards the lower end.

Their average weight range is 70-90lbs again, with males falling near the heavier end and females towards the lighter end.

Males:
Height: 24-26 Inches
Weight: 80-95 Pounds

Females:
Height: 22-24 Inches
Weight: 70-85 Pounds

However, as with all averages, there will be exceptions…

Some male malamutes can surpass these ranges and grow to be both taller and heavier. And even some females can grow to be more like the size of males.

How big your malamute will grow depends on a handful of factors. I will run through these in another section below!

Malamute Growth Timeline (averages)

Below are two graphs, one for males and one for females, outlining the first 16 months of growth. The chart plots the averages for weight and height. Again, the following figures are averages and do not rule out the possibility that your malamute will grow to be bigger or smaller.

MALE Malamute Weight & Height Chart:

AgeWeightHeight
2-4 Months30-35 lbs12-14
4-6 Months35-45 lbs14-16
6-8 Months45-60 lbs16-19
8-10 Months60-70 lbs19-22
10-12 Months70-75 lbs22-24
12-14 Months75-80 lbs24-25
14-16 Months80-85 lbs +25 +/-
Made By My Happy Husky

FEMALE Malamute Weight & Height Chart:

AgeWeightHeight
2-4 Months25-30 lbs12-14
4-6 Months30-40 lbs14-16
6-8 Months40-50 lbs16-18
8-10 Months50-60 lbs18-20
10-12 Months60-65 lbs20-22
12-14 Months65-70lbs22-23
14-16 Months70-75lbs +23 +/-
Made By My Happy Husky

As both charts show, there’s a greater rate of growth in the early months from 4-10 before it begins to slow from 10 months onwards.

This is typical, but you can rest assured, the weight will still add for quite some time after while your malamute develops more muscle.

Trending: How To Help Malamute Lose Weight: 5 Simple Tips

What’s a Giant Malamute? And How Big Do They Get?

You may have heard of “Giant Malamutes” and they are such a thing. But it’s important to know right away, they are the same as “regular” malamutes, just exceedingly large.

They are not a separate breed and there is no crossbreeding involved.

Giant Malamutes are created from selective breeding, mating only the largest of females with the largest of males. The requirement is usually a minimum of 100lbs.

What happens when you continuously only breed huge malamutes with other huge malamutes, is a refined blood lineage that produces immensely large offspring.

And boy, are they big!

Giant Malamutes when fully grown max out at around 35 inches tall weighing in at a minimum of 100lbs. This is significantly larger than the breed standard.

And just to clarify, the chances of accidentally getting a giant malamute, are extremely low.

As giant malamutes are a specialized variation, not only are they very rare but you will be fully aware if you are consulting with a breeder that focuses on this area. Not to mention, they are much more expensive!

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when start puppy shedding

3 Factors That Change How Big Your Malamute Will Get

Let’s run through the three most important factors that dictate how big your Malamute will get.

1. Genetics

Of course, the factor that plays the most important part in the future size of your malamute is his genetics. And you guessed it, this is something we have no control over and cannot change.

If your Malamute is from a line of particularly large malamutes, and both of his parents are large, then your malamute is expected to be on the large side too. This is pretty much how it works with us too! Apologies for that rather unscientific explanation.

However, this doesn’t assume that two large malamutes will give offspring to a giant malamute. As that process takes many generations of selective breeding to reach.

Generally speaking, show malamutes tend to be slightly larger than working malamutes, and so if your malamute comes from a show family, this could increase the chances of a larger size. Although this isn’t strictly guaranteed.

2. Diet & Nutrition

Aside from genetics, the quality of the diet and how much of it your malamute consumes can impact his growth rate and growth potential.

Higher quality diets providing ultimate forms of protein, fat, and micronutrients will give your malamute the best chance of growing to his or her full potential. But aside from having a good diet on paper, how well your malamute digests the diet also plays an important role. If he doesn’t get on well with the diet, then that means a portion of the nutrients will not be absorbed and utilized for his or her growth.

And finally, receiving enough food (in terms of calories) is also important. While your malamute’s body is going through the major growth and development stage in his adolescence, he’ll need his calories and nutrition the most. This will take advantage of the higher amount of natural growth hormone his body will be producing. A lack of nutrition during this crucial moment could see his body not growing to its full potential.

3. Rest & Recovery

Lastly, rest and recovery play an important role in your malamute’s overall growth rate and potential size.

Have you wondered why puppies can easily sleep up to 18 hours per day? Growing consumes a lot of energy, and this is why it’s crucial to allow puppies to rest as much as they desire… After all, this is when they grow.

If your malamute doesn’t receive a sufficient amount of rest then his full growth potential might not be realized. Most of the time, though, this shouldn’t be an issue.

The only time this becomes a problem is if your malamute puppy is prevented from resting or he/she is over-exercised and under-recovered. This could be something as simple as young children constantly playing with the puppy without allowing him to rest, or an overly eager owner taking the puppy out for more walks than necessary.

Additionally, with too much exercise, your puppy may end up in a calorie deficit, or at least an insufficient amount of calories that’s optimal for growth. This ties in with the importance of receiving enough food and nutrition during his puppy months.

when start puppy shedding

When Do Malamutes Mature Mentally?

So we’ve covered physical maturity in detail, but what about mental maturity?

It takes longer for malamutes to mature mentally than it does physically. Meaning he might have the physical size of a fully grown adult at two years old but still have the playful, immature mind of a puppy.

Male malamutes typically mature mentally at around 3-4 years of age, whereas females usually mature mentally at around 2-3 years of age. This can vary with each malamute, but these are the most common ages that owners note.

Keep in mind, that there is no magic switch between a mature and immature malamute and you likely won’t notice any real significant differences, not in the early stages, anyway. After a while, you might realize that your malamute is now a little more sensible and mellow, but that will likely be it.


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Disclaimer

The advice given in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice in any context. Before making any decisions that may affect the health and/or safety of your dog, you should always consult a trained veterinarian in your local area. For the FULL disclaimer Visit Here


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