Toy, mini and teacup Maltipoo: the real full-grown size

The Maltipoos we raise range from 4 to 7 kg (9–15 lb) in weight and from 25 to 35 cm (10–14 in) in height at the withers. The range is wide on purpose: it depends on the size of the parents, a Maltese and a Poodle, and above all on the Poodle, which can be smaller or larger.

Most reach their adult height before their first birthday and finish putting on weight a little later. A puppy that is the smallest in the litter at eight weeks will not necessarily be the smallest adult.

For the Maltipoo, nothing official. No club or standard says above how many kilos a Maltipoo is “mini” and below how many it is “toy”. Each seller uses the words as it suits them, which is why you will see a 3 kg (7 lb) “toy” in one ad and a 5 kg (11 lb) one in another.

The confusion comes from the Poodle, which does have recognized size varieties. A Maltipoo with a toy Poodle parent will tend to be smaller than one with a miniature Poodle parent, but “will tend to be” is not “will be”.

“Teacup” is something else. It doesn’t describe a variety but a promise: an extremely small adult dog. To get there, the smallest dogs of each litter are bred together, generation after generation. It is a word worth reading as a warning.

Because it is a cross between two different breeds, and genetics doesn’t average: it shuffles. One litter can include a puppy that stays at 4 kg (9 lb) and a sibling that reaches 7 kg (15 lb). In a breed whose standard has been fixed for generations the margin is narrower; in a cross it is wide by definition.

Anyone who signs off on an exact adult weight is promising something that isn’t up to them. The honest answer is a range, and showing you the parents. Colombia’s Law 1480 of 2011 (Consumer Statute) also requires that the information about what you receive be truthful: a “guaranteed” size that doesn’t hold is misleading advertising.

None of the three tells you how much the dog will weigh, and none is “better” than another. They tell you what was crossed. If an ad uses F1b as a synonym for “smaller” or “hypoallergenic”, it is using the label for something it isn’t. On the coat, read do Maltipoos shed?.

Dogs pushed to the minimum size pay a price. The problems most often associated with breeding for extreme size are hypoglycemia (drops in blood sugar, especially in puppies), fragile bones — a fall from the sofa can mean a fracture — and dental problems from lack of room in the mouth.

Then there is everyday life: a dog that weighs a kilo and a half (about 3 lb) can’t play with a small child without risk, gets cold in Bogotá and is difficult to anesthetize.

The sensible approach is to choose the parents for their health and temperament, and accept whatever size results from that.

• Look at both parents, in person or on a video call, and ask how much they weigh.
• Ask about siblings from earlier litters of the same pair: no other piece of information tells you more.
• Be wary of formulas that multiply the weight at a certain age: they give an idea, they don’t predict.
• Ask for the range in writing, not a single figure.

If you need a dog that stays under a certain weight because of a rule in your building or an airline’s, say so from the start: it is better to adjust the choice of breed than to bet on a cross staying small. The comparison Maltipoo vs Cockapoo helps put sizes in context.