Variety of Poodle

Poodle (Miniature)

Quick to learn and keen to join in with family life.
A Poodle (Miniature)
Photo: UszkarFoto92
Adult weight
4.5–6.8 kg
10–15 lb
Lifespan
14 yrs
Handler demand
Suits a first-time owner
Class · Companion
also Family, Sport

What it's like

In temperament the Miniature is quick to learn, lively and alert, and keen to join in with its household. It can be somewhat reserved with strangers, and it carries itself with a proud, springy gait.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Suits a first-time owner
With people
Affection
A lap or leaning dog
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Keen to work with you
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Usually fine with small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Poodle (Miniature) right for you?
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Living with one

Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on brushing a few times a week, plus clipping every 6–8 weeks. It needs a modest amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Miniature Poodle is a small dog, about the weight of a grown Jack Russell. It is one of the lightest small breeds.

It is a square, elegantly built dog with a long, fine head, dark oval eyes, long ears that hang close to the cheeks and a tail carried high. The coat is dense, harsh and tightly curled. It sheds little and keeps growing, so it needs regular clipping. It comes in solid colours, including black, white, brown, apricot, silver and cream. The elaborate show clips are traditionally explained as a working trim, leaving hair over the joints and chest of a swimming dog and removing it elsewhere.

Two types

The two types differ in height only, so there is one growth curve, on the record's own band (breed club figure)5.

UK / FCI type

FCI 172
Height at the withers
Males
28–35 cm
Females
28–35 cm4
Publishes no weight.

American type

AKC standard
Height at the withers
Males
25.4–38.1 cm
Females
25.4–38.1 cm6
Publishes no weight.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 3 months, a male Miniature Poodle puppy is already as heavy as a grown Chihuahua. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
10 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight8
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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Age
Male
Female
2 months
1.5–2.2 kg 3.3–4.9 lb
1.6–2.4 kg 3.5–5.3 lb
3 months
1.8–2.8 kg 4.0–6.2 lb
1.9–2.9 kg 4.2–6.4 lb
4 months
2.4–3.6 kg 5.3–7.9 lb
2.5–3.7 kg 5.5–8.2 lb
5 months
2.8–4.3 kg 6.2–9.5 lb
2.9–4.3 kg 6.4–9.5 lb
6 months
3.2–4.8 kg 7.1–10.6 lb
3.2–4.8 kg 7.1–10.6 lb
7 months
3.5–5.2 kg 7.7–11.5 lb
3.4–5.1 kg 7.5–11.2 lb
8 months
3.7–5.5 kg 8.2–12.1 lb
3.6–5.4 kg 7.9–11.9 lb
9 months
3.8–5.7 kg 8.4–12.6 lb
3.7–5.6 kg 8.2–12.3 lb
10 months
3.9–5.9 kg 8.6–13.0 lb
3.8–5.8 kg 8.4–12.8 lb
11 months
4.0–6.1 kg 8.8–13.4 lb
3.9–5.9 kg 8.6–13.0 lb
12 months
4.1–6.2 kg 9.0–13.7 lb
4.0–6.1 kg 8.8–13.4 lb
15 months
4.3–6.5 kg 9.5–14.3 lb
4.2–6.4 kg 9.3–14.1 lb
18 months
4.4–6.7 kg 9.7–14.8 lb
4.4–6.6 kg 9.7–14.6 lb

Health and lifespan

In UK vet records, sudden-onset diarrhoea turns up more often in Miniature Poodles than in crossbreeds: it is more likely. It is not rated serious. These are figures for the breed as a whole, not a prediction for your dog.
Listed by likelihood level, highest first, then by how serious it is, then by name.
  • Sudden-onset diarrhoea
    More likely
    Impact: minor

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Miniature Poodle lived to about 14 years, longer than the typical small breed.

Where it comes from

The Miniature Poodle was bred down from the Standard, the duck hunters' water retriever, in the 18th century, when smaller Poodles were produced for town buyers, Parisians among them. It is judged against the same standard as the other sizes, and the AKC first recognised it apart from the Standard in 1887. Winston Churchill kept one, named Rufus11,12,13.

The Miniature Poodle, generally thought to have been bred down from its larger relative, became a familiar town dog in France. It was also put to work as a performer in travelling circuses, where it was prized for how quickly it learned tricks, and smaller Poodles are said to have been used to find truffles. In Britain all three sizes sit in the Kennel Club's Utility group, and the Miniature had a large following in the middle of the twentieth century.

Breed standard

Kennel clubs do not all register this breed the same way.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Miniature Poodle figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a small breed is most likely at the early end.

Compare with related

Poodle (Toy)
Companion & toy · Toy
Poodle (Standard)
Companion & toy · Medium
Cockapoo
Non-sporting · Small
Tibetan Spaniel
Companion & toy · Small
Or compare the Miniature Poodle with any breed you choose
Track your own Poodle (Miniature)
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Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·