# Shiba growth patterns -- age to reach full stature Another newbie question here. I am wondering at what age Shiba's generally reach their full stature -- talking height and length -- not full adult weight. I know they continue to pack on muscle after they stop growing. The reason I ask is that my 5-month old male is already at the breed height and… ## Thread In Shiba Inu · started by kojichan · 6 replies - **Category:** [Shiba Inu](https://nihonken.org/community/c/shiba-inu) - **Forum:** [Nihon Ken Forum](https://nihonken.org/community/) ## kojichan · 2008-07-11T22:33:27.000Z Another newbie question here. I am wondering at what age Shiba's generally reach their full stature -- talking height and length -- not full adult weight. I know they continue to pack on muscle after they stop growing. The reason I ask is that my 5-month old male is already at the breed height and length standard for an adult -- may have already exceeded the AKC height standard. My somewhat inaccurate measure of him is about 16 3/4" at the withers and at least 17+"from there to the end of his back at the tail. The breeder that sold him had originally planned to show him, but determined at four months that he was a bit long-legged for the standard and concluded he would eventually grow tall enough to disqualify him for show purposes - which by now appears to be the case. That's fine by me. I love his look, but with those measurements I figure he's got to be nearly done except for the added weight. So I am wondering how much bigger he can really get at this point. He's 16 lbs now. Mom was 15 lbs. Dad was 22 lbs. ## Romi (admin) · 2008-07-11T22:53:01.000Z Wow - you do have a tall little pup! Ninja was 12"-13" at the withers at 5 months! He weighed 18 lbs. at that time. He is 11 months now and is 17" at the withers and weighs 23 lbs. ## tobyshiba · 2008-07-11T22:54:06.000Z I think they generally get their height and length around 5-7 months, and then fill in with weight and the thickness that they're supposed to have up until like ... 1 year. Toby is 6 months and hes 25lbs, and is large for a Shiba puppy. xD ## kojichan · 2008-07-15T01:42:03.000Z It's actually quite amazing how quickly they can start packing on muscle and fill out. Koji was at the vet's less than two weeks ago and weighed under 16 lbs. I took him back today to have his teeth and gums inspected (bloody gums, stinky breath -- just normal process of losing baby teeth I was told) and he weighed in at 18 lbs. Over 2 lbs gained (12 % increase) in less than two weeks. Although I was a bit surprised, I shouldn't have been. I had to increase the girth in his harness at least 3 times in that same period of time. ## apshiba · 2008-07-15T16:56:36.000Z Frost is 5 months weighing at 20lbs. He is about 13-14 inches tall at withers and almost 16 inches long from neck to tail. He had a major growth spurt for 3rd anf 4th month. He seems to be gaining weight more - almost lb a week. yet he is very trim and fit , you can see the abdomenial tuck and narrowing of waste. He is not "full" as adult shiba pictures look but I hope he will add muscle. I was wondering the same: if he is ever going to slow down and when he will reach his mature ht/wt. Because I have 30x24x20 wire crate and fear I have to buy a new one soon. The crate size was told by breeder. How big are crates you folks using? ## ljowen123 (moderator) · 2008-07-15T17:01:16.000Z Jazz is 17.5 lbs and is 5 years old. Her crate is 36.0 x 24.0 x 27.0 - I chose a larger size for her because there are 2 days a week when she is crated for 7-8 hours. The rest of the time the crate is only used for a couple of hours a day. ## kojichan · 2008-07-16T00:04:31.000Z The crate I use is 30L x 19W x 21H. --- **Navigate:** [Forum home](https://nihonken.org/community/?format=md) · [Sitemap](https://nihonken.org/community/sitemap.xml)