New Mini Goldendoodle mom with a few questions

[Sara Bailey]

Hey guys! I just got my first doodle about a month and a half ago and I have a few questions! I have  been hearing a lot of stories about people getting mini goldendoodles and they turn out to not actually be minis. Has this happened to any of you? My dog, Banks, is about 14 weeks old now and he is HUGE. I'm not sure how much he weighs now (we are going to the vet Thursday) but he weighed 14.6 pounds at 12 weeks. The vet even told me she thought he was going to be a big dog. How big are your mini's if you have one? Banks is aF1 goldendoodle and I've heard mixed feedback on whether or not he will shed. What do you guys think? I attached a picture of Banks' dad, I didn't get to see him in person so its hard to tell how big he is though. His mom was a golden retriever and it was her first litter! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If one of the parents is a full-sized Golden Retriever, there is always the possibility that a puppy grow up to be the same size. In genetics, the adult height or size is not the average of the parents', or all of us would be halfway between our mom's height and our dad's height, lol. There is really no way to predict the puppies' adult size with F1 litters, especially if the Poodle parent is not a standard. And even then, it's very common for the puppies to end up bigger than either parent. Genetics work in mysterious ways, lol. Since your breeder has never had a litter from this pair of parents before, she doesn't really know what to expect. I will say that Banks' father does not look like a small Poodle to me, and I'm pretty experienced with Poodles. Did the breeder say he was a Miniature? Did she give you his height and weight? 

As to shedding, about 70% of F1s do shed to some degree. It's hard to say whether Banks will shed or not, but I'd guess he will have some shedding. 

He is absolutely adorable, though. Enjoy him!

[Sara Bailey]

Thank you! Yes the breeder said he would be a mini and that he would be around 35-50 pounds. Thanks for your feedback! I'm and excited and curious to see how he will grow up. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I meant the father; is he a Miniature Poodle, and did the breeder give you his height and weight? 

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

A mini does not weigh 50 lbs (unless they are overweight). My mini is 4 years old and 25 lbs. I know that different breeders classify them differently but I currently have a foster that weighs 50 lbs and she is NOT a mini. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've seen goldendoodles whose adult weight is estimated between 35-50 lbs called "mediums".

[Adina P]

And a 50 lb dog with poodle legs can look quite huge!

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

According to our breeder, a mini is typically 20-30 pounds, a medium is 30-50 pounds and a standard is 50 pounds +. She also does pocket sizes which are under 20 pounds!

[Beth & Cheddar]

My standard size F1 goldendoodle was 16.5 lbs at 12 weeks, and his brother was 20 lbs. Based on previous litters, my boy should be about 50-60 lbs as an adult and his brother 70+lbs. Your boy may end up being on the smaller side of standard sizing, but I don't think he will be mini.

[Sara Bailey]

 An updated picture

[Beth & Cheddar]

He is absolutely adorable!

[Adina P]

He's super cute!  Definitely NOT a mini, but adorable.  Love his markings.

[Lynda Kamrath]

His dad is amazing and the puppy is very cute.  However, with a golden retriever as a mother, he may be closer to a standard sized boy.  Get his weight at 4 months, double that and add a few pounds.  My puppy was gaining more than a pound a week at this age, so lets say that he is 17 pounds at 4 months.  Double that and add a few pounds and his adult weight (using this formula) would be 35-40 pounds.  That sounds rather "smallish" to me.  This formula has worked with all my pups and my current pup (a sheepadoodle) is expected to be 60-70 pounds.  That is exactly what I expected from looking at her parents.  (Here is a photo of her parents)  It doesn't really matter what size he ends up.  You will cherish him no matter how big he is.  He probably will get about the size of his darling bear.  What a great shot!