Standard, Medium or Mini?

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

I had placed this as a blog post but at the suggestion of Ann and support of Adina I am pasting it into a discussion, here it is:

Recently a group of breeders have had an ongoing discussion of what size the emphasis of our programs are. It has been a great conversation and we have enjoyed a glimpse at why we all choose to develop specific directions.

We would love to hear from doodle owners ~ what kind of doodle owner are you? Did you begin your search with a knowledge of what size dood you wanted and narrow the possibilities from there? Or maybe you had one ideal in mind but went another way? Maybe color, sex, generation or availability infuenced it greater than size?
We all make choices with specific criteria after health and temperament, which we will just assume is at the top of all of our lists ~ was size one of your highest priorities, or was it further down?

We are looking forward to this being equally enlightening as our previous discussion and thank you for letting your voice be heard = )

[Cam & Oski]

Interesting question. We wanted a standard doodle & got one although truthfully he's much bigger than we expected & is still growing. We were looking for a bigger dog that the DH could rough-house with without fear of accidentally smushing him, lol. Now at 75+ lbs Oski's smushing me! When we starting learning about doodles, "standard" sized dogs were thought to be 50-80 lbs which is what we wanted but I guess we thought of the weight/size in terms of a lab because my brother-in-law has labs which are denser than doods. Compared to his size, Oski doesn't weigh that much, he's just so big because he's so tall, lol. We also wanted a bigger dog because in general it seems that bigger dogs are more mellow. If he keeps on growing we may have to buy a bigger car (we have a Mini Cooper) but we wouldn't change him, just call him the world's most expensive dog!! :o}

[Michele B]

One of the best thing about doodles is that they come in a variety of sizes........like poodles and schnauzers. When we decided on getting a labradoodle, we were looking for a smaller one than our Standard Poodle. She was 70 lbs in her prime and 25 inches. She was an incredible counter surfer! We wanted our next dog unable to pull dishes out of the sink and food off the back of the counter. We also wanted our doodle in the 30-40 lb range, sturdy, but won't crush you when on your lap! We are really happy with our 31 pound Bailey. She is 14 months and almost 18 inches. It is great to be able to have a choice.

[Jackie]

I started researching doodles after seeing a co-worker's mini doodle.I also wanted an F1 too. I really didn't care that much if it was a male or female. That's what I was planning on. Then I came upon the English minis. I loved the lighter coloring and most of them are alittle bit smaller that a regular mini. I had a golden previously and wanted to "downsize" this time. I looked at web sites and pictures and decided that's what I wanted. And I couldn't be more happy. We love our little guy. He's a sweetie with a great personality. He's just the right size for us.

[Maya]

Since our kids were extremely afraid of large dogs, we started looking for a mini Doodle. The sex or the color didn't cross my mind (I was the main 'searcher'), but since most of the Doodle photos I saw on the Internet were of cream colored Doodles, that's how I started imagining ours. We were looking for a rescue or rehome dog. Fast forward to when we met Cassie at her first family's home - she was much bigger than we were looking for and black... but it was no brainer, for some reason nobody had any doubts - all 4 of us just said 'let's take her home' and that was that. I can't imagine her being any different now. We all love her, and when I see my kids in the middle of an off leash park, with all the large dogs running around them - not afraid at all - I love her even more! I am sooo glad it turned out this way. Our Cassie has cured them of their doggie-phobia!

[Trowby]

Great idea for a thread. We started out looking for a medium female Australian Labradoodle and drove down to Indianapolis to see Kendra Vestals babies. She had two litters of medium Chocolate babies and those were the ones we came to see. Well she had a surprise for us- a little mini apricot girl named Lily who was supposed to go to another buyer but the buyer backed out at the last minute. We loved the little chocolate babies but then Lily bounded into the room and we were in love. Lily quickly stole our hearts and our daughter named her Sage on the spot. She is not the dog we expected but we couldn't imagine life without her. Sage is a wonderful dog and the best size...not too small and not too big.

Trowby and Sage

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

I told you that you didn't want me to let her in (she was playing outside so she wouldnt bother you)! She was a leaf! She stole your heart! It was hilarious to see your face when she bounced in. I tried to explain she was a fireball!

[Trowby]

She is something Kendra. I will never forget her bouncing in. So exuberant. She is the best! You might have seen my posts about her grooming. The groomer shaved her nose- which is growing in. I will send a picture when it grows a little more. She looks like Poppy!
Hugs to Sage's Mom

[Barbara Burrows]

We have 2 ALD puppies. Abby is medium chocolate, 13 months old, 18", and 21#. Molly is a mini black 7 month old. Size was very important when we decided to get a puppy The only things more important, were I have allergies and the puppies temperament.
We did begin our search looking for small medium or mini and would have waited until one was available. We preferred females and the colors we have.

[Jenifer Gray]

Yes, size was very important to me in choosing a pup. Availability and generation were also important, not so much colour or sex. Jenifer

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

I was wondering if anyone can give me a size description of mini, medium and standard.

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

So glad you asked. I have pasted this directly from the ALAA website under breed standard ~ here you are ~

Currently there are three sizes of Australian Labradoodles during this stage of continued development, it is acceptable and expected to see inter size breeding at this time.

Sizes: Height: 14 to 24 (not over 25) inches (35cm to 63cm) at wither. Weight: 7kg to 30kg (15-65lbs).

Miniature range: Height: 14 to16 (not over 17) inches (35cm to 42cm) at wither.

Medium range: Height: 17 to 20 (not over 21) inches (43cm to 52cm) at wither. The ideal size for the female is 17 to19 inches and the male is 18 to 20 inches.

Standard range: Height: 21 to 24 (not over 25) inches (53cm to 63cm) at wither. The ideal size for the female is 21 to 23 inches and the male is 22 to 24 inches.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

How do you measure height again? The wither is the top of the shoulder??????