How Big Will My Puppy Get?

Asking your breeder a few questions can help you understand how big your Bernedoodle might be as an adult.

mini bernedoodle

Since there are several different sizes of Bernedoodles and different breeders give various names to the different sizes it can be a bit complicated to figure out which size you want and how big your puppy will be as an adult. So, to be certain you know what you are in for be sure and ask the breeder a few simple questions.

1. How much do the parents weigh? How tall are they?

It is important to ask about the size of the parents because, obviously, each parent contributes a portion of its DNA to the puppy. So their DNA is a predicter of how big or small your puppy will be as an adult. Also, when you begin to choose your puppy ask where the puppy falls, size-wise, within the litter so you can have an idea if your puppy is one of the smaller or bigger ones in the litter because that will probably be a good indicator of how big or small they will be as adults.

2. Can you guarantee the size my dog will be as an adult?

If your breeder answers this question with an emphatic "yes" ...run. A good, experienced breeder can make a very educated guess as to how big puppies will be as an adult; however, there are always anomalies in every litter. When the parents' DNA come together there is no way to know which DNA will match up and there are times when puppies get what we like to call a "throwback gene." Throwback genes are from grandparents, great grandparents and such. These genes can cause a puppy to have some characteristics that are not readily visible in the parents, size being one of them. While this is a rare occurrence, a puppy can sometimes end up being quite a bit smaller or bigger than its parents.

3. Compared to the rest of the litter, where would you say this puppy is with its size?

When we have a litter of puppies we weigh each one as it is being cleaned off and checked over. We monitor the weight of each puppy the first week or so to be sure they are gaining and getting what they need from their mother's milk. At this time we can already see which puppies are smaller and which are bigger. As the get older, by 3 to 4 weeks some puppies may grow faster while others may slow down a bit and it is then that we can see and compare sizes. We can make a pretty good guess about which puppies will be smaller or larger as adults based on how they are within the litter at this time. We can tell you that certain puppies are on the smaller end while others are on the larger and this will probably mean that as adults they will follow this same growth pattern. However, in the end, we are just making an educated guess and there are no gaurantees.

4. What do you consider a standard, mini, or tiny-sized Bernedoodle?

As you read through different breeder websites you will notice that breeders give certain names for specific sizes of Bernedoodles and they have the weight breakdown that goes with each size. Since there is, as of now, no Bernedoodle registry, these names for sizes and the weights associated with them are set up by each individual breeder which can vary greatly. However, they should have an explanation on their website or you can certainly ask about it so you can know exactly what you can expect for the adult size of your puppy.

A common sizing for the Bernedoodles is the following:

Standard: 50 pounds and up, generally up to 70 or 90 pounds maximum

Mini: 25-49 pounds

Tiny: 10-24 pounds

5. What sizing does Mt. Rainier Doodle Dogs use?

We are specializing in breeding Mini Bernedoodles that are between 18 and 30 pounds depending on which males and females we are breeding. We don't necessarily distinguish between mini and tiny because we don't breed 10 lb Bernedoodles which would have to contain higher amount of Poodle DNA than we'd like. And, there is a huge difference in a 10 pound dog and a 24 pound dog. So to classify both as tiny, in our opinion, is not correct. We classify our Mini Bernedoodles at 20 to 35 pounds and give all parent weights on their specific page so that you can have an idea of what puppies might weigh as adults. We prefer this size for our farm and every day life. We believe this size of Bernedoodle is very adaptable to many living conditions from apartment life to farm life and everything in between.