Did you know that there is a direct relationship between being hyperactive and growth in beagles? Being hunting dogs, this breed is extremely hyper. Always wanting to chase things around, play catch, and engage in activities that require high energy. But this enthusiasm wanes as they grow older. This decline coincides with when beagles stop growing. When does a beagle stop growing, though?
A beagle stops growing when it’s 1.5 years old. At this age, the weight gain stops. Also, its height doesn’t increase further because its bones, ligaments, cartilages, and other essential tissues that hold these parts up don’t grow beyond this age. At 18 months old, this skeletal system is fully developed and can accommodate the breed’s love for high-energy activities throughout its remaining life.
Nonetheless, could the full development be the reason that their hyperactivity decreases? How is this possible, yet you may expect beagles to now be more active because their system can accommodate whatever activity they throw at it? In this article, we detail the various stages of growth in beagles and also explore this growth-hyperactivity paradox.
How big is a full-grown beagle?
A beagle attains its full adult size at 18 months. We should point out that there are two types of beagles. They’re differentiated based on their height. The first category consists of those that don’t grow taller than 13 inches. The second category is made up of beagles that are between 13 and 15 inches tall. It’s important to note that the height is usually measured at the dog’s shoulder.
The fact that there are two height categories means that their weights will also be different. The smaller variety weighs between 20 and 30 pounds. In some cases, the weight could be below 20 pounds. On the other hand, the larger type can weigh up to 35 pounds.
Additionally, males are typically heavier than females. At 18 months, a male beagle with a height of 13 inches could weigh between 22 and 24 pounds (10 and 10.9 kilograms). A female one in the same size category weighs between 20 and 22 pounds (9 and 10 kilograms). Also, male beagles are usually taller than female beagles.
Beagle Growth Phases
At birth
At birth, beagle puppies weigh between 5 and 10 ounces (141 and 283 grams). In the first 24 hours, as is typical with every other puppy, their weight decreases. This phenomenon is attributed to the fact that the puppies excrete meconium and urine but cannot replenish the expelled fluids fast enough. But this weight loss rarely exceeds 10% of the initial weight. Moreover, after the first 24 hours, the puppies will start adding weight with each passing day.
2 weeks
At 2 weeks age, your Beagle puppy should weigh about 1 pound. We should point out that the puppies are usually the most delicate in their first two weeks of life. They have no sense of smell, and their eyes are closed throughout. There is also always a potential that their mother might abandon them.
If the dam sticks around, then the puppies will be wholly dependent on her for their food and warmth. However, there are some instances where the mother rejects her puppies. You’ll know that the mother has abandoned the puppies when she sleeps or sits away from them for extended periods. Or, if the puppies are in her favorite spot, you might see her moving them elsewhere. In some cases, the mother may care for all other puppies in her litter except one that has birth defects or is unwell. Other reasons for rejecting her offspring include the fact that the dam is sick or she could be stressed.
In cases where all or one puppy has been rejected, then the duty of caring for them will automatically fall on you as the owner. You should feed them using tubes and later on using bottles and exercise great care and gentleness while dealing with the tiny pups.
3 weeks
Beagles’ weight at 3 weeks ranges between 1.5 and 2 pounds. The 3rd week also brings some developments. Your puppy will start seeing, and its visual clarity will increase as days progress. Its hearing capabilities will also develop. Sound-wise, the pups will begin whimpering and making other sounds, but their vocal cords aren’t well-developed to bark.
4 weeks
Beagles should weigh between 2.5 and 3 pounds. At this age, they’re usually more confident and noisier. As such, you should expect them to explore the house and start playing with those around them. This is also an ideal age to start socializing them.
6 weeks
Beagles weigh between 3.5 and 4 pounds and no longer rely on their mothers’ milk. At this age, they’re usually still in the weaning stage, though. Nonetheless, the weaning doesn’t make them any less curious. Their enhanced growth enables them to explore your house and make use of their grown teeth.
Left unchecked, they can really destroy furniture as their exploration mainly involves mouthing. The beagle pups usually discover new things by putting them in their mouth. As such, you need to cover exposed wood or change your wooden furniture. This will ensure that your house is puppy-proof, and you’ll not witness the destruction that accompanies mouthing and your puppy’s growth.
Also, you should have already trained your pup(s). At 6 weeks, a puppy that’s already several days or weeks into training can respond whenever you call its name or to other noises, e.g., the doorbell.
8 weeks
At 2 months, the puppy is usually completely weaned and weighs between 3.5 and 6 pounds. At this age, the puppy understands its surrounding; for instance, it knows the feeding area and can differentiate between its water and feeding bowls. It can also follow simple commands, e.g., ‘stand’ or ‘sit’.
Also, because the puppy is done with the weaning stage, it should be completely independent of its mother.
8 to 12 weeks
Your puppy should maintain a weight of between 3.5 and 6 pounds for several weeks (8 and 10 weeks). It’s not uncommon for a 12-week old beagle to weigh between 9 and 10 pounds.
16 weeks
At 16 weeks, your beagle puppy should weigh anywhere between 8 and 12 pounds. At this age, the puppy is usually well developed, mentally, and this makes it more receptive to more advanced training, e.g., barking and potty training. You should have potty trained your pup by the time it’s 16 weeks old.
6 months
Your beagle’s weight at this age should range between 10 and 15 pounds. At 6 months, your puppy will have attained 50% of its body weight. As such, one way to know how much your beagle will weigh once it’s fully grown is multiplying its weight at 6 months by 2.
In the next 6 months, however, the weight gain slows down. This decline continues when they clock 1 year old. Beyond 1 year, the weight increase usually ranges between 5 and 10 pounds.
18 months
Your beagle will achieve full maturity at 18 months, i.e., it’ll stop growing. The ideal weight at this age is usually anywhere between 20 and 30 pounds.
Types of Beagles
Beagles whose weight falls between 20 and 30 pounds are regarded as small. Their height doesn’t exceed 13 inches. However, there are certain instances where your beagle’s genes will translate to it having a bigger body. This is because some beagles weigh between 25 and 35 pounds. Such beagles are typically larger in both height and weight. When fully grown, their size is usually between 13 and 15 inches.
We must point out that the figures we’ve given for the various growth stages mostly apply to the smaller variety of beagles. The larger type should be much heavier from the 4th week onwards. The bottom line is that beagles come in various sizes and the fact that yours doesn’t seem to fit within the numbers we’ve provided shouldn’t bother you. However, we advise that you consult your vet, who’ll paint a clearer picture regarding the category under which your beagle falls.
Additionally, there are some interesting facts that you should know about the two types of beagles.
Genes
Given that the two varieties are the result of their genetic composition, you can determine which category your puppy will fall in by looking at its mother. A big mother implies that, upon maturity, your pup will also be a large beagle.
Maturity Age
The smaller a beagle is, the earlier its body stops growing. The typical age that we’ve highlighted above of 18 months applies to beagles that weigh over 25 pounds when mature. The smaller ones, i.e., those whose weight at maturity is between 20 and 25 pounds, attain full maturity/size when they are about 14 months old.
Given that we’ve highlighted the fact that, at 6 months, your beagle will have attained 50% of its full size, you can double its weight, then, and estimate when it will be fully mature.
Keeping your beagle’s weight in check
If you adhered to training guidelines, your beagle should be well trained by the time it gets to 18 months. As such, your only requirement as the owner, at this point, is feeding and exercising it. We’ve provided a guideline on how much to feed your beagle here. Follow those guidelines in combination with exercises, and your beagle will always remain in shape.
Its exercise regimen at 18 months should include a daily 1-mile walk in addition to cardio exercises, e.g., running, swimming, hiking, playing fetch, and chasing. If you have the means and time, you could train your beagle to undertake sport-like drills such as running up a flight of stairs one at a time and doing so repeatedly. Alternatively, you could buy some cones, space them such that they’re, say 30 yards apart, and then train your beagle to run from one cone to another. Your beagle will definitely love cardio owing to its background as a hunting dog.
Disclaimer
However, you should not subject your beagle to an excessive amount of exercise while it’s still growing. That is before it gets to 18 months. This is based on the fact that its skeletal system is still not fully developed. The most crucial parts of the system in this stage are the growth plates.
Growth plates are found in growing dogs, at the ends of bones are a combination of cartilages. They are really soft areas and permit growth in such dogs, whenever they are open, since they are the regions wherein cell division occurs. A dog is said to have stopped growing once the growth plates close.
Being soft areas, they are susceptible to damage under excessive physical stress. This damage, in growing dogs, can be likened to a pull or sprain in an adult dog. However, for the former, the damage portends doom. It results in either shortened leg(s) or malformed limb(s). As such, although beagles are extraordinarily hyper and love activities that require a lot of energy, you should strike a balance. You should avoid subjecting them and their feeble bodies to excessive physical stress through the exercise regimen you choose for them.
Hyperactivity and Growth
Earlier on, we had alluded to the existence of a relationship between hyperactivity and growth. Our premise was anchored on the fact that beagles are usually hyperactive before they reach full maturity. In short, they stop being hyper once they’re mature, and they typically attain maturity at the age of 18 months. As such, in the months preceding their 18-month birthday, they’re likely to start showing signs of declining activity. This phenomenon results from their fully developed brain, which enables them to regulate their energy. Hence, our observation on the existence of a relationship.
In this case, however, as in every other scenario, there are some outliers. Some beagles may still be hyperactive even after clocking 18 months. The dogs exhibiting such behavior are usually not well developed mentally. Their body might be fully grown, but their brain is still playing catch-up. But eventually, they’re bound to be fully developed, and it’s only then that they’ll have the mental capacity to regulate their hyperactivity.
