When Is An Alaskan Malamute Fully Grown?

We know all too well that it can sometimes seem like our Alaskan Malamute puppies never stop growing, but when is an Alaskan Malamute fully grown?

Alaskan Malamutes are fully grown between 18 and 24 months. They may continue to develop weight and muscle after this time, but this is not counted towards being fully grown.

We’re here to hopefully provide some clarity into the matter as well as give you a rough idea of how big you can expect them to eventually grow.

When Do Alaskan Malamutes Stop Growing?

Alaskan Malamutes are a working breed with strong muscles that help them to pull heavy loads in arctic conditions. This large build requires a longer time to grow and develop compared to other dog breeds. So, when is an Alaskan Malamute fully grown?

An Alaskan Malamute will do most of their growth within the first year of their life, requiring a lot of energy-dense, high-calorie food.

Whilst they can technically be considered adults once they pass the 12 months mark and have transitioned away from puppy food, the average Malamute will still have a lot of growing to do before they can be considered fully grown.

The average Alaskan Malamute will become fully grown between 18 and 24 months.

A ‘fully grown’ Alaskan Malamute may continue to grow muscle or change weight throughout the entirety of their lives, but this does not contribute towards the age when they are fully grown.

Typically, you won’t notice any physical changes relating to growth after your Malamute reaches 18 to 24 months old, although some internal growth may still be happening.

How To Tell When An Alaskan Malamute Is Fully Grown

Much like humans, every Alaskan Malamute is different. This means that there is no quick and easy way to determine whether an Alaskan Malamute is fully grown.

If you are adopting a Malamute and you are unsure of their age and whether they have stopped growing, we recommend observing their weight and height regularly over a few months.

Keep a note in a diary of the date you are recording their measurements to make it easier to keep track of.

We know that finding a way to record your Malamute’s size can be difficult on the best of days, so an alternative is to regularly take photos of them.

Try to take each photo next to a large reference object, such as a chair or table, to make any changes in their size more noticeable and give you something to compare them to. Make sure to use the same reference object in every photo.

You should be able to tell when an Alaskan Malamute is fully grown if their weight and height remains relatively stable for 6 months.

Remember that their weight will fluctuate by small amounts throughout the seasons, with winter typically being the heaviest month, and that they may appear bigger in certain months due to their coats growing in.

How Tall Do Alaskan Malamutes Grow?

One way to tell whether your Alaskan Malamute is fully grown is to measure their height. Malamutes are a very large breed and their tall height is one of the many features that we owners have come to love about them.

There are several different ways to measure an Alaskan Malamute’s height but the generally accepted way to measure the height of any dog is to record the distance from the ground to its withers.

The withers are the highest point on the dog’s shoulder blades. This allows you to get an accurate reading every time you go to measure them.

This method is used by the AKC (American Kennel Club) along with many other recognised dog breed organisations. According to the AKC breed standard for the Alaskan Malamute, the average male Alaskan Malamute will reach a height of 25 inches at the shoulders and the average female will be 23 inches at the shoulders.

These values are not the only possibilities and as with all things in life, the typical height of a fully grown Alaskan Malamute is actually a range.

Whilst these values do provide a good estimate of how big your Malamute will grow, the best thing you can do is record their height regularly and wait for it to stop increasing.

How Much Can An Alaskan Malamute Weigh?

Even harder than pinpointing the average height of a fully grown Alaskan Malamute is to determine their average weight.

Through all our combined years of owning and working with Malamutes, we can safely say that they are a breed with a huge variety of healthy weights.

To add to this, Alaskan Malamutes are also a breed that is very easily prone to obesity. This likely stems from their huge love of food and difficulty to meet exercise requirements.

A weight that qualifies as being obese for one Alaskan Malamute may be perfectly healthy for another, so please take the following measurements with a pinch of salt – you will know your own Malamute better than anyone else.

According to the AKC, a ‘desirable’ weight for a working male Alaskan Malamute is 85 pounds (approx. 40kg) and for a female it is 75 pounds (approx. 35kg). It is also not uncommon to see so-called ‘giant Alaskan Malamutes’ who reach over 100 pounds.

Whilst these measurements are specifically for working Malamutes, they also provide a good reference for non-working Malamutes.

To determine whether your Alaskan Malamute is healthy at their current weight, it is a good idea to compare the proportions of their body to those found in the AKC breed standard.

Obese Malamutes are also usually less energetic than they should be at a healthy weight.

If you have any concerns about your Alaskan Malamute’s health, please speak to your local veterinarian.

In Summary

So there you have it. Keep in mind that all Alaskan Malamutes are different and there’s no precise answer as to when they will stop growing or how big they will get.

As long as they are happy and healthy, you should have nothing to worry about.