Saturday, March 9, 2013

How long does it take a Mini to be full grown and get their coat?

Time to full size/weight: 1-1.5 yrs...although they continue filling out up to 2.5 years.

By 9 months you'll know roughly what dimensions they will have, at that point they stop growing and start just filling out.

Time to full coat: 2 years

Left: 1 year 3 months Right: 6 months

From 7.5 to 9 months old Indie significantly slowed in growth and weight gain.  At 9 months he was about 19 lbs and now at 1 year 3 months he's about 20ish pounds and by 2.5 years old he's rounded out to 22 pounds...pretty small....much smaller than I thought he'd be and than I originally wanted.  Generally Mini Males are between 30-40 lbs. Indie is almost more of a large Toy Size, but oh well, he has proven to be an absolute firecracker and we LOVE his small size now because he's so easy deal with!

It takes Aussies about 1.5 to 2 years to get their full coats and from what I've heard from other owners, the coat can continue to thicken up to 5 years old.  The thickness of the coat can depend on a lot of things, namely what their parents were like. Indie has the same coat as his mama, which is not super thick or long.

A lot of websites will tell you to just double their weight at 16 weeks (or 4 months).  That did NOT apply to our dog.  I've been diligently tracking his weight gain, as you can see here: Growth Stats

Indie has probably reached full maturity now at 2.5 years, but this website has had the most accurate predictor so far of his weight.  Select Australian Shepherd as the breed:
 http://www.puppyweights.com/
Indie at 6 months old

Indie at 1 year 3 months

43 comments:

  1. He is beautiful! I have two Mini's that are 7 months and half brothers (same daddy). Jasper is 29.2 lbs and Cody is 39.5 lbs - I sure hope Cody is done growing! Cody was the biggest of both litters and Jasper was the runt of both... LOL... I fell in love with both of them and couldn't choose, so I got them both when I found them in Wyoming last August.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow Julie, are you sure Cody is a mini? I met a woman once with a 45 lb "mini" from the same breeder as my Indie...she said "He is a mini who forgot he was a mini!" And we both laughed! I guess happens sometimes...it's in still in there genes somewhere!

      Delete
    2. I have had two mini's the first one got bigger than I had expected.. After talking to the breeder several times, she told me she could gaurentee temperament but not size.. I have just gotten # three, she is 8 weeks old.

      Delete
  2. Thank you for this! My mini is around 24 pounds and she just turned one year old last week. I think she has pretty much stopped growing but I hope she fills out some more! She eats all the time but still looks thin! haha I hope she eventually gets a fuller coat! Your dog is beautiful thanks for the information!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Make sure to work your puppy for all worms including tapeworms .

      Delete
    2. Wow I be a little concerned about my mini female she is almost 6 months and at the vet clinic getting her I’d chip she weighed 30 pounds!!??!! My little boy is 3 months and weighs 9 pounds

      Delete
  3. Came across this while trying to find out if my mini aussie, Frankie, was done growing. She was the only girl in her litter, and the runt. Her mom and dad were both on the smaller side of the mini scale... I think mom was 22lbs, dad was 25lbs. She is now 9 months old and 11lbs, which she has been at for a month. She has filled out too, so it's not that she is particularly skinny, this girl has an appetite! I think we may of ended up with a toy! But she is just a little ball of energy and I couldn't be happier with her or her size. Did anyone else have any crazy growth spurts after 9 months of age? Or have a mini that was really small at this age that grew into size? I am guessing we would be lucky to get to 15lbs at this point!!
    By the way, Indie is such a pretty dog! Very similar markings to our Frankie :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Shelby! It sounds to me like you have a Toy on your hands! It totally happens with this breed, sometimes mini parents will throw a large dog or a smaller one, there is a lot of variation in the breed still. That being said, your breeder should have known this dog would be a toy based on her weight prior to 8 weeks. I have seen Mini litters where some of the puppies are toys and the breeders will denote that. If she is that small at 9 months, she will not be adding too much to that weight. Toys (like my Tulsi) are usually closer to full grown at 9 months than minis. Like you said, she'll be lucky to get up to 15 lbs and may likely get up to about 13 or so. Indie, my mini, slowed down a lot at 9 months and only added about 1-2 pounds after that up to a year and a half. Hope this helps!

      Delete
  4. I have a mini, the parents are registered and both weigh about 25-30 and my pup just turned a year and he is very active and hyper as the breed is and he weighs 45. He is a giant mini. My brother has a full and his is still much larger than mine. His weighs 60 and is about 3-4 inches taller

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have a five and a half month old Toy Australian that is really a challenge........she is precious, beautiful and very headstrong. Any suggestions for me?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hahaha....... sounds like a pretty normal puppy to me. My boy is a little over 5 months old....i try consistency in a daily schedule and lots of engaged play time/training. Your post is from April... so now at 10 months... how bis it going?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hahaha....... sounds like a pretty normal puppy to me. My boy is a little over 5 months old....i try consistency in a daily schedule and lots of engaged play time/training. Your post is from April... so now at 10 months... how bis it going?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello Everyone!

    I've enjoyed reading all the posts about minis and thought I would chip in.

    I have a mini Aussie who is 5 months old and weights a whopping 20 pounds. When adopting our Louli we noticed that his siblings were significantly larger, and have been told by numerous people (some worth listening to, others not so much), that Lou wouldn't grow beyond his 10 pounds. I find this weird considering his age. Any feedback?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Clarification: louli is 5 months and 10 pounds

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kristen. I just posted re my mini Aussie, Angel. She was about 10 pound at 5 months and gained almost 4 pounds as of 7 months. How big is louli now?

      Delete
  10. Kristen my boy Luke was 15 pounds at 5 months, now at 10 months he is 22 pounds.dedinitely slower rate of growth starting at about 7 months. Only about a pound a month. None of the charts or presictors helped my case. Id say your baby may end up being less than 20 .... but definitely more than 10. Just like Indie's owners i have found smaller to be suprisingly better from a flexibility standpoint for travel and play!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on ears! My mini is 14 weeks and his ears stand right up straight, is there a possibility they will fall back down? I want them to be floppy but don't want to glue or tape? Any suggestions? Has anyone found that massaging actually works?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Taylor,

      My mini is about 8 months now and her one ear folds half way down and the other stands straight up. I think technically they have until about a year to go back down but I don't think my puppies will. I don't mind it either way but I haven't tried and of that special stuff.

      Delete
  12. My aussie is 9 months and 20 pounds, guess he is a mini! We were surprised when he stopped growing because we were told he was an aussie not a mini aussie. But like you, we absolutely love his size because he's easier to handle. He's full of life, jumps higher than I ever imagined, and loves people and any animal he comes into contact with. Aussies are a wonderful breed. Indie is beautiful! Thanks for the information it was very helpful!

    ReplyDelete
  13. My mini , angel, appears to be a toy. She is 7 months and weighs 13 pounds, 7 ounces. Full of energy and headstrong. She loves people but we are having problems with other dogs. Basically attacks most dogs big or small. With slow and repeated contacts with two friends dogs, no longer attacks them but may become aggressive when trying to share toys. Any suggestions on how to improve getting along with other dogs. Frustrating because we cannot go to dog parks or hang out with neighbors walking their dogs. Any suggestions or are we doomed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are Morgan is the same way it has had some aggressive behaviors so we try to training collar which she's the perfect dog when she has it on but she's so smart she knows when she doesn't have it on

      Delete
  14. Our Buster Brown is just 5 months and weighs in at just over 19 pounds. Sounds like he is on track. All the attributes mentioned above apply. He is still learning about cats, doing well. Training is essential with him and he is doing really well.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bella is 14 weeks, about 11 lbs now, socializes well with people and other dogs but still a lot of play biting. She is very smart and energetic. Training very well but a little head strong. We love her.

    ReplyDelete
  16. We have one female, 9 lbs, and one male, 10 lbs. They are two days apart and not from the same litter. They are registered. Males parents are 20-30 lbs and females parents are 18-20 lbs. Female has shorter hair. They are both four months old as of 7/10/18. I'm curious to see what size they end up being.

    ReplyDelete
  17. HI My mini Cooper is 25 pounds he is 6 1/2 months. He is starting to gain less weigh a month. I went on the puppy calculator website you recommended and it predicts he will be 28.5 pounds full grown. I think he will be a little heavier than that :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. My mini aussie sophie is 18 weeks and is 8.6oz. How much bigger do you think she will get. I would love for her to stay small but scared she will be around 20 lbs or so. Has anyone else have one that was that small at 18 weeks if so what did your dog end up being

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m wondering a similar question, mine is 9 lbs at 13 weeks. I want to know if anyone has any idea if she’ll be below the 30 lbs marker.

      Delete
    2. How big did your mini Aussie get to be?

      Delete
    3. How big did your mini Aussie get to be?

      Delete
  19. My 2year old sieanna and weighs in a whopping 40 ibs we went to the vet who seriously warned us to put our mini on a diet or risk her having a heart attack

    ReplyDelete
  20. Our boy Enzo Is now 14 months old and weighs 34 pounds. I’m going to try to stabilize him at this way. I know he’s larger than many males but the more I read the more I understand they can go up to 40 pounds or so.

    ReplyDelete
  21. We were told that our puppy was a mini but at 5 months old she only wieghs 6lbs can this be right or did we get sold a toy aussi.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I was told we got a mini but am wondering if my Bella isn't possibly a toy instead. She is 9 months old and weights almost 9 lbs.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Bella is definitely a Toy. I have a small mini and at 16 weeks he is 10lbs.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Mini australian shepherds tend to have a little bit rounder shaped noses than the toys do. Standard aussies have much rounder shaped noses than the mini's do. It's harder to tell when they are puppies though.

    ReplyDelete
  25. We got our mini Dixie at 5 weeks. She weighed 3 pounds. She is now 11 weeks and 11 pounds! She is growing like a weed. Her paws are gynormous!! We were hoping she would be around 30 pounds like her Mom but at this rate....

    ReplyDelete
  26. My mini is 20 pounds at 5.5 months. I’m hoping she will stop soon. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  27. My mini Jasper was about 6 pounds when we got him at about 10 weeks old. He is about 5.5 months now and he is 16-17 pounds. He is much smaller than I thought he would be but seeing these comments it seems like I can expect him to grow at least a little bit more over the next few months. Loved reading these comments!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Our female mini is 5 months old and 18 lb , growth charts show her to be 26 lb at maturity 🤷🏻‍♂️

    ReplyDelete
  29. Just had to add my baby to the post. We got Tillie when she was 7 weeks old. Mama was about 25 pounds and she looks a lot like her. Tillie has grown a pound a week and now at 17 weeks she is 15 pounds. Eating/chewing everything. loves everyone but is afraid of dogs. We got her last puppy shots yesterday so socializing is our next goal.

    ReplyDelete
  30. My pup Mai Mai is an 11 week old red tri and just under 5 lbs T_T i'm really hoping she doesn't exceed 15-20 lbs, but I'm also not sure how much she's supposed to weigh at this age... we were told she's a mini but i'm thinking she may be a toy?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Our "mini" aussie was one of the largest of her litter and has basically weighed whatever her age in weeks is. So at 9 weeks she was 9 lbs, at 14 weeks she was about 14.5 lbs, at 5 months (20 weeks) she was about 20 lbs, and now at 6.5 months (26 weeks) she is 26.5 lbs. Her parents were both minis and weighed 25-30 lbs. She's absolutely amazing but I'm afraid she might end up being 40lbs by the time she fills out. Has anyone else's mini Aussie followed a similar weight pattern? If so, how much did yours end up weighing?

    ReplyDelete