# Weight for a 7 month old miniature poodle?



## lunamarz_31

lynfen,
typically a miniature weighs between 15 - 20 pounds. But then, mine is a smaller miniature and only weighs 11 pounds. Generally, when you rub his belly you should be able to feel his ribs. If his ribs are sticking out then he is underweight, but if you can't feel them, then he's probably got a few to lose.

Feeding twice a day is ideal, I don't think the frequency contributes to the dog being "tubby". What's best is if your mother can measure out how much should be fed to him in a day, and split into equal portions for each feeding time. If the dog is still chubby, then perhaps the amount of food should be reduced.

Choosing the best type of food is subjective, there is not one food that simply fits all dogs. Generally, you want to choose the natural food without artificial preservative, chemicals, by-products, which are known to cause allergies and other health problems.
Here is a website that can give you more information about selecting the better food:

Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings

Pick food that has at least 3 stars. Avoid the ones with 1 or 2 stars, because they contain bad ingredients which your mother's (or any) dog is better without.
Choosing the right food sometimes involves trials and errors, try several brands and see which one he responds to the best since no matter how good the rating is, if the dog doesn't like or doesn't agree with, he shouldn't be forced to eat it.

I wish your mother good luck with her puppy


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## fjm

A good method is to work out how much food the dog needs (don't believe the packets - they are in the business of selling as much as possible, after all!). Then divide this into three - two meals, and treats for training, etc. With a small dog it is very easy to give the equivalent of another meal in treats - which means 150% of what is needed, if you are not careful.

Feeding half of each meal in a Kong or treat ball makes meals last longer.

If your mother tends to give Max titbits during the day, a poached chicken breast cut into very tiny scraps is better than sugar and flour laden commercial snacks.

At 7 months, he may be coming to the end of his growth spurt - the same amount of food that he needed when he was growing will quickly make him plump when he stops!


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## cdensmore

Well, my mini is 7 months old, and weighs almost 8 pounds. She is 11 inches tall, so she is going to be on the small side. We had hoped for her to be bigger (her parents weighed 10 & 12 pounds) but she was the runt of her litter, the only girl, and she's just going to be smaller. She can hang with our standard, though, so it's not a big problem.


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## cdensmore

Oh, and I feed them both twice a day, raw.


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## schpeckie

Well, my girls got weighed today, and Sadie is 10.5 lbs. and Lacey is 8.5 lbs. They are now 6 months + 1 week old. So, does that classify Sadie as a Small Minature?


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## georgiapeach

How tall is she? That's more an indicator of the type of poodle, since weight can fluctuate. Fonzie and Potsie are over 10 inches, making them miniatures. Poor Fonzie (VERY poorly bred) has toy legs and a miniature body. Potsie is much better proportioned. We adopted them both from a rescue, so we love them, no matter what.


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## sandooch

schpeckie said:


> Well, my girls got weighed today, and Sadie is 10.5 lbs. and Lacey is 8.5 lbs. They are now 6 months + 1 week old. So, does that classify Sadie as a Small Minature?


It all depends on their height, not their weight. Have you measure her height from the whithers (shoulder blades) to the floor? That is how you'll know if they'll be a toy or a small miniature. A toy is under 10" in height no matter what the weight is. Anything over that is considered a miniature. A height of over 15" is considered a standard.

My Gigi is already at 9 inches (6.5 pounds) at just over 15 weeks old. She is most definitely going to be a mini miniature, even though the person I bought her from (not a breeder) told me she was a toy. That's okay with me. I love her no matter what size she ends up being.


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## sandooch

Oops! Didn't see that you already addressed the height, Georgiapeach.


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## schpeckie

The groomer measured Sadie and she is 10.25" high. Lacey is around 9.5". It doesn't matter to me if Sadie is a minature and a bit bigger - that's how I can tell them apart sometimes! I too, no matter what size - I love them both unconditionally!


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## sandooch

Then, yep, Sadie is a mini mini. Toys usually reach their adult height at around 6 months old, so Lacey may stay at 9.5". They are both little cuties!


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## schpeckie

sandooch said:


> They are both little cuties!


Thanks! They are even cuter now that they have cones around their neck. Sadie looks so sad and Lacey already chewed the blasted thing off! It's going to be an interesting next 10 days when they start itching!


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## FozziesMom

you should weigh them and then feed as a % of their currrent bodyweight adjusted up or down if they are over or under weight.

Fozzie, at 7 months old when I got him was 13 lbs. But then again he is a BIG mini, has turned about to be 15+ inches at the shoulder and now weighs about 15.2 lbs. I keep him on the thin side as I am worried about knee and hip problems since he runs a lot to keep him sane.


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