New puppy, too small?

[Shane Woodard]

Hi,

I just picked up an english cream american goldendoodle yesterday, she's 8 weeks old, but only weights 5.8 lbs. The breeder told me she should be 50 lbs full grown but she also said it was the first time she had bred those two together, so I'm not sure I can trust that answer. I was thinking she seemed about the size of a cockapoo my ex girlfriend had, and I found the old paperwork for him and his weight was identical to what hers is, but hes at 20 lbs full grown. I really really do not want another small dog, I want a bigger dog at least 50 pounds, so that I dont have to worry about them getting hurt if a bigger dog is trying to play with them. Both her parents were the size I was looking for, but from doing some reading today, I see that that doesnt really matter. I also seen that most puppies seem to be at least 8 lbs and the ones closer to 6 lbs tend to be the miniature ones. I called the breeder today asking about her size again and she still insists she will be 50 lbs. I really like the puppy I have and feel bad for how I feel, but I'm not sure if I should ask to get one of her bigger ones from a different litter, that she's bred before, so she really would have a better idea of its adult size. I know she has several litters within a two week frame and that I also can get a full refund if I want, so I'm not sure if I should ask for a puppy that has a better change of being bigger. Can I get some opinions?

[Jennifer and Jack]

IN  my opinion, I don't think you should get a golden doodle at all, The size, weight and hair texture vary so much from doodle to doodle.  It is risky and if you have something specific in mind you should go with a standard breed, like a pure breed that can give you better and more accurate predictions. Our two golden doodles are completely opposite in size, hair texture, and height.

I am being serious.. Why not get a golden retriever?

[Shane Woodard]

I don't like animal hair all over so I've always owned non shedding dogs.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

But huge numbers of our doodles DO SHED!!!!

[Ginny Nightingale]

I think you are right to be concerned about too small a dog--I just looked at some puppy records from pups I have raised here for a breeder and the smallest of one of the litters weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce at 6 weeks and is now 55 pounds--she is no longer the smallest of her litter, but must have been closer to 8 or 9 pounds at 8 weeks old. Another LD I know of was 5 pounds at 8 weeks and is expected to be about 20 pounds. Now you really don't know for sure but it seems like this pup is going to be on the small side--it takes a combination of genes to determine size, so if she got all the "small" genes from both parents (each parent may have had several "small genes" and a bunch of "standard size genes") she will be smaller than both parents. It is like being dealt a hand in poker and getting all 2s and 3s.

Many breeders insist that the pups will all be between the size of the two parents--and that is OFTEN the case, but not always. My dog had a litter of 7 pups and she weighs 50 pounds--the father weighed 35 pounds. The pups are now a year old and weigh 37, 43,48, 50, 52, 55 and 65 pounds!! an average of all those weights is 50 pounds just like mom--but you can see how much they vary!!

By the way, many breeders do not like to use the term "runt"--as it technically implies that the pup is not just small but also ill. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It really bugs me when breeders use an average of the mom and dad's weights to estimate the puppies' adult weights. Very few of us are halfway between our mother's weight and our father's weight, lol. Genetics just don't work that way, as you know.

[GBK]

Buddy was supposed to be "40" lbs, his mom was a 50lbs and dad 35lbs, Buddy is 60lbs :)

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Just got to say it - call me evil - this isn't like going to Walmart, "I must have a King sized, blue bedspread."  I think it is a flipping shame that you can't just love this puppy no matter the size.  Dogs are not items that can be special ordered.  Just my opinion. 

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Shane, is your pup the runt of the litter?  The reason I ask is I fostered 4 eight week old goldendoodle puppies for DRC, inc in April of 2011.  The runt of the litter was around 5 pounds.  This past January on the puppies' 1 year b'day I received a picture from the little boy's family along with a note the the runt now weighed 65 pounds.

Your little girl may put on a growth spurt now that she is not having to compete with bigger brothers and sisters. 

[Shane Woodard]

i was told she wasnt the runt, just one of the smaller ones.looking over the vet paperwork, there were was i believe a 6.2, 6.7 and the largest was 7.2 lbs

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

If the pup has a lovely personality, that is the most important aspect for a pet so take the time to evaluate what you truly want.  I may go against others here in that they kind of bugging  you about wanting to change puppies. I think if you want a larger dog and just suspect that this one will be tons smaller than you want, now is the time to change - but realize that size cannot be predicted and you might be changing for nothing.  One of our members wanted a smaller pup (like my smaller doodle), but she did want a big enough dog to play with others etc. She was offered the smallest dog in the litter and ended up with an adult dog of about 12 pounds not 28.  She loves her dearly but she is not at all what she wanted and I think is secretly disappointed.   On the other hand, my dd has a lab and what turned out to be a lhasa/poodle mix.  The little one was found under a porch and wormed his way into her heart. This little guy is no sissy and plays well with larger dogs. Your small girl might grow a bunch and a bigger pup might stop growing early.  I would also go for a male - aren't males generally larger dogs? (I am asking the group here). 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In purebreds, males are almost always larger than females, and the breed standards refect this. But with mixes, all bets are off. My schnoodle was twice the size of the single male in her litter, and all of the females were larger, even as adults.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks, Karen.  I just know my male Springers (pure breed) have been larger than females and thought it might give  Shane a better chance of bigger.