Doodle Size

[Jeff and Laura McCanlies]

Our Hazel is just about 1 year old now, so it's fairly safe to assume she is full grown at this point (although she has been a late bloomer in her temperament and behavior).   When we adopted her she was supposed to be a medium size doodle, but have since realized she is a mini (the breeder was a little unclear on who the daddy was, no big deal at this point).  

Anyway, she is a whopping 19.8 pounds at the last visit to the pet food store.  I was wondering if this is about normal for a mini goldendoodle?  Or if we have an extra special small one?  She is actually a perfect size for our needs as she fits through the dog door, doesn't eat too much, so not much to clean up in the yard, and easy to transport.  

We have our second baby on the way (a human one this time) and she is going to be put through her paces.  I guess that is a topic for another time.

[Hua]

Charlie just turned 1 and he's about 18 lbs.   He was the runt of the litter and hadn't gained much weight since he was about 8 months, and I'm convinced that he got bullied by his brothers and sisters when he was a puppy and didn't get enough milk from his mom and that's why he's so small. lol

[Jeff and Laura McCanlies]

What is Charlie's temperament?  We think Hazel is the runt also and she is the shyest dog I have ever met.  She isn't real fond of men (except for me) and small children make her tremble and pretty much walks away from all of them.  She acts like we beat her or something and we have never even yelled at her for her few potty mistakes.  She's a sweetie, but just so timid.  Our house is very quiet, but we take her out with us at every opportunity.  She is slowly getting more accustomed to people petting her (women only), but still shy.  We have always thought she was slow to mature, so this may just be another sign of that.

[Hua]

Charlie is the opposite from Hazel.  Very out going and social, likes everything and everybody.  Especially fond of bigger dogs (best friend with my neighbor's 90lb pitbull) and women (as in more likely to be all cute and roll on his back and ask for belly rubs.)   He's pretty popular with kids (I think they like him because of his small size so doesn't feel scared.)  He was a bit shy when I first got him, but I socialized him really early on.  Maybe some dogs are just born shy?  Or perhaps Hazel is going through one those fear stages.  Charlie went through one when he was about 7 months when he was really scared of men and old people for no reason, but it lasted for about two weeks and then he went back to being everyone's best friend.

[Veronica Z.]

My little M.J. was great with people since she was a puppy but terrified of other dogs/puppies. We would go to puppy classes and whenever all the puppies were let loose for playtime she would tuck her tail, go under a bench or chair and sit against the wall. With the help of the trainers we let her slowly become more and more comfortable socializing with other dogs and now she's great. She really made tons of progress but it happened slowly and we had to be very patient. I imagine it would be the same if she were anxious around people. I'm sure a trainer can help you with it but for us it was also helpful to look at this site about BAT training (recommended by her trainer). I found these handouts so helpful, especially since M.J. continued to have anxiety when she would see dogs on the street or at the park for quite some time.

http://empoweredanimals.com/more/handouts/