# Feeding my toy puppy food for medium breeds?



## nunchi95 (Apr 9, 2020)

Hi! I'm writing here because I really don't know what I should do. Three months ago I wanted to buy a mini poodle, the breeder assured me that I would get my puppy when it reached 2 months. A week before getting her he told me that my puppy is actually a toy poodle (i already paid for her) and that she's going to reach up to 9 pounds when she's an adult. Now she's almost 3 months and a half old and she weighs 8 pounds and lengths 10 inches. Should I believe that she will grow into a mini? Both of her parents are toy.
Now the problem: I buy her food from the vet and she ate royal canin puppy mini and advance puppy mini until now, but this time they gave me royal canin puppy medium since they didn't have something else. Is it alright for her to eat that since it's for breeds between 24 and 44 pounds? I live in a small city so the vet is the only place where I can get her food.
Here are some pics of her from last week (she's a bit bigger now)


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I really would not worry - the main difference between food for toys and bigger breeds is usually just the size of the pieces, so if she is happy eating it there is nothing to worry about. Time was there was just "dog food", then manufacturers spotted a way of selling us ever more complicated and expensive variations...

On size, most registries register poodles according to parentage rather than actual size - it sounds as if your puppy is a slightly oversized toy - in other words she is a toy, but will be a bit bigger than the the breed limit for the show ring. In my opinion that is a perfect size - small enough to lift easily but robust enough to hold her own in the big wide world. My Poppy would be considered oversize in the US, although I think she may just sneak in under the UK's slightly more generous measurements.

Your puppy is gorgeous - and being very good about not teasing the cat!


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## nunchi95 (Apr 9, 2020)

fjm said:


> I really would not worry - the main difference between food for toys and bigger breeds is usually just the size of the pieces, so if she is happy eating it there is nothing to worry about. Time was there was just "dog food", then manufacturers spotted a way of selling us ever more complicated and expensive variations...
> 
> On size, most registries register poodles according to parentage rather than actual size - it sounds as if your puppy is a slightly oversized toy - in other words she is a toy, but will be a bit bigger than the the breed limit for the show ring. In my opinion that is a perfect size - small enough to lift easily but robust enough to hold her own in the big wide world. My Poppy would be considered oversize in the US, although I think she may just sneak in under the UK's slightly more generous measurements.
> 
> Your puppy is gorgeous - and being very good about not teasing the cat!


Thank you so much! I’m not so worried anymore; She’s actually enjoying this type of food better than the ones for small breeds! 
And actually, she likes teasing the cat a lot, I don’t even know what to do anymore 😅


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Hi and Welcome!

Fjm is correct. If she's bred from (breed registered) toy parents, then she is technically a toy, even if she goes "oversize". This isn't unusual in any of the varieties. The variety is determined by height at the shoulder, but of all the possible measurements on a wiggly puppy, height at the shoulder is hardest to get. 
If your girl is 10" long from neck to base of tail, and if she looks fairly square when you eye the area from front legs to back legs and from ground to top of her back, then she's charting to finish her growth in mini territory, if not in her genes. As fjm also said, it would only matter if you were trying to show her in the conformation ring. 

Here's a chart:




*I dont hold a lot of stock in the size charts for poodles out there but I have gotten so many requests for them I decided to post some of the better ones here. Remember though, there are NO weight restrictions on poodles only height so really weight doesnt have a  lot to do with the poodle.Toys are 10 inches in height and under.Miniatures are over 10 inches to 15 inches.Standards are over 15 inches. This by the breed standards for both AKC and UKC. NOTE: A poodles height is measured from the ground up to the top of the withers (shoulder blades).


HEIGHT CHART FOR TOY POODLES




















AGE IN WEEKSHEIGHT IN INCHES5 WEEKS5 INCHES
8 WEEKS 
6 INCHES 12 WEEKS
7 INCHES 16 WEEKS
8 INCHES 
20 WEEKS 
9 INCHES 
24 WEEKS 
10 INCHES 


Toy poodles are usually finished growing in height at 6-7 months although it may take them a bit longer to fill out.

Here is another height chart for toy poodles. *


*AGE IN WEEKS**HEIGHT IN INCHES**8 WEEKS**5 3/4 INCHES**12 WEEKS**6 3/4 INCHES**6 MONTHS**9 3/4 INCHES*



*HEIGHT CHART FOR MINIATURE POODLES 


AGE IN MONTHSHEIGHT IN INCHES8 WEEKS8 - 8.5 INCHES3 MONTHS10 - 10.5 INCHES4 MONTHS11 - 11.5 INCHES6 MONTHS13.5 - 14 INCHES


Some miniature poodles will take up to 12 months to finish growing. Some will finish growing in height around 6-7 months but may take a bit longer to fill out. 


HEIGHT CHART FOR STANDARD POODLES


AGE IN MONTHSHEIGHT IN INCHES8 WEEKS12 - 13 INCHES3 MONTHS14 INCHES4 MONTHS18-19 INCHES6 MONTHS21+ INCHESFULL GROWN (USUALLY 24 MONTHS)24-27 INCHES

Standard poodles can take up to 2 years to finish growing and filling out.





POODLE PUPPY GROWTH CHARTS


ARPEGGIO Poodles puppy growth charts



arpeggiopoodles.tripod.com




*
***

Fjm also has a good point about changes in how dog food companies approach their customers now. Science is figuring in as well. Puppy formulations from better brands will be formulated differently to support and enrich growth. So long as it's puppy formula, no need to be concerned.

Your baby is adorable, what's her name?


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## nunchi95 (Apr 9, 2020)

Rose n Poos said:


> Hi and Welcome!
> 
> Fjm is correct. If she's bred from (breed registered) toy parents, then she is technically a toy, even if she goes "oversize". This isn't unusual in any of the varieties. The variety is determined by height at the shoulder, but of all the possible measurements on a wiggly puppy, height at the shoulder is hardest to get.
> If your girl is 10" long from neck to base of tail, and if she looks fairly square when you eye the area from front legs to back legs and from ground to top of her back, then she's charting to finish her growth in mini territory, if not in her genes. As fjm also said, it would only matter if you were trying to show her in the conformation ring.
> ...


Hi! I just measured her and she’s 12” now; she was 10” 2 weeks ago I can’t believe how much she grew already. I also measured her from the neck to the base of tail as you said and she’s exactly 12” so I guess she’s good haha!
I forgot to tell you, her name is Mochi


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

nunchi95 said:


> Hi! I just measured her and she’s 12” now; she was 10” 2 weeks ago I can’t believe how much she grew already. I also measured her from the neck to the base of tail as you said and she’s exactly 12” so I guess she’s good haha!
> I forgot to tell you, her name is Mochi


Wow! At that rate of growth, she's at 4-5 month mini size. She's charting to be an oversize mini, not an oversize toy! Not saying she will be. Growth spurts are funny like that. 

Just for comparison, my bigger mini boy, Neo, was 6.1lbs at 13 weeks and 4 days. I never got a good shoulder height on him as a puppy but he's finished out around 14" at the shoulder, same from neck to tail, and about 14lbs. 

Stay in touch, please. I'll be curious to see how she grows .


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## nunchi95 (Apr 9, 2020)

Rose n Poos said:


> Wow! At that rate of growth, she's at 4-5 month mini size. She's charting to be an oversize mini, not an oversize toy! Not saying she will be. Growth spurts are funny like that.
> 
> Just for comparison, my bigger mini boy, Neo, was 6.1lbs at 13 weeks and 4 days. I never got a good shoulder height on him as a puppy but he's finished out around 14" at the shoulder, same from neck to tail, and about 14lbs.
> 
> Stay in touch, please. I'll be curious to see how she grows .


At what age did Neo stop growing? I am still wondering how much she will continue to grow; I want her to be a little bigger than she is atm. I never thought my toy poodle will exceed the mini poodle charts haha
Mochi was 6.83 lbs at 13 weeks
I will keep you all updated!


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Around 16 weeks/4 months they were noticeably changing from the roly poly puppy stage to smaller versions of their grown up selves.

At just over 16 weeks Neo was up to 8.8 lbs, still no height measurement.

At just over 7 months Neo was up to about 12 lbs and had slowed down in his growth. FYI by this age they were physically mature enough to be able to control their eliminations almost completely. There were still a couple of random accidents but as with earlier accidents, it's always on the owner/puppy parent to notice the signs and get them to the proper area in time. 

It would be a few more months before he reached full physical maturity but by 7 months he'd reached most of his height, length, and weight. 

That's pretty much on target per the charts above. I should also note that Neo and Remo's parents were a small mini girl and an oversize toy boy. They were both about 10 lbs, so both my boys exceeded their parents size. This is not unusual. There have been periods in breeding practices which crossed varieties. Toys and minis were crossbred to improve face and leg length in the toys. 

It's not a usual practice anymore and is not highly thought of, but it had it's place at the time. If you're interested in more info about this, here's a link with a brief genetic history:




__





Genetic Diversity Testing for Toy Poodles


Overview




vgl.ucdavis.edu


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## nunchi95 (Apr 9, 2020)

Mochi will be 4 next week so I guess I will start seeing changes soon
I weighed her today and she’s 9lbs already
I guess she’ll be a big baby haha


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