Hello! We were hoping for a mini to small medium doodle (about 30 to 45 lbs max) but at the rate our boy, Zuko is growing all calculators estimate he will be 50 to 60 lbs!! For reference, his dad is a 35 lbs poodle and mom was a small 40 lb retriever so breeder estimated he will be 40 or 45 lbs max since he was the larger puppy in the litter. He was about 8 lbs at 8 weeks and now 22.4 lbs at 15 weeks. He has been steadily gaining 2-3lbs a week so I do believe he will be at least 50 lbs!
Please share any photos you have of your 50 to 60 lbs doodle so I can have a idea of what's to come? Standing pic or next to another dog/object for comparison would be appreciated!! Thanks doodle love. :)
I hope my link works but here is photo of Zuko next to our 30 lbs corgi.
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A lot of doodle breeders seem to average the parents' weights to predict adult weight, and that's a really inaccurate way of doing it. Genetics don't work that way.
A 35 lb purebred male Poodle would be a very unusual thing. That's way too big for a Miniature and very tiny for a Standard, especially a male Standard. So, it's possible that the sire is what we call an intervariety mix, that is, the result of a breeding between two different sizes of Poodles. Some doodle breeders (and bad Poodle breeders) call this a "Moyen", but there is no such thing. If this is the case with your puppy's sire, there is Standard Poodle there, and chances are pretty good that there are some bigger-than-40-lb retrievers in the dam's lines as well. So you likely have bigger dogs on both sides, and can get bigger offspring. Size is almost always dominant, genetically.
The best formula for estimating weight is to double the puppy's weight at 4 months (which is 17.2 weeks, NOT 16 weeks) and then add 5-10 lbs. That should give you a good idea.
Photos of 50 lb dogs are not really going to be very helpful to you, because I can show you 10 dogs who all weigh the same amount and some will be twice as tall as others, or twice as long in the body. It depends on bone and muscle mass, leg length and body shape. Some doodles are built more like retrievers, with shorter legs, and stocky longer bodies. Others may be light boned, long legged and square, like Poodles. The age at which you neuter can also affect their size, as neutering too early can cause growth plates in the legs to stay open and therefore result in a taller dog.
Part of owning a doodle is that you can never really be sure what you've got until the dog is full grown. :)
This is very insightful!! The breeder did call the sire a moyen too... We had a DNA test done and he was 50% standard poodle, 25% miniature poodle, and the rest a mix of golden retriever and lab. We were really confused by the results and thought either the breeder was not truthful or the results were inaccurate. But now thanks to your explanation, it all makes a lot more sense!!
Well... looks like we will very likely have a big boy on our hands. Will love him either way but time to mentally prepare for his growth. Haha
Riley is about the height of a large standard poodle (27" at shoulder) but weighs 72-75 lbs and she is not overweight. She definitely has the musculature/heavier build of a Bernese.
Toby is getting close to Riley's height and weighs about 35 lbs. He'll probably top out around 45-50 lbs at most but may be only a couple inches shorter than Riley, tall and square like a poodle.
Build makes a huge difference!