How Big is Big?

[Sandy]

I'm trying to figure out where Toby falls in the realm of doodle sizes. I think he's probably medium - I don't feel he's a big dog, but a lot of people comment "Oh my, you have such a big dog!" Last night we measured - he's 22 inches at the shoulder, and probably 65 pounds or so. He's 11 1/2 months old, so likely close to being full grown?

[Debbie and Thomas]

I think Thomas will be right up there with Tanner. At 10 mths old-all I can say is he is HUGE and tall and looks just like Tanner. I havn't had him weighed in a while but I would guess 75 lbs.-maybe more.

[Sam]

This is funny you write this Sandy as we have had three comments in the last week about how big Ollie is and we have always thought of him as a medium (only because that is what we were told when we got him so have thought of him as nothing else).
I was at the pet shop the other day buying food for him (a bag marked small / medium dogs) and the lady behind the counter said 'thats not for Ollie is it??'" and told me I needed the large / giant dog bag!! We then had two people at the dog park say hes obviously a standard labradoodle.
My husband has now nicknamed him - horse.....
He is about 46lbs and stands about 24 inches at the shoulder. He has just turned one.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

This is a really interesting discussion. When I was looking for Connor, I read average g-doodles are 55-65 lbs. Connor had been fostered for a couple of wks with a very large white g-doodle who weighed in @ 98lbs & about 28"tall! Connor will be 2 yrs old in September and is 26 1/2" at the shoulder and weighs 65-68 lbs. His build is very poodle-ish -- narrow hips and shoulders and loooong legs. He is so furry he looks bigger. I used to have a newf, so he seems like a lrg dog, but not a giant one like my newfie was.
A FUNNY story ... Cons & I were leaving PetsMart last week as a couple was walking in. As we passed, the man said to the woman,"Wow! That is a HUGE dog! I think he's an Irish Wolfhound!" I did not laugh out loud until I got into my car.
I have a customer with an IW who weighs 185lbs and his head is chest high on me...and I'm 5'9". Now THAT is a huge dog!!

Also, I don't think the poodle standard has a lot to do with a doodle standard. A mini-Australian labradoodle is up to 17" at the shoulder. My sister's standard poodle is 9 1/2 months old and is 27" at the shoulder. Go figure! :-)

Although our doodles vary wildly in heighth and size, they all have GIANT hearts that hold all that amazing doodle love.

[Stella]

I would say he is medium, based on his height. But, that is because I am comparing him to Hartley, who is most definitely large! Hartley was supposed to be a 'small standard' at 50-55lb!! (He now weighs 80lb). Chase was supposed to be a medium - predicted 35-40lb. He is now 42lb at seven months, so I am thinking he will probably end up more around the size Hartley was supposed to be!! What can I say, we have a knack for picking the large ones!!

I think that these days so many people have smaller dogs - maltese, bichon etc, that even a medium sized doodle seems as though it is a big dog.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I know this doesn't mean much, but dogs over 50 lbs are considered "large" as far as medication and food labelling goes.
Shelters and rescues label toys under 20-25 lbs as "small", 25-50 lbs as "medium" and anything over 50 lbs as "large"...not sure where the "XL" begins.
And then none of that takes height into account; some dogs, like greyhounds, are very tall but don't weigh much. Some, like bassett hounds, are very short and bulky, and weigh a lot. But a bassett, to me, is a medium sized dog, and a greyhound is a large dog, even if they both weigh the same.
I think a lot of people consider any dog over 50 lbs "large"...but it depends what you're used to. My mother, who had toy dogs, referred to my 25 lb schnoodle as a "large dog".
I would say Toby is on the medium end of the scale for standard doodles, but he's definitely a standard doodle, not what they call a "medium". And in the overall kingdom of dogs, he would be considered a "large" dog.

[Kelli, Fenway, & Dustin Pedroia]

I think our dog is pretty big and he's only 45lbs, but he's also only 5 months old. His parents are both 50lbs so our boy is going to far outweigh his parents and will probably end up around 80 or so pounds. Our other doodle is only 28lbs and she was supposed to be or is a medium doodle. She's super tiny and has the skinny poodle body. You just never know what you're going to get when you mix breeds I guess.