# Weight and Feeding



## TK9NY (Jan 6, 2017)

Not sure if this should go in health or food as it sorta works for both but;

I'm just curious, what is the normal/average and the ideal weight for a Standard? 

I feel like Dublin is skinny for a Spoo. Whenever he gets clipped down i'm just like - where did the rest of you go?!? I get that they aren't supposed to be massive or built but most of the Standards that i groom (or that my co-workers groom) seem bigger. 

He weighed in at 42 pounds the other day, and stands... a little under two foot at the shoulder. Meanwhile the Spoo i did today was a couple inches taller and weighed 63 pounds.

That being said, i'm looking at changing his food to a brand that i get a discount on through work. It's a decent brand and is almost exactly like what i'm feeding now in terms of ingredients. Current: duck, duck meal, brown rice, brewers rice. Other: Chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, millet. Would this be an okay switch? It's a little bit higher protein but everything else is almost the same. 

Is there anything i can supplement with to maybe help him gain a little weight? Vet says he isn't underweight and it's not like his bones are sticking out, but i would feel a little better if he had a little bit more meat on him. Something to fall back on in case he gets sick or something.

Picture for reference - yes, i groom him at home. This was from a few days ago. Butt poms are actually mostly gone in favor of green shamrocks (well, as close to shamrocks as i can get on a squirmy Spoo.)


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

I think he looks great, and if the vets not worried, you shouldn’t be worried. I tried for the first 3 years to put weight on my jrt, and then the next 9 trying to take it off. How old is he? Is he neutered? How old was he when he was neutered?


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

I wouldn't be concerned. 43#s is a good size. My Basil is 44#s. Let the chips fall where they may. There's only so much you can do to push his genetic potential. You just gotta work with what you have.

We've ran into SPOOs 31, 44, 52, and 65#s. The weight is all over the place.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I also freak out a little whenever Peggy gets a good shavedown. Her legs look like twigs! But if your vet feels Dublin’s a healthy weight, I wouldn’t stress. He’s probably just very fine boned.

Peggy’s 46 lbs and 23.5”, and she’s a little stocky for a spoo.

As for transitioning foods, just go slowly and watch for any digestive upset or itching. We’ve never had any issue switching Peggy over to a new formula.


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## TK9NY (Jan 6, 2017)

PeggyTheParti said:


> I also freak out a little whenever Peggy gets a good shavedown. Her legs look like twigs! But if your vet feels Dublin’s a healthy weight, I wouldn’t stress. He’s probably just very fine boned.
> 
> Peggy’s 46 lbs and 23.5”, and she’s a little stocky for a spoo.
> 
> As for transitioning foods, just go slowly and watch for any digestive upset or itching. We’ve never had any issue switching Peggy over to a new formula.


Twig legs! Yeah, that's about right - he went in for a dental the other week and came back with a chunk shaved from his leg for the IV. All this poofy hair and then an itty bitty leg I cried (not really, or maybe some tears of laughter.) As a groomer i should have known better and just shaved his legs myself lmao. 

Vet has never been concerned about his weight, he's always been in great condition according to them (other than his teeth needing done - now crossed off the list). He just looks so little compared to some of the poodles i've seen/groomed lately. Maybe they're all sporting some quarantine weight?



Basil_the_Spoo said:


> I wouldn't be concerned. 43#s is a good size. My Basil is 44#s. Let the chips fall where they may. There's only so much you can do to push his genetic potential. You just gotta work with what you have.
> 
> We've ran into SPOOs 31, 44, 52, and 65#s. The weight is all over the place.


His mom was around 50, dad a little over, so he's a bit small in comparison. Genetics can do funny things though, and i know his mom had complications (needed a c-section), so maybe that plays into it a bit.



Starla said:


> I think he looks great, and if the vets not worried, you shouldn’t be worried. I tried for the first 3 years to put weight on my jrt, and then the next 9 trying to take it off. How old is he? Is he neutered? How old was he when he was neutered?


He's 4 and a half, neutered, got the snip shortly after his first birthday.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Borrowing from Raindrops



Raindrops said:


> About weights, poodles tend to be on the lean side of acceptable. A fit poodle will never look like a fit lab and you don't want them to. They are always going to have different body types. Poodles are very athletic dogs and will tend toward having an athletic build which is the sort you see in working pointers and vizslas. Here are some examples.


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## CieCie (Dec 27, 2020)

Our old girl was 24" and weighed 44 to 46 her entire life. Her parents were 55 and 60.


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## Kaera (Jul 19, 2020)

My boy is 72 pounds and about 3 feet tall, but I’ve been told he’s massive. He still looks like a stick when he gets wet or trimmed short. I guess spoos just run all over the place for size and weight.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Kaera said:


> My boy is 72 pounds and about 3 feet tall, but I’ve been told he’s massive. He still looks like a stick when he gets wet or trimmed short. I guess spoos just run all over the place for size and weight.


Oh my! That’s taller than a Great Dane! Are you measuring at the withers?


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## Robinsonkin (Mar 10, 2021)

Kaera said:


> My boy is 72 pounds and about 3 feet tall, but I’ve been told he’s massive. He still looks like a stick when he gets wet or trimmed short. I guess spoos just run all over the place for size and weight.


Yeah! My pup is about 27-28" at the withers and 36" at the top of his head. 75lbs but so skinny when shaved.


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## Starvt (Nov 5, 2019)

Just under 2' is not terribly tall, his weight sounds normal for his height.
My Raffi is just about 26" and is 55lbs.
I know how you feel though, I work at a vet clinic and most of the standard poodles seem so much heftier than mine. None as good looking though 😉 but tbh there isn't much by way of well-bred poodles in my area.
My original plan, before we got him, was to keep him in an easy kennel clip/sporting clip. That didn't happen partially because I know he would look like a malnourished waif 😄😄 and now I love longer hair and different styles.


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