Picking a F1 mini that will stay mini ( under 20" and 25 lbs)

[Raghu]

Hello All !!

I posted the same question on the main forum and I was asked to check on this group to get more support.

I have wanted a puppy since I was a kid. First it was my mom then school and then small apartments stopped me from getting a puppy. I get married, find a bigger place and now its the wife. She is scared of dogs but doesn't mind a small dog around. After showing her countless pictures of cute lil doodles and promising her that he/she will not get bigger than 15"- 20" and 25 lbs. She has agreed to get a mini doodle.

 

I have made a deposit on a F1 mini that is due in Dec. The sire is a mini poodle (14" and 15 lbs) and the dam in an all American retriever ( 22" and 42lbs). I understand its hard to determine the coat and size of a F1 mini until it grows up.

 

How do I pick a puppy that has the "best chance" of staying mini.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

your best bet would be to go out further past an F1 (a multi-gen or australian).  With the multi-gens and australians, there is a better chance of the breeder being able to predict the size and coat type.  Of course there is always the possibility of a "mini" growing larger than expected.

[Cynthia and Magic]

You have made a wise choice - and your wife will love your puppy!!

 

I would think the smallest in the litter would be the smallest grown up. My guy was the largest in his litter of 'mini' doodles....and he is now considered a 'medium'. 18" and about 35 pounds. You can see him in the picture with my granddaughter (she was only 2) so he is not very big.....just hugely lovable!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I agree with Amy about the more generations you have in breeding the more controlled the outcome and size/coat types of the puppies. With the F1's it is pretty much the luck of the draw as the genetic pool is wide open. One puppy can have mostly retriever qualities and another poodle qualities and any mixture in between.  I am not sure that a small puppy will result in a small dog. The breeders on DK can probably tell you more about that. Tara is a multi-gen ALD and her mom is 20 pounds and her dad is 21 pounds. Tara's weight ranges between those two. When you are breeding a 20 pound dog to a 21 pound dog of the same breed the results are much more predictable then breeding a 15 pounder to a 42 pounder of a different breed.

 

Even in the multi-gens you can end up with a throwback! I met a doodle owner once with a 110 pound doodle. All the other dogs in the litter ended up being around 50 pounds which is what she though hers would be...so...tough to say!  Good luck!

[Kathy Hoppe]

I have a f2b gd and she was the runt of the litter. I really , really wanted a medium size gd and I think I can safely say I got it! She'll be 1 years old next week and she's a great size at 35.4. Lauscha & Kathy

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Kathy, was this a standard sized litter and do you know how big the parents were? Glad you got your special girl! :)

[Kathy Hoppe]

Shes basically 65% poodle and 35% retriever so no she's a multiple-generation doodle. Parents are 35 and 40 lbs

[Bev]

I was laughing reading your response. I responded my Callie mulitgen is 33 lbs and a year old. I do enjoy being able to pick her up when she gets into trouble with my other doods. Just like a bag of dog food with legs!!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

110lbs?  that is a LOT of doodle.  wow

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Amy it REALLY is a LOT of doodle! I was just thinking he is over 5 times bigger than TaraBear!! Whoa!!!

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

My niece's F1B GD is 115 to 120 pounds.  Over twice the size of it's parents and litter mates, so it can definitely happen! 

[Bev]

The breeder you are contracting with will be able to tell you which pup will be on the small side. I sense your wife will fall in love with the pup and will not notice it's utimate size. Breeders cannot always predict the size of their pups. My Callie was to have been 45 to 50 lbs but is now 33 lbs of bones. As Callie gets older she will hopefully maintain some weight. My Rags is an F1 and they shed. The multigenerational doodles don't have shedding issues but their coat requires more care. My Gracie is a multigen and she is 17 lbs of "princess". My other doods range from 50 lbs - Rags to Holly who is 40 lbs. So you can see mine are of different sizes. Good luck and again the pup will "grow" on your wife.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I raised a litter in January where the mom (my ALD) is 46 pounds and dad is an F1 and weighs 38 pounds. I kept the smallest pup and he turned out to be the tallest--his legs just grew and grew! He is now 9 months old and is 34 pounds. He will ultimately be almost as tall as mom (an 3 inches taller than dad) and about 38 pounds like Dad, who is stockier. His brother, who was the largest puppy is now 2-3 inches shorter than my pup and 5 pounds lighter! The others all ended up someplace in between as well, but you never really know. It is still a "mix" of breeds and the offspring could really vary.

We now have a new litter and there are big differences in size, but these pups were conceived over four days and I think some are actually a few days behind the others. Once their growth slows down at 8-9 months of age, they can then be compared. 

I think that the breeder might be able to tell who has the proportions of a smaller dog--shorter legs, smaller paws, etc, but it is really hard to tell when they are so young. i agree with all those who said that an F1 is hard to predict--your pup could take after mom almost totally and be 40-45 pounds. If the parents are both Labradoodles and are both similar in size, their is a better chance of predicting the outcome in the pups. I agree though, that once your wife is "in love" she will get used to the size! 

I have a friend who has a 25 pound cockapoo. He looks exactly like a mini-labradoodle but was much less money! Just a thought!