Petite doodle vs. Mini doodle

[Claudia Lee]

Hello everyone!

 We have a lovely doodle named Dudley who I believe is considered a petite doodle. He's about 3 now and medium/small sized and is only about 35 pounds.

 We are considering adding another to the family and I was curious if a miniature doodle has the same temperament/personality as most ???

 It's probably a silly question, but we're not a huge fan of the "little dog mentality" and I've only personally met one other mini goldendoodle before which had these personality traits. Hopefully this makes sense and I don't come across strangely. Just want to be sure of my decision eventually and this seems like the perfect forum to do so! Thank you :) 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

From my understanding "mini" doodles are ones that are made by crossing something with a miniature poodle.  "Petite" doodles probably refers to crosses with toy poodles though I'm not sure.. maybe F1b (mini doodle with a toy poodle)?

Anyway I've always thought that the "tiny dog" personality thing was more about training and how you  handle the dog than the actual dog.  I know plenty of small dogs that are well-mannered, calm and sporty.  

[Claudia Lee]

Okay thank you so much! 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Dulcie is actually a medium. My mini is considered a large mini. He is16" at the shoulder and weighs 29 pounds.  A petite doodle is relatively new. These dogs are really tiny - like 12 pounds. 

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Not a stupid question. You are wise to consider possible pros and cons before bringing a new dog into your family.  I can assure you, however, that my mini ALD weighs around 15 lbs and has a delightful, lovable doodle personality. Neither she, nor my late terriers who weighed 17 lbs and 8 lbs, exhibited any of the characteristics of the so-called "little dog mentality."  I also had a wonderful, 64 lb lab.  I think that life-long, gentle, consistent training can help most dogs avoid unpleasant behaviors regardless of size. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think you create 'little dog mentatlity' (I know exactly what you mean) is created by how you raise the dog.

If you carry a dog around always, if you keep it on your lap (as if it is protecting you or that you are owned by the little dog) when introducing new dogs or people, you give it the power to behave in that manner. Our daughter has an 8 pound Yorkie mix rescue who is most definitely not a little dog except in the loving to cuddle department. She is alpha to her 80 pound lab. She walks on a leash with the lab, but my daughter is cognizant that she can't go as far, so does carry her some.  She does have what I feel is more of a little dog thing - she will pee and poop inside when she wants to (like showing her displeasure), yet can hold it for hours and hours.  She is a major barker - again, I think can be more common with little dogs, but that's certainly not universal - one of my dogs barks too much and he weighs 42 pounds. :-}

[Dawn McDermitt]

Hi, I have a toy-petite golden doodle name CoCo who is 6 months old and weighs 14 lbs. Toy-petites get 15-20 lbs full grown from what my breeder told me. He is the calmest & relaxed puppy since the day I brought him home at 8 weeks. He does have his crazy moments like all dogs do, tho...lol! And he's spoiled rotten but what dog isn't! Pic for cuteness.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

He’s adorable.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Instead of looking for a puppy with an assigned size label, like mini or petite or medium, why not search for a dog who is within the weight and height range that you seek? Otherwise, you might end up with a "medium" that is smaller than you want or a "mini" that is larger than you want. Most breeders can predict the ultimate size of their puppies based on the particular measurements of their parent dogs.  

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Size of parent dogs is what I've always though is the best estimate for a dog's size.  

Luna's mini poodle dad was about 20 lbs, golden mom was about 55 lbs... she topped out around 40 lbs so roughly in between the two.