If you own a Labradoodle and is considering a side job as a breeder, you might ask how many puppies can a Labradoodle have?
Most Labradoodles will have around 6-8 puppies pr litter. The recommended amount of puppy litters throughout a female dogs’ life is 3-4, totaling 18-32 puppies in that period.
Let’s try to go a bit more into detail of this subject regarding Labradoodle puppies.
How Many Puppies Can A Labradoodle Have?
Generally speaking, larger breeds such as Labradoodles and Goldendoodles, will have more puppies than smaller breeds such as Maltipoos and Cavapoos’.
- Smaller breeds will usually have 3-4 puppies in a litter, with a max of 5-8.
- Larger breeds will usually have 7 puppies in a litter, with a max of 15.
A Norwegian study from 2011 revealed that the following factors have an influence on the amount of puppies a dog will have:
- Size of the breed. The bigger the breed, the more puppies in a litter.
- Age of the female. Younger and older dogs will have fewer puppies, that dogs in between these age groups.
- Method of breeding. Insemination will generally give fewer puppies than breeding done the old fashioned way.
The most important factor when seeing the number of puppies was the size of the breed. The study was done on 10.810 litters in 224 different dog breeds.
What Is The Average Litter Size For Labradoodles?
While the study was done on purebred dogs, and Labradoodles wasn’t included, we can instead look at it’s parent dogs, the Labrador and Poodle to get an answer to the question.
In the Norwegian study from 2011, it was shown that a large dog breed such as Labradoodles will produce an average of 7.1 puppies per litter.
There have previously been claims of puppy litters with up to 20 puppies, but that has yet to be confirmed anywhere.
More Info About The Amount Of Puppies
The above-mentioned Norwegian study is the most comprehensive study done on litter sizes and mortality rates in puppies and is therefore the best source for any information on this subject.
But there are other sources of information available, and we will try to summarize some of them below. Do note that this information hasn’t been scientifically studied, and should be taken less as truly reliable information:
- The highest amount of puppies: According to some sources, there are dog breeds that are able to have up to 20 puppies in 1 litter. This isn’t that unthinkable, as the number of babies in other species of animals can also vary a lot.
- First-time mothers: Some sources claim that first-time mothers will usually have fewer puppies than dogs’ who have previously had puppies. This isn’t something that has been proved in any study.
- Rule of thumb: There is an old rule of thumb that says that mammals, in general, will have half as many offspring as the number of teats the mom has. But in reality, this isn’t something you can count on, especially not in domesticated animals such as dogs.
- Other factors: Other factors mentioned include in-breeding, the age of the male dog, and diseases, and other health issues.
Can You Guess How Many Puppies Your Dog Is Having?
A lot of us know that aunt in the family who claims to be able to tell the size of the litter just by looking at your pregnant dog from 30 feet away, but can you guess how many puppies your dog is having?
If you’re a dog owner who’s never owned a pregnant dog, it’s virtually impossible to guess the amount of puppies during pregnancy. People who work with dogs professionally such as vets, breeders, shelter owners, kennels, and so on, might be able to give a qualified guess.
If you’re curious about the amount during the pregnancy, you can contact a vet and schedule an ultrasound of your dog. Even if this doesn’t give you a 100% guarantee on the correct amount, it’s a highly qualified opinion.
If you’re a good amount of time into the pregnancy, the vet can also feel your dogs’ stomach and give you an estimate that way.
Mortality Rates In Puppies
The same group of researchers who did the study above also made another study on the same 10.810 litters, where they found the following statistics when looking at the mortality rates of puppies:
Still-born Puppies
- 4% of all newborn puppies are still-born
- The breeds with the highest risk of still-born puppies are: Dogue de Bordeaux (14,2%), St. bernard (12,3%), Chow Chow (12,1%), Welsh Corgi Pembroke (11,7%), and Dalmatians (10,6%)
- The breeds with the lowest risk of still-born puppies are Basenji, Italian Greyhound, Australian Terrier, Irish Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, and Bichon Havanese (0 – 0,6%)
Death After Birth
- 4% of puppies die within the first week
- 1% die between the 8.th day and 8.th week.
- The breeds with the highest risk of premature death on puppies are Rhodesian Ridgeback (11,6%), Dogue de Bordeaux (10,4%), Dalmatian (8,8%), and Icelandic Sheepdog (8,7%)
- The breeds with the lowest risk of premature death after birth are Basenji and Tibetan Terrier (0%) and Border Terrier and Danish-Swedish Farmdog (less than 1%)
Common reasons for premature puppy death are bacterial infections, breathing issues at birth (asphyxia), innate defects, and other single-time occurring issues.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this has helped you answer both questions of How Many Puppies Can A Labradoodle Have and What Is The Average Litter Size For Labradoodles.
Whether you’re a future Labradoodle breeder or just curious, it should at least have given you an idea of what to expect when dealing with Labradoodle puppies, and breeding them.
Sources:
https://barkingroyalty.com/how-many-times-can-you-breed-a-dog/
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