# Help! Can't decide between standard and miniature



## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

I can't really shed light onto your situation only give you mine. I have a Small Spoo he is 22" & 35-37lbs. He is HIGLY active & can play, play, play most of the day. He tires out both my retriver X's, he tires out the loose dogs in the neighborhood by running up & down the fence. Luckily I groom from my home so 3 of my dogs are out most of the day in good weather. He is not laid back until night time & then he passes out. He is a rescue Spoo & he needed to go to the right home due to his energy level.
I do believe with diligent research & possibly adopting an older dog from a breeder that you could end up with a nice calm Spoo. My friend has a really laid back Spoo & thought all Spoo's were like that, then she got her 2nd from a breeder that retired her from the show ring. That dog is high energy as well & my friend thought that seeing the whites of the dogs eyes constantly was normal, dog is now on meds & settling down.

You can find small Spoo's but it is really hard to know the height if getting a puppy. If height is really important then you need to research the breed line to make sure that grand sires, grand dams etc... are also on the small size.

As for Mini's I don't know. I have an Oversized Toy that is 12". She is active & very smart. Doesn't have the same constant drive as my Spoo but it could just be that since she is in a smaller package I really don't notice her energy level. She is really smart, agile & great at training class. Much more portable at 9lbs than my Spoo. I do know that there are plenty of forum members that have OM on her going on up to 17.5". I hope they will chime in. But again I think it has to do with research & maybe looking at Poodles that come from Therapy work lines vs. Sporting (field, agility, obedience etc..)

I would also take a look at Karbit Poodles. She imports Moyens & uses them in her breeding program. Many of her Poodles are shown in conformation but many of them also have a good amount of energy since some of the offspring have been used in Agility competions. 

Anyway, it is a search but can be accomplished.


----------



## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

At just under 17 inches and 21 lbs, our sweet boy Beau is an "oversized" mini. (His parents are both "in-size" minis.) There are several other similarly oversized minis on the forum, and all of us will tell you that we have the Goldilocks poodle -- not too big, not too small, but just right! (Not that we're biased, or anything. :smile

If you think all minis are wild and crazy, you haven't met Beau. He has a wonderful, calm temperament. In fact, he's kind of a couch potato, and this is making it hard to keep his weight down. He's certainly not jumpy or yappy in the least. He's happy to run around in the yard and play, but mostly he's a total cuddlebug. I have to say we got really, really lucky with our first-ever dog!

A few more points in favor of a mini:

Costs less to feed and groom
Can be picked up when necessary
Less poop to scoop
Can't reach the countertops!


----------



## poodlesplease (Sep 6, 2011)

LEUllman said:


> At just under 17 inches and 21 lbs, our sweet boy Beau is an "oversized" mini. (His parents are both "in-size" minis.) There are several other similarly oversized minis on the forum, and all of us will tell you that we have the Goldilocks poodle -- not too big, not too small, but just right! (Not that we're biased, or anything. :smile
> 
> If you think all minis are wild and crazy, you haven't met Beau. He has a wonderful, calm temperament. In fact, he's kind of a couch potato, and this is making it hard to keep his weight down. He's certainly not jumpy or yappy in the least. He's happy to run around in the yard and play, but mostly he's a total cuddlebug. I have to say we got really, really lucky with our first-ever dog!
> 
> ...


Now you tell me! LOL! I guess we are going to have to be clean countertop people now that we have a spoo!


----------



## momofthree (Apr 9, 2011)

*Beau wins!!*

I think Beau just may be the perfect dog...he's the dog of my dreams! Do you think we could clone him??  



LEUllman said:


> At just under 17 inches and 21 lbs, our sweet boy Beau is an "oversized" mini. (His parents are both "in-size" minis.) There are several other similarly oversized minis on the forum, and all of us will tell you that we have the Goldilocks poodle -- not too big, not too small, but just right! (Not that we're biased, or anything. :smile
> 
> If you think all minis are wild and crazy, you haven't met Beau. He has a wonderful, calm temperament. In fact, he's kind of a couch potato, and this is making it hard to keep his weight down. He's certainly not jumpy or yappy in the least. He's happy to run around in the yard and play, but mostly he's a total cuddlebug. I have to say we got really, really lucky with our first-ever dog!
> 
> ...


----------



## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I have a miniature, oversized according to the standard, and while he's my perfect dog, there are no circumstances in which I would call him calm and elegant :smile:.

He's bright, lively, energetic, super trainable, easy to live with, but he goes from zero to sixty in about 7 milliseconds. He can be QUIET, but I wouldn't call him calm. And he lives to root in the mud, so that rules out elegant as well.

I can vote for the many advantages of a smaller dog. EVERYTHING is easier with a miniature vs a standard. 

Good luck in your search! I'd go and meet some breeders and have a look at their dogs to get an idea of temperament and energy levels. I know some lines tend toward the livelier end.


----------



## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I have a small standard at about 22 inches and she is terrific. My sister in law has a moyen bred from an imported moyen. He is about 17 inches, may reach 18 inches (he's still young). He is awesome. He is active, but not hyper. My smaller spoo is active, but not hyper, too. They are out there. Usually there will be one or two smaller puppies in a standard litter, but you'd want to choose a litter from smaller dogs. Moyens, as you say, are tough to find as true moyens, but there are a lot of oversized minis.

Good luck and welcome!


----------



## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

I am going to make a suggestion that you contact a few breeders of both minis and standards, let them know exactly what you're looking for. I'll bet at least one of them will have something close to perfect for you. 
One of the best dogs I ever got (not a poodle, though) was a finished AKC CH male that the breeder wanted in a pet/OB home since she had too many to care for and trial. Striker was already started in OB, house and crate trained, and obviously, I knew what size he was. I visited with him a few times and took him home. It was a match made in Heaven for us. 
Just a thought. It was a neat way to get started with show dogs without the chewing and all the work entailed with a puppy. 

As far as counter-surfing, my OT (12 inches tall) has no problem whatsoever with climbing or jumping onto tables, etc to get up as high as she can go. She's my little monkey-dog. I swear, she has wings somewhere! The higher the better as far as she's concerned. 
little brat, I love my little brat. she's soooooo cute...............


----------



## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

tintlet.com - Home Has a small spoo for sale right now ! A retired female. That is what I got and Carley is perfect! I know people say there is no perfect dogs... well they have not met Carley ! Before I found Carley I looked at tintlet's website and dream of getting Madonna... but she was not for sale then. I would take her now , if I did not have 3 dogs in the house. Take a look at her, she is so pretty.


----------



## Andi (Jan 22, 2012)

I guess my opinion isn't worth a lot, as I have only had my miniature for a week, but I can tell you why I made my decision. 

I was tossing up between a miniature and a standard (we don't have a moyen size here). I prefer bigger dogs, and always wanted one, and I have heard that the temperament of the standard poodle is slightly better. But standards are big. They can take up the entire back seat of a car, where as with a miniature other people can sit in the back. If there is danger, or your dog is injured, you can pick up a miniature and carry it - I don't think most people could do this with most standards. If you go walking through the countryside, you may need to go over a fence, and you can lift a little one over but a standard is harder. Smaller dogs are often more acceptable in public places, or dog friendly accommodation or even the houses of friends and family. People are much more accepting of smaller dogs I find. 

Then there is the cheaper cost - less food, less time grooming, less for worming etc. 

I ended up contacting my local Poodle Club and asking them if there was someone who specifically bred small standards, but they recommended that I look for an oversize miniature. 

I have a miniature now, and she is great. I love her so much, I don't care if she never grows!


----------



## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

Carley's Mom said:


> tintlet.com - Home Has a small spoo for sale right now ! A retired female. That is what I got and Carley is perfect! I know people say there is no perfect dogs... well they have not met Carley ! Before I found Carley I looked at tintlet's website and dream of getting Madonna... but she was not for sale then. I would take her now , if I did not have 3 dogs in the house. Take a look at her, she is so pretty.


You guys are just too far away  tintlet's dogs look great!


----------



## WestCoastSpoo (May 11, 2011)

I just wanted to put in that I have a "average" size standard (he'll probably end up somewhere around 25-26inches tall and 50+lbs) and if he is calm and "elegant" in the house it's only because he has been running for HOURS!  Poodles of all sizes are ACTIVE dogs. That's perfect for some people, not for others. We knew what we were getting into and I enjoy finding ways to tire Huxley out, but he honestly needs AT LEAST 2 walks a day (30-40 mins each) and really the "energy edge" isn't taken off until he's had the opportunity to run flat out off leash for 45 mins or so (at the dog park, doggy daycare, etc).

After he's had his exercise allotment for the day he can hang out in the house and be a perfect gentleman. But if we miss even one walk he starts finding ways to exercise himself (ie running laps around my kitchen island!) lol

I just wanted to throw that out there because we have friends that come over all the time and always comment at how wonderfully well behaved Huxley is and my hubby and I say "thanks!" but give each other a "look" because we're both exhausted! LOL


----------



## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

I had the same dilemma. most of the miniatures are under 12# now and the standards are too big. So I got a moyen poodle (StandardXMiniature). Sari is 28#.


----------



## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

Most of the reputable mini breeders are trying to push to the max. acceptable height, i.e. 15 inches. They usually end up right at 15 inches and around 15-18 lbs. Some go oversized at around 17 inches. Mine is a mini-mini breeding and he is now 17.5 inches and weighs at 20 lbs.

Crossing 2 varieties is like mixing 2 different pots of soup. Yes, you are going to get a bigger pot and feed more guests BUT, even though both are of a similar taste, the end product might end up tasting funny.


----------



## dagger (Jan 30, 2012)

thank you so much for all the valuable inputs. I'll do some more research and meet more poodles before making a decision. 

Never thought about the countertop issue with standards, though.  

BTW, is there something like a large-scale poodle gathering where I can meet owners/breeders/dogs? I've attended a dog show (all breed one), but I didn't really get up-close/personal with the dogs or the owners/breeders.


----------



## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

If this is doable for you it's an awesome event! We attended last year (along with other members) Poodles of every size, owners and breeders!
Poodle Day Events - Poodle and Labradoodle parade and event


----------



## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

I know of a few breeders that breed Spoos on the smaller side (22" and no more than 40 lbs), if that's the size you prefer.

Have you tried meetup.com? You might find some poodle meet ups near you. The largest Poodle gathering will be the annual Poodle Day at Carmel, CA. You can meet more than 300 poodles there. Poodle Day Events - Poodle and Labradoodle parade and event


----------

