[Brownie_mom]

Hi All, My baby poodle is 4 month old now. He is a mini, but I feel that he is going to be a bit larger then 15" tall. He is 14" and 12 pounds at 4 month. Not sure if this is normal for a mini boy.
His breeder was giving us an option to get crates from her. I actually really like that because I was not sure what size to get. So here is a picture of Ruger in his crate and I feel that it is getting too small for him.
I have no issues getting him a larger crate, just was hoping that someone has an experience with the appropriate size for a large mini. His current crate is 24 x 18".

 

[Ava.]

looks fine to me, for potty training especially you want a smaller crate. Your dog should be able to stand, lay down comfortably, and turn around in a crate.

Worth an upgrade when he grows up and is potty trained! but it looks fine for now

 

[Dechi]

I would buy a new one, he is outgrowing it. I don’t like the fact that his nose is touching the wire while lying down relaxed. It could lead to skin irritation and bruises.

Get one that’s big enough for when he’s full grown, with a separator that you can adjust as he grows. This way he won’t soil the crate and he’ll always have enough room.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Big boy!

If he’s potty trained, I’d scrap that one and go up to the biggest size you can comfortably accommodate. It already looks too small for him to stretch out the way Peggy sometimes likes to sleep—legs stretched as far as they can go, like she’s leaping over a creek in her dreams.

 

[Eclipse]

Hi All, My baby poodle is 4 month old now. He is a mini, but I feel that he is going to be a bit larger then 15" tall. He is 14" and 12 pounds at 4 month. Not sure if this is normal for a mini boy.
His breeder was giving us an option to get crates from her. I actually really like that because I was not sure what size to get. So here is a picture of Ruger in his crate and I feel that it is getting too small for him.
I have no issues getting him a larger crate, just was hoping that someone has an experience with the appropriate size for a large mini. His current crate is 24 x 18".
View attachment 473517

You never want to get a crate too big that they can feel free to relieve themselves in it in a corner and then go lay down away from it. That being said, you don't want it too small that they can't stretch out, turn around, move around and be comfortable when resting. Have you spoken to your breeder?? If your puppy is TRULY 14" at the withers at 4 months, he is definitely going to be a fairly oversized mini, he still has many months of growing to do and you could wind up with a dog that is 16-17" at least.....Does your breeder typically produce oversize dogs? Also, why get crates from them? Are they really local to you and giving you prices that are less expensive than if you went to a local pet store and purchased yourself?

 

[Rose n Poos]

Not sure if this is normal for a mini boy.

Just to give some perspective, here's a general guideline. Ruger is heading to oversize mini territory as noted. He's not heading to typical standard territory .

HEIGHT CHART FOR MINIATURE POODLES

AGE IN MONTHS	HEIGHT IN INCHES
8 WEEKS	8 - 8.5 INCHES
3 MONTHS	10 - 10.5 INCHES
4 MONTHS	11 - 11.5 INCHES
6 MONTHS	13.5 - 14 INCHES

Some miniature poodles will take up to 12 months to finish growing. Some will finish growing in height around 6-7 months but may take a bit longer to fill out.

HEIGHT CHART FOR STANDARD POODLES

AGE IN MONTHS	HEIGHT IN INCHES
8 WEEKS	12 - 13 INCHES
3 MONTHS	14 INCHES
4 MONTHS	18-19 INCHES
6 MONTHS	21+ INCHES
FULL GROWN (USUALLY 24 MONTHS)	24-27 INCHES

 

[Basil_the_Spoo]

Hmm, yeah, I was hoping someone would post pics of their mini sleeping because, well, it's adorable lol.

Basil's a Spoo, so our $0.02 don't really help. But, in the event you do go bigger, you can keep wide & empty boxes in the back as space holders as Brownie grows into it.

Your still in the potty training and early growing age.. eventually it won't be a thing you have to consider and you can put it behind you. I'm still waiting for Basil to finish growing (10 months) so I can get her a princess collar.

What's another $50 anyways... Not like you were planning to get something for yourself anyways. (Sigh). It's not like "stay at home" is going away anytime soon.

 

[Mufar42]

It looks fine to me, especially since you are more than likely still potty training. In the future he more than likely will need to size up .

 

[Brownie_mom]

Thank you ALL for your responses. I will try to summarize the questions and my answers.
1. Is he TRULLY 14" ? - Not totally positive about it. I tried my best to measure him, but it is not so easy with the wiggling puppy. I got measurements between 13" and 15" - so in the middle is 14". But the crate looks a bit too tight to me already and it was purchased for a full grown mini poodle, so he is going to be overgrown. I do not mind it - I was debating what size poodle to get and decided with the mini because I travel a lot and it is easier with a smaller dog. If not the travel, I would probably go with a standard. Ruger is the smallest dog I ever had . He is also my first poodle. And one more thing - he has relatively large feet. Even groomer mentioned to me that his feet a bigger then a normal mini size. To me it means that he has way to grow - correct?

2. Potty training - he is still being trained, but this one is his day crate that is connected to a play pen and the door to the pen is always open. He never messed in his crate, even when he had extra room in it (keep my fingers cross). He did mess in the play pen ones, but that was my fault - I left him in it for too long unsupervised. Cleaned the floors with the vinegar and pay much closer attention to him while in the pen.

3. Why I got the crate from the breeder? Two reasons: first I was not sure what size to get and it was convenient to pick him up with the correct crates. I got two crates - one on the picture for a day time and a plastic one for the night. Second - I just felt like giving the breeder one more way to make few dollars. Crazy? - Perhaps. I just feel that she is doing such a difficult job and deserves it.

4. I am not sure if she had overgrown minis before. Ruger's parents both are champions with many champions in the line before them, so they are within the standards. Really pretty and well behaved dogs. Ruger is somehow an outsider of the line - he is bigger, he is brown from the black parents and the black and white grandparents, and he is a biter (getting under control, but really slow progress). I personally think he is a really good looking boy (parent's eyes I guess ?).

5. I am thinking to go to the 30" crate with the mat: FRISCO Fold & Carry Double Door Collapsible Wire Dog Crate, 30 inch & FRISCO Gray Basket Weave Dog Crate Mat, 30-in - Chewy.com. Hope he can stretch in it and be comfortable. I can always go back to the smaller one if he decides to mess in the new crate .
Sorry for a such a long message.

 

[Dianaleez]

Normie's crate trained, so relieving himself is no longer an issue. Since he sleeps in his crate at night, we've moved him up to a really large one.

 

[Brownie_mom]

Normie is a cutie. Is he in the crate during the day? Do you keep it covered all the time? Just wondering if there is enough ventilation with the cover?

 

[PeggyTheParti]

We cover Peggy’s crate with a thin black blanket, but we leave it uncovered on the side that’s against the wall. The baseboard leaves about an inch of space between the crate and the wall, which provides ample ventilation.

Another thing to keep in mind is the material of the crate itself. The small crate I bought 20 years ago has an excellent metal pan. The ones now are typically plastic and smell absolutely terrible. No amount of washing or airing them out seems to help. So my husband made a plywood base for Peggy’s crate.

 

[Dianaleez]

Normie is cutie. Is he in the crate during the day? Do you keep it covered all the time? Just wondering if there is enough ventilation with the cover?

Ventilation isn't an issue; each side lifts separately and can be velcro closed. He seems to like the dark dog cave ambiance.

We leave him in the crate when we're not home or working in the yard with the gates open. These days that's not long at all. Once life is closer to normal, we'll board him if he has to spend the day alone.

We never use the crate for time-outs. The crate is his safe place to sleep. Our living area is open concept and the crate is in the middle of daytime activity, but it's quiet at night. (During the day he also sleeps in his dog bed, on our chairs, etc.)

 

[Rose n Poos]

If he's in a 24" x18" crate now, the 30" x 22.5" isn't that much bigger, really, just an additional 2"-3" on either side. I doubt that's enough additional space to encourage eliminating in the crate. Depending on how much more he grows, the 30" might even end up being small for him.

Your photo makes it easy to picture the extra 3" for both nose and tail and the extra 2.5" each side topknot and toes in the 30".

I've considered a larger night time condo for my boys. They're sprawlers when dozing in the living area, so a 30" might be good, but once they go to their condos for the night they're usually just little balls of poodle, so the 24" seems to work for them. I keep forgetting to put the pupcam by the condo so I can know for sure.

 

[Sylvia K]

At the moment, Ruger's crate looks just about right but if he grows more (which he undoubtedly will over the next few months), he will need a larger crate. I have a medium size crate for my miniature poodle and at eight months old now, when he stretches out, his head is outside the door lol. I don't know how tall he is as I haven't measured him yet, but will have to do so soon. He is definitely going to need a larger crate now if I want him to sleep in it. I'm not really fussed about whether he sleeps inside or outside the crate as we have dog beds all over the place, but I do want to keep him used to it in case he has to stay crated at any time. The rule of thumb is that the dog should be able to stand, sit, lay and turn around easily in his crate.

 

[hrsldy]

Normie's crate trained, so relieving himself is no longer an issue. Since he sleeps in his crate at night, we've moved him up to a really large one.


View attachment 473541

Looks exactly like the set up I went with for my SPOO including the cover. His crate is enormous (48" I believe) . To set it up in my bedroom I had to remove my book case and re-arrange everything. I use it for bedtime but sometimes he goes in and naps when I'm in the shower or whatever.