How big is a Mini Goldendoodle, and does it shed?

What makes a Goldendoodle a Mini?

Its size, and a smaller Poodle in the family tree is what brings the size down. A Golden Retriever stands 21.5 to 24 inches and weighs 55 to 75 pounds, while a Miniature Poodle is 10 to 15 inches tall and 10 to 15 pounds.

The Goldendoodle has no official size, so nobody says what weight counts as Mini. Mini is a description, and a fair question to put to any breeder is what grown weight they mean by it. For ours the answer is 19 to 22 lbs, the range we expect from the puppies on our site now.

Is there a micro or teacup Mini Goldendoodle?

Not as any real size. Families search for micro and teacup Mini Goldendoodles, yet neither word means anything fixed, because the Goldendoodle has no official size of its own. The size comes from the parents, and the smallest Poodle there is, the Toy, stands 10 inches or under and weighs 4 to 6 pounds.

So ask any seller which Poodle is in the family tree and what grown weight their label stands for. Very small puppies can need extra care with low blood sugar and with falls, which our guide to teacup puppies explains. Ours are F1B Goldendoodles, and the grown weight we expect for them is 19 to 22 lbs, with both parents named on each puppy's page.

How are our Mini Goldendoodles bred?

Our Goldendoodle mamas weigh 28 lbs, and the papa of our F1B litters is a Miniature Poodle.

F1B means a first-generation cross bred back to a Poodle, and our F1B explainer walks through the letters with Cavapoos as the example. Every pairing here is chosen on purpose, and where we have DNA results for a mama and papa, they help us plan the colors a litter may carry.

Both parents are named on every puppy's page, which lets you weigh our estimate against the dogs themselves. The ones we have now are on our F1B Goldendoodle page.

When does a Mini Goldendoodle stop growing?

Around its first birthday. A small-breed dog is usually full size somewhere between 6 months and a year, and a medium dog's puppy growth spurt tends to end around the one-year mark. Either way, most of a Mini's growing is done in its first year.

Until then, go easy on the hard miles. Check with your vet before starting hard running or jumping that could stress a growing dog's bones and joints, and ask before your puppy takes up running with you.

Does a Mini Goldendoodle shed?

It can, because its parents have very different coats. A Golden drops its thick double coat in a heavy shed once or twice a year and loses hair at a steadier, lighter rate in between. A Poodle has a curly coat that hardly sheds.

Which way a puppy goes depends on what it inherits. Goldendoodles are meant to have furnishings, the longer mustache and eyebrow hair, and one without the gene behind them grows a flatter coat, with short hair on the head, face and legs, more like a Golden's. The heaviest-shedding breeds lack that gene.

A puppy's parents are the best hint, and nobody can promise a Goldendoodle that won't shed. No dog breed is free of the things people are allergic to, either. Our guide to whether Goldendoodles shed goes through the odds, the brushing and allergies in full.

What is a Mini Goldendoodle like to live with?

Friendly and busy, going by both sides of the family. Goldens are friendly, reliable and trustworthy, eager to please and slow to outgrow their puppyish streak. Poodles are very active and smart, and need real exercise every day, whatever their size.

Both breeds were bred to retrieve, so a tennis ball is rarely a hard sell, and Goldens love to swim and fetch. Poodles pick up training quickly when it's kept fun and positive, as long as you stay consistent. A Mini packs all of that into a dog you can still lift into the car.

How long they live and what they cost are in our Goldendoodle lifespan and price guide.