Large Mini/Small Medium Australian Labradoodle Question!

[James Donovan]

Hi all!

I am brand new to this forum, and was hoping for a little help from you guys My wife and I are getting a "large mini/small medium" Australian labradoodle next week, and the breeder says that she projects him to be 30-34lbs at maturity. His mom is listed as 16", 23lbs and his dad is listed at 16.5", 32lbs.

It is difficult for me to visualize how big 30-34lbs will look, and I was hoping that some folks with similar sized doodles could post a picture(s) of their dog? Preferably next to another dog or some sort of object for scale. I see photos of doodles online in wide open grass fields, or that are cropped to just show the dog...so even smaller ones look huge! It would be nice to have something to use as a size reference. Thanks in advance for any feedback/help! I cannot wait to get our little dood!

[Donna]

My girl is a medium ALD (Australian Labradoodle). She is about 32 lbs and about 19 inches at the withers. She is 13 months and should be just about full grown. The breeder said they fill out a bit around 15 months. I will try and post a better photo later so you can see her size. In this photo she is in front of a sliding glass door. Yours should be a bit smaller than mine. BTW there is a FB page specifically for ALD owners. There are about 2000 members. It has been very helpful. Especially helpful about training and grooming advice. Wonderful breed. Educate yourself as much as possible about early socialization and grooming.

[Donna]

Also if you haven't done so already, check out the we page...Australian Labradoodle Association of America.

[Lorrie Hertweck]

We have an Ausralian Labradoodle as well, but he is 42lbs at full grown! 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Here are Ned and I.  I am about 5'3" and Ned is 16 1/2" at the shoulder and 28 pounds, and with a 7 and 5 year old.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Here's a pic of us with our two doods. The one in the background is 30#'s. Yogi in the middle is 44#'s. I'm showing you this so you can see how we all fit together. I love their size. Not too big and not too small. Just right!

[James Donovan]

Oh wow, those last few pics are super helpful! Really helpful to see the dog next to you guys to get a true sense of how big they are. I was initially worried that 30-34lbs would be too big for me (I am not a large dog person), but seeing some 30 pounders next to actual people makes me feel a lot better about the size :) More pics are always welcome ;) I am a worrier, so all the reassurance is appreciated!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I love the 30 pound size. She's perfect. Doesn't look too small (I don't like little bitty dogs). Yet she is small enough for me to easily move around and pick up. Here's more pictures for size comparisons

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Sorry. Could only add one here

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Here's another. We take them everywhere :-)
This is the 44# here btw

[James Donovan]

Your pic (and some of the other recent replies) have really put it into perspective how big/small the 30lb range really is. Doing a quick google search just showed a bunch of pictures of the doodle in an open yard or the photo was cropped so that the dogs looked huge to me (maybe I am just bad at judging size!). I feel so much more comfortable and excited now that I know what 30lbs really looks like :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Here is Charlie a 36 - 40 pound doodle - once with me - compare him with me to Ned with me.  Charlie is larger than Ned, but it is more his structure and weight' once with my husband, and once with a random stranger. If you are more worried about the control issue - Ned is truly easy. I can definitely control Charlie, however he is reactive on leash and when he gets into the 'zone' I am using my strength to 'make' him keep walking.  Two things about that - one is I am old and not strong, and two, Charlie has not been trained yet - we have only had him about 6 weeks. Any dog you get must be trained and then you really wouldn't have any problems with control.

[James Donovan]

Here's our little guy, Murphy!