[poodlepower]

I am a standard poodle breeder and have been approached by several people about breeding a litter of Labradoodles. Does anyone ever breed standard poodle females to a Lab male? I was wondering about the size difference. The Lab male would be bigger than my female. I am really new to the idea of breeding a litter of Labradoodles.
Thanks so much for any help.

 

[Paintsmeblue]

Most of the time, its a male poodle and a female lab. However, its not unheard of to be the other way around. I believe someone made the rationalization that because the pups could be bigger than what the poodle was used to, it's easier for the lab to have the pups than the poodle- or safer. But, I'm not a breeder. Good luck with your research.

 

[KingstonTodd]

Not a breede4r yet but i have 2 F1 doodles. One has a Lab mom (Hershey)and the other has a poodle mom (Gustopher). I thought it was rare to have the poodle as the mom, but genetically it doesnt really matter. Gus' breeder prefered to have poodles rather than labs in thier house.

 

[gsmagoo2]

I have puppies where the father is an F1 Labradoodle and the mother is a Standard Poodle. I have not noticed any difference in puppies that have the opposite parentage.

Trina
www.tiggerdoodle.com

 

[blueteal]

Denver's Dad(55 pounds)

Denver's Mom(70 pounds)

Denver's full brother from this litter

and of course Denver

 

[Calimom]

Maureen addressed this last week in another thread:

There is NO difference in using Labs vs Poodles, for sire/dam.
My Sheba is a 45lb 24" Std. POodle, and she gives us 12 healthy babies almost every time!

My personal theory is that Lab breeders could switch/do both Labs and Doodles by keeping females and just buying a male poodle, but that's just an observation or theory.

My vet said that the size of the sire has no bearing on the size or ability of a female to deliver. He was a vet for a horse breeder and cited studies they've done with horses. But that's what he said, if it helps.

http://labradoodle-dogs.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6369&highlight=

 

[Tink]

My vet advised me to use Lab dams with Poodle studs because of the difference in head and shoulder sizes in the breeds. He felt that a poodle might have more chance of getting a lab sized head/shoulders stuck in the birth canal. Obviously as with most things, there are a couple different schools of thought on this.

In the end there are no guarantees no matter how carefully planned out and cautious things are done, so nothing can be written in stone.

 

[poodlepower]

Thanks for all the responses. I guess I really am just concerned that my female standard is to big for a Lab male.

 

[MaxandMe]

make sure there is not More than a 4in difference size in both dogs

 

[poodlepower]

Is there a maximum weight difference between the sire and dam?

 

[Jac]

I think it depends on the sizes of both the male and female. My F1s came from a standard Poodle mother and a small Lab father. She had no trouble and our two girls are perfect examples of both...one of my girls is very lean and small, like a Poodle, the other (her sister) is very Labby with a huge chest, neck and square head, but when they were puppies there was not much difference in them. I think that the broadness comes over time with muscle and growth.
I agree with Ann Marie, no matter which female/male you use, you should stay within 4 inches either way.
The Lab used for my girls was an English Lab and so he was quite small...I love Denver to pieces (and his brother is just as gorgeous!) but I would hesitate to use a huge male for any breeding to a much smaller female.

 

[blueteal]

Thanks Jac, Denver would love to smother you with kisses.
I wanted to show the difference in size in Denver's father(poodle)
and Denver's Mom(Lab) in that Denver's Mother is a little larger than his father, and the difference in coat styles from the same litter of this pairing,
that produced F1's

 

[Jac]

Sue, Denver's parents are really beautiful dogs! Not surprising that Denver turned out to be such a handsome fella! 8)
I have often wondered about his parents, since he is so large. Are his siblings all large too? It is not unusual to find the two (or more) different coat types in a litter. Look at my avatar (left), that is Opie. His sister and brother are fluff balls (I'm keeping them for my program.) Here they are:

 

[MaxandMe]

WOW they're gorgeous Jac!!!! and Opie is still a cutie pie too :wink:

it is amazing in the differences in their coats though.

 

[Tink]

Jac, those are really pretty pups! I love the soft curls and gorgeous colors.

 

[blueteal]

Wow Jac they are gorgeous puppies.
Denver's litter of eleven had three larger then he as puppies
but as adults, these 4 are similiar(weight and height ) with the others in the litter being much shorter/smaller.

 

[poodlepower]

Everyone's sweeties are gorgeous. I love the pics. I could just hug them to pieces. I appreciate all the advice. I have one much larger standard poodle female. I may use her when I try for a doodle litter. Either that or look for a smaller lab sire like was suggested. It seems I am going to have to have one for my own even if I don't breed them myself.

 

[Jac]

Poodlepower, you might want to try to find a breeder with an F1 male...then you could have F1B puppies. There would be enough Poodle in the F1 male that your female could probably handle the pups just fine.

Sorry to have hijacked the thread...)

Thanks everyone for allowing my indulgences! LOL

I do love these dogs...no matter what coat we get!

 

[Tink]

I agree with Jacs idea... breeding a large poodle female with an f1 doodle male sounds like a great plan.

 

[Jac]

Is there a maximum weight difference between the sire and dam?

I just noticed this question...sorry...but as I also read your comments that you fear that your Poodle female may be too large for the male Lab, I just wanted to mention that I think it is very important to select a healthy mating...whether that be through size selection, health testing, or general breeding savvy. Obviously, since you are a Poodle breeder, you know about the testing issues and breeding. It seems that you are very concerned about size and I appreciate that. It is so important to look at the big picture and the puppies that will be created, as well as the birthing process. Your female is in good hands.
I don't think I would worry about the female being too big unless she is more than 4 inches taller (or shorter) than the male. Of course, it is important that the bone structure align correctly so these considerations are really important.
I am glad that you are taking in all of the information before you make your decision.