How Many Puppies Do Goldendoodles Have?

Goldendoodles are a highly popular breed. In recent years, many families have found themselves inquiring about adding one to their home for them to love and care for.

Although there are many breeders, there seem to be long waiting lists at most of them. [Our guide on where to adopt a Goldendoodle]

The demand for this dog breed has led many to search worldwide for a Goldendoodle puppy to add to their family. 

This situation leads to the question – how many puppies do Goldendoodles have?

How many puppies do Goldendoodles have?

It is typical for a female Goldendoodle to birth 3-8 puppies per litter, with up to two litters per year. They can do this for around 7-8 years, as long as their health is adequate. 

Several different components influence the size of a Goldendoodles litter. These items can include genetics, health, age, size, and diet.

One way to ensure a large litter is to feed your dog a healthy diet consisting of high-quality ingredients and adequate portions. This act will allow her to get all the necessary nutrients needed to sustain herself and her babies during conception and pregnancy. Doing so will also enable a quicker recovery, which will create more extraordinary conditions for future litters.  

You also want to ensure healthy birth practices with the appropriate veterinary care. Like humans, a dog’s body goes through a lot of trauma while being pregnant and bringing a litter of puppies into the world. Doing this twice a year for multiple years can also take a toll on their bodies,  especially without proper care. 

It is crucial to keep in mind that just because a dog can carry and birth two litters per year doesn’t mean that it should. It is in th mixed breed dog’s best interest to have a solid break in between pregnancies. Just like a human mother, having pregnancies too close together can cause health issues or increase the risk for problems down the road. 

Calculating Litter Size

Being that a Goldendoodle is part Golden Retriever and part Poodle, there are variants when you look at the exact breed of Poodle. With Golden Retrievers, there are different sub-breeds, but they are all quite similar. In Poodles, you have several other kinds:

• Standard Poodle
• Miniature Poodle
• Toy Poodle

All three of these Poodle types are pretty different. Even outside of the size variations, their care and temperament also have other characteristics. Whereas a Toy Poodle has a small dog mentality, the Standard Poodle can be more friendly and inviting. 

And just how does this play into the litter size of a Goldendoodle? The type of Poodle that the Golden Retriever mates with will significantly affect the number of babies conceived. The Golden Retriever breed has eight puppies per litter on average. However, poodles vary based on type. Some Poodle breeds can produce up to five babies in a litter. Others may only birth one of two babies with each pregnancy. 

Therefore, the parenting genetic combination and the lineage between the two come into play to dictate the litter amount. When you combine this with the many other factors that influence litter sizes (health, age, diet, genetics, height), it is truly a guessing game until the birth occurs. 

Another note to remember is that Goldendoodle’s first litters typically result in fewer pups. The more pregnancies that occur will bring larger litter sizes as long as the dog is in good health and receives appropriate veterinary care.

Therefore, do not be disappointed if the first Goldendoodle litter results in a small number of puppies. Future births will likely turn out more babies. 

When Breeding Can Start

Those who make a living out of breeding animals often want to get started as soon as possible. It is worth knowing that Goldendoodles tend to go into heat at around six months of age . This is true for a smaller Toy Goldendoodle and Mini Goldendoodle as well.

Going into heat means that their bodies are capable of reproducing, similar to women who start puberty. However, it would be best if you always waited until at least the second heat cycle before attempting to breed. The reasoning is because despite being able to conceive and birth them, the dog is not at an appropriate maturity due to their young age. 

This young age means that they’re not fully capable of taking care of their litter. Without proper care from their mother, the puppies could suffer from poor health or even die. 

As you learn about animals and the life processes they go through, it is easy to see the connections between animals and humans. Humans are capable of producing at a young age, similar to animals. However, we are discouraged from doing so due to the mental and emotional levels needed to parent a dependent being adequately. 

This instance is just one situation where there is overlap between species, and it points out how similar things in life can indeed be. 

If you are looking to breed several litters of Goldendoodle puppies with one female dog, you need to be sure that you start the process in the parents’ younger years. This need pertains to both the mother and the father. If you again compare this situation to humans, it is similar to how fertility is higher in younger couples. 

Our eggs and sperm are of higher quality and mobility in our youth. Therefore, we often find it more simplistic to conceive in our earlier years. This case is the same for dogs. As they age, the quality of their reproductive components goes down, making it more difficult to conceive. In their earlier years, the process of conceiving is much easier. This is true of the female dog and male dog. 

On the flip side and in similarity to humans, as dogs age, they are likely to give birth to larger litters. This likelihood is based on whether the dog has previously given birth or not. If they have and conceive again in later years, it is of the high probability that they will have a large hybrid dog litter.

Correspondingly, if a human gets pregnant later in life, the chances of conceiving multiples go up. There is a higher likelihood of a woman naturally conceiving more than one baby at a time over the age of 35. For Goldendoodle dogs, this age is five.

Issues That Negatively Affect Litter Size

There are a lot of factors that go into a successful birth and the size of a litter. There are also several things to stay away from if you want to achieve the best-case scenario. 

Stressful Environment: Dogs can feel our stress. If your home life is tense or carries a lot of anger, this can affect your dog’s fertility. Having a calm and serene environment lays the best foundation for pregnancy, even in canines. 

Conception Type: Some breeders use artificial insemination to time a dog’s cycle in an effective way. Although the idea makes sense, conception is more likely if it is done naturally. In this way, it is more conducive to the actions of the body and the natural process that happens when in heat. With artificial means, it is forced onto a body that isn’t prepared. It then attempts to go through actions that it isn’t primed to accomplish. As a dog owner this is unacceptable, and not the actions of a reputable breeder.

Genetics: We have talked about how breed genetics can influence litter size. However, it does need to be understood that just because the parents of a dog conceived quickly or birthed large litters does not mean that the children of those dogs will have the same fate. As we know, genetic can often skip generations or not show back up at all. These anomalies can happen within dogs as well. Poodles typically have 3-6 puppies per litter but this can vary.

Inbreeding: There is a certain percentage of genetic similarities that are acceptable to breed between. That number is relatively low, around 5%. Some people whoa re trying to create the perfect doodle puppy designer dog cut corners and make mistakes.

Inbreeding is dangerous because of the medical issues it can cause in dogs that are a product of the situation. In the search for a F1b Goldendoodle or multigen Goldendoodle mny breeders cut corners and run out of unrelated dog. This is unacceptable. A reputable breeder cuts NO corners.

Inbreeding can also cause problems for future litters, inbred or not. The reason is because of the abnormalities that trickle down like predispotion to hip dysplasia or poorly formed body parts. Because of this, smaller Goldendoodles litter size can become more prevalent. 

With Goldendoodles being a highly desired breed with high demand, it is vital to remember the key concepts above. Successful breeding and large litter sizes result from careful practices. 

Conclusion:

Dog breeding is a complex subject, affected by many different elements. It is important to remember that you can only control so much and that having healthy dogs to give to new families is the desired result. 

Breeding dogs, especially popular breed types, is a form of income for many people. Because of this, larger litter sizes equals higher profits. 

However, it is essential to remember that dogs are not machines. They are members of the family. Their health and safety are a priority, just like yours. 

Accounting for their wellbeing will benefit you more in the long run, so it is essential to focus on that.

Although the prospect of an eight puppy litter is enticing, so is the health and happiness of our best fur friend.