What is the Average Litter Size of a Goldendoodle?
When you are looking to get a Goldendoodle, it is likely that you will have a lot of questions about the dog and how they will do within your family.
And if you decide to take it to the next level and breed the Goldendoodle yourself, you need to learn as much about this type of dog as possible to be prepared.
One of the first questions that you can have in either of these situations is what is the average litter size of a Goldendoodle.
What is the Average Litter Size of a Goldendoodle?
Goldendoodles usually have between 3-8 puppies in a litter. Poodles average 6 puppies per litter and Golden Retrievers average 8 per litter, so Standard Goldendoodles usually have bigger litters while minis and smaller have progressively smaller litters.
Keep in mind that larger dogs will often have a larger litter because they have the right body size in order to carry more of the puppies at the time.
This is why small dogs like the Pomeranian are just going to have an average of 1 to 3 puppies while a big Bullmastiff will be able to have up to 13 puppies.
For the Goldendoodle and other crossbreeds, we are going to need to look more at the averages for the parents rather than for the dog.
And the exact amount can vary depending on if you are working with a standard Goldendoodle or a mini Goldendoodle.
When we take a look at the Golden Retriever, the average litter size for this dog is 8 puppies.
Since this is the average, you will find that each litter is going to be a little bit different when it comes to the Golden Retriever.
Some will give birth to as few as four puppies while others may give birth to up to 12 puppies in one litter.
Then we can take a look at the Poodle parent as well.
The Poodle will have different types of litter sizes based on the type of Poodle that you work with.
The Standard Poodle is going to have an average of six puppies.
Then the miniature Poodle will have five and the toy Poodle will have between one to three puppies for each litter.
Mini Goldendoodles are going to be somewhere in between all of this and the exact amount will depend on the size of the Goldendoodle that you are trying to breed.
For example, if you are working with the mini Goldendoodle, they will be able to produce between three to eight puppies in each litter, giving us an average of five puppies.
Then there are standard Goldendoodles, which are going to be able to have more puppies per litter, many averaging between 6 to 8 in each litter.
Keep in mind that this is not an exact science and there are a number of factors that can happen to determine how many puppies will be born in a litter.
For example, the first litter for a female is often going to be smaller in size compared to the following litters.
While the older females are often going to produce larger litters, the opposite is going to be said with the father.
An older dog might be affected by sperm mobility issues so the dogs will be smaller in the process too.
How Old Should the Dog Be When Having Their First Litter?
Whether you are just starting out with the Goldendoodle and using the Poodle and Golden Retriever to get this done, or you would like to breed your Goldendoodle, you do not want to start the puppies on their first litter too early.
To start, the female dog in the grouping is going to be ready to have babies when she first goes into heat.
This will happen sometime between 6 to 12 months of age.
Most experts agree that you should not breed them right away.
The dog is not prepared to be a parent yet and this can be hard on their body.
It is best to do it after the second or third fertile cycle at the earliest before you allow the dog time to mate.
This will allow their body to become fully grown and makes it more likely that the dog will be able to handle the pregnancy.
For the Golden Retriever parent, it is best that they wait until they reach the age of two before they are used for breeding.
This will usually happen around the third heat cycle. This is a pretty common rule for all types of Poodles as well.
If you wait until the female is five years old or older, they will generally have smaller litters than doing it before this time.
Breeding between the ages of 2 and 5 is often best.
While it is technically possible for the female to have puppies each time they go into heat, this is not a good idea.
You should not force the dogs to go through one pregnancy after another because this can have some negative health effects for the dog.
At most, you can mate the female twice in a row and then give them a few cycles to recover and regain their strength and to prevent issues along the way.
If you are ever uncertain about whether it is a good idea to start breeding the dog, it may be a good idea to discuss this with the vet ahead of time to keep your dog healthy.
How Old Should the Dog Be When Having Their Last Litter?
The first step to helping breed your Goldendoodle is making sure that you do not start this process too early for your dog.
Once you have decided when to start, it is time to figure out when you should stop breeding the dog.
Technically, the female dog in the couple is able to breed and have puppies throughout their whole life.
However, this is not something that is recommended.
While each dog is going to be a little different, when it comes to the Poodle and the Golden Retriever, it is best to not mate the dog much past the age of 8 at most.
his gives you up to six years of breeding the dog and allows them to enjoy some time as an elderly dog without them getting harmed or having higher risks when they are breeding.
The health of your dog should be an important factor to consider if you are worried about when to stop breeding.
However, most dog clubs try to provide an incentive to stop you from breeding a dog that is too old.
For example, most of the common dog clubs that you can choose from will not register a dog if their mother is older than 8 when they are born.
This is done to help discourage continuous breeding up until the time the mother dies.
In most dogs, once they reach the age of seven to eight, the pregnancy is going to have more complications.
This is going to put the life of the mother in danger and is not that healthy for the dog or their puppies at all.
Being careful with breeding when the dog starts to get older is not a good option.
If you start to notice that the pregnancy is not going well for your dog or they seem to have a number of other health issues that may affect how well they are able to have puppies, then it is time to stop.
The health of the mother always needs to be a top priority to make sure that they do not get sick.
Taking care of the mother is a top way to keep the puppies in that litter a little safer as well.
Breeding Your Goldendoodle
Breeding a Goldendoodle, or their parents to make a Goldendoodle, can be a fun adventure that you are sure to love.
This can help you to get some cute puppies that you can use for yourself or you can use to give out and sell to others who would like this kind of dog.
No matter the reason for breeding your dog, you need to make sure that you are doing it the right way so that you do not cause any harm to the dog and can help them and their puppies to stay as healthy and happy as possible.