Mini or Standard?

[Stephanie Sullivan]

So I have been doing a TON of research to decide what kind of dog to get for our family. After much research I have decided on a goldendoodle. However, I cannot decide on whether to get a standard or a mini. My issue is this: The mini's are so much more money! We live in a house with a fenced in yard, but it is not huge. It would be nice to get a standard for less money, but I can' figure out if paying the extra for the mini would be worth it? I know size is not able to be determined with certainty and I don't want to spend a lot more money and still get a dog the size of a standard. Our family is fairly active and we walk a lot so exercise is not an issue. But like I said, our house is not huge. Any one have any thoughts, advice or experience in this?

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Stephanie, welcome! My breeder has minis and micro minis. They are consistent in size and weight. The minis are 25lbs or less.. www.tropicokennels.com

[Bob Johnston]

have you looked into the medium size doodles. are you set on the goldendoolde mix or just the doodle part.

[KLN]

Great idea Bob! That might be a perfect size!

[Stephanie Sullivan]

I am set on the golden. And yes I have l have looked into the mediums. But I don't think the breeders in my area have those. I want to have a good breeder and I don't want to have my puppy shipped so it needs to be driving distance. 

[KLN]

You will LOVE your doodle! They really are awesome dogs! Congrats! I've had cocker spaniels my whole life and never thought I'd fall in love with another breed but I have. ;0). I have a mini and he's about 22 pounds now at seven months. I'm thinking full grown he will be around 25-28. Your breeder should be able to give you a pretty close idea of their weight full grown, if they can't you should look for another breeder. Mine was able to give me a range within five pounds and Finley is exactly within the range. I'm also curious why the breeder is charging more for the minis...has anyone else on this site had a similar experience? My breeder charges the same price, no matter the size, color or gender. If you are leaning towards a mini I would suggest you go with the mini. ;0). Standards really are awesome, I'm thinking of one for my next doodle but they are big and have a lot of energy. If you're worried about space, the standard doodle might not be the best fit but others on here that have a standard might have better advice than me. ;0)

One thing I will say is that doodles have become very popular and you really have to be careful and do your research on breeders. Make sure they are doing extensive health testing, that they don't have an excessive amount of breeding dogs caged in the back (ask to see mom and dad and visit where they live, if they won't let you see then it's a HUGE red flag) and that they have references. I learned about bad breeders the really devastating way and don't recommend that to my worst enemy.

Congrats again, so excited for you!

[Stephanie Sullivan]

I definitely doing LOTS of research! I don't want to get a puppy that is not going to be wonderful for our family. Thank you for your thoughts!

[Kimberly Cook]

We went with a standard for a few reasons. I wanted a big dog to keep up with my active boys and to ward off strangers. If anyone comes in our yard Chopper will bark ferociously at them like a dutiful guard dog which is funny because he is afraid of his own shadow and loves everyone he meets.
You don't have to have a huge house I would think. An apartment may be a little cramped though.
The only con for us is we now need a bigger SUV to drive him and the kids to the beach. /:)

When you imagine your pooch running and playing what size comes to mind?

Even though Chopper is over 60lbs now at 9months he is still daddy's lap doggie.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Love this pic!

[Diane, Baker & Oskar]

Our first goldendoodle is an F1 standard, predicted to be 50-60#.  His parents were 55 & 50#.  He kept growing & growing & growing & is now 99#.  With our second doodle, we got a mini-medium because we couldn't take the chance of another puppy becoming so large...there would have been no room in our car for 2 big dogs & these guys love to go with us every time.  

Oskar is our mini-medium with parents 55# & 20#...he is over a year now & is 33#.  He is a great size...seems small next to Baker, but it's nice to have a dog who can/will sit on our laps...he is big enough to hold his own with other dogs without being fragile, yet small enough for the grandkids to easily hug & run with.  Baker gets excited when kids are running & has knocked the kids down when playing with them.  

Any doodle you get should be great but I think you have more certainty in size with the mini-medium.  If you buy from a reputable breeder, a mini-medium should turn out to be around 40#.

[KLN]

Lol Diane! I guess there goes my theory on good breeders being able to predict the size! I can't believe he's that much bigger than his parents!!!

[Gail & Bogey]

I debated on standard and mini also. Went with the mini and so glad I did. I love having him snuggle with me every morning, travel with us and fit in a decent size crate. Our mini was $1500, which is a lot but know many breeders charge much more. He's been the best puppy and wouldn't trade him.

[Missy]

Just remember they have loads of energy.  Teddy was our first dog, and at 6 months he is 30 pounds (mini-petite) and I am glad I went for small.  The standards are gorgeous, but I am not sure where we would put stuff to accommodate the running around the house.  And even though you walk or play outside, there is always the energy to run some more once inside and don't forget the rainy days.

Think bigger dog, more money on dog food, more money to groom, more money for flea tick medicine, more money to board if necessary: so might be cheaper on the front end to purchase, but overall, it probably works out pretty even.

As someone mentioned: what size to you visualize? go walk around the pet store. ask people the weight.

Be careful picking your breeder: as some do not know what they are doing and you could pay for small and get large!

best of luck and try not to stress out too much. Proper research will yield a wonderful family member.