Premier Pups > Dog Breeds > Mini Portidoodle
Mini Portidooodle Breed Information
Mini Portidoodles are playful, loving, and happy-go-lucky dogs. They enchant with a cheerful attitude and a great love for all things fun. These gorgeous pups are very fond of water, dog sports and games, and most importantly, their family. Known to form strong attachments, the Mini Portidoodles are entirely dedicated to their humans. They enjoy entertaining with comical tricks, are affectionate, fun, and wonderful with children. As great family dogs, Mini Portidoodle pups bring a great deal of love, joy, and laughter into their lucky-to-have-them home. The Mini Portidoodle is a Designer Doodle Breed, a mix between a Portuguese Water Dog and a Mini Poodle.
BREED TYPE / MIX
Doodle Hybrid / Poodle crossed with a Portuguese Water Dog
ENERGY
Moderate
SHEDDING
Minimum
TRAINING
Responsive
TEMPERAMENT
Happy, Docile, Sweet, Playful
ADULT WEIGHT
14-28 lbs
ADULT HEIGHT
10-20 in
LIFE SPAN
12-15 yrs
Characteristics
- The Mini Portidoodle is also known as Mini Portipoo and Mini Portidoo
- Non-shedding and hypoallergenic, the Mini Portidoodle is a great fit for those suffering from pet-related allergies
- Curious, fun, and adventurous, the Mini Portipoo makes a wonderful travel/adventure companion
- Mini Portidoodle hybrid vigor
- Entertaining, lively, and sweet, the Mini Portidoodle is the ideal playmate for children
- The Mini Portidoodle tolerates both hot and cold weather
- Highly adaptable – Mini Portidoodle puppies are quick to adapt and comfortable in both small apartments as well as large homes
- The Mini Portipoo puppy is easy to train, eager to please, highly intelligent, and an amazing first dog for novice owners
- Alert and vigilant, the Mini Portidoodle is an efficient watch-and-alarm dog
- The Mini Portidoodle can be trained easily and is an amazing candidate for therapy work
- Outgoing, friendly, and highly sociable, the Mini Portidoo makes fast friends with other dogs and other household pets
- The Mini Portidoodle is a fantastic companion pet for families with or without children, singles, and active seniors
Appearance
The Mini Portidoodle is a cuddly, sporty, and gorgeous-looking dog. With a cheerful disposition and a friendly demeanor, the Mini Portidoodle (Mini Portipoo) appears docile, approachable, happy, and sweet. The Mini Portidoodle adult has a sturdy-built body, a long fluffy tail, a medium-length muzzle, cute floppy ears, and dark expressive eyes. Its coat is of medium length, soft, curly or wavy in texture. It is low-shedding, hypoallergenic, and can come in various colors and color combinations. Mini Portidoodle colors include white, black, brown, cream, gray, merle, sable, with various patterns and markings.
The Mini Portidoodle size is between small and medium, depending on which side of the family the doodle puppy takes after more. Typically, a full grown Mini Portidoodle weighs between 14 and 28 pounds. F1b Mini Portidoodle dogs can weigh less than 14 pounds. The adult Mini Portidoodle height can range from 10 to 20 inches.
Photos
Temperament
The Mini Portidoodles (Mini Portipoo) are sweet, loyal, and happy dogs who love their family most of all. They are great with family children, docile with their fur siblings, loyal to their owners, and entertaining for the whole family. They love performing random tricks and are known to be very receptive to their family’s needs.
These unique dogs exude happiness and are friends with everyone they meet. They are energetic, playful, outgoing, and fond of fun activities. They enjoy social interactions with dogs and humans alike, family adventures, canine games, dog sports, chew toys, jogs, and cuddles. As the offspring of two water-loving dog breeds, the lively Mini Portidoodles love to splash in puddles, swim in lakes, jump in beach waves, and chase sprinklers.
Mini Portidoodle puppies are small, adorable, and fluffy bundles of joy. They love to play, bounce, zoom, chase, chew, and get cuddled, pampered, and spoiled. As the fur-babies of two exceedingly bright dog breeds, the Mini Portidoodle puppies are fast learning students, excellent people-pleasers, and eager learners. They pick up on basic tricks and commands impressively fast and are quite eager to move on to more complex training.
Training a Mini Portidoodle can be a rewarding experience. For more insights on training dogs effectively, check out our blog Easiest Dogs to Train - Top 5 Pups for Effortless Training
Insights
Portuguese Water Dog vs Mini Portidoodle Comparison
The Portuguese Water Dog and the Mini Portidoodle are two very rare and highly sought-after breeds. These two wonderful breeds are known for their brilliant minds, affectionate nature, and fun personalities. If you find yourself wanting to choose between the Portuguese Water Dog and the Mini Portidoodle, read on to learn about what qualities they share and some of their differences.
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Care
Grooming
Mini Portidoodle dogs are medium to low maintenance when it comes to grooming. Because they have a medium-length wavy or curly coat, they require a quick brush every other day. Since they are water-loving dogs who can’t help but jump in every pond and puddle they encounter, they should be rinsed after every swim with water, and bathed with dog shampoo once every 2 or 3 months.
Their ears should be cleaned regularly, and their teeth brushed a few times every week. If the Mini Portidoodles don’t run down their nails naturally while running, it is beneficial to clip them at least monthly. It is recommended to start the Mini Portidoodle puppy (Mini Portipoo puppy) grooming process early to accustom them to the grooming tools and get them comfortable with their ears, paws, and bodies getting handled.
Grooming your Mini Portidoodle is essential for their well-being. For a comprehensive guide on how often and how to bathe your dog, explore our How Often Should You Bathe Your Dog Guide
Exercise Needs
Mini Portidoodles (Mini Portipoos) are energetic dogs who love to be active. They enjoy running, chasing, fetching, playing Frisbee, swimming, and any activity that allows them to burn off energy. Because they are great at dog sports like agility, tracking, rally, and water sports, these dogs love challenges and having a job to do. To keep them fit, healthy, and exercised, they need to be walked for an average of 30 to 60 minutes each day and given canine puzzles, toys, and activities that keep their minds stimulated and their bodies worked out.
Health
Mini Portidoodle puppies are bred by carefully crossing two healthy, routinely vet-checked, purebred dog breeds. They enjoy superior health thanks to hybrid vigor, and they have very few health concerns that can be possible during their lifespans. Common issues in all dog breeds include hip dysplasia, cataracts, allergies, dental issues, and in some cases hypothyroidism. These can occur in Mini Portidoodle adults, most commonly during their senior years.
Lifespan
Like their parents, Mini Portidoodle dogs are long-lived, happy dogs. Their average lifespan is between 12 and 15 years. The Miniature Poodle, one of the Mini Portidoodle’s parents, has a lifespan of up to 18 years and there have been several cases in which Poodles lived to be 20+ years old. Dogs that are loved as members of the family tend to live longer, happier lives.
Training
Mini Portidoodles are very smart and highly trainable dogs. They can be taught up to 300 words as well as complex obedience and agility lessons. They respond best to positive reinforcement training and reward-based methods. As eager-to-please dogs, Mini Portidoodle puppies can be motivated with praise, a gentle and fun approach, and vet-approved treat rewards.
Early socialization, as well as early leash and crate training, are recommended for the Mini Portipoo puppy. Early socialization ensures that the Mini Portidoodle puppy grows up into a well-mannered, friendly, and non-aggressive adult dog.
The Mini Portidoodle is somewhat independent and can be left alone for up to 6 hours each day. It is important to start teaching the Mini Portidoodle puppy during early puppyhood that it’s ok to enjoy some alone time and that being alone is just a temporary situation. It is not recommended to leave the Mini Portidoodle or the Mini Portidoodle puppy alone for more than 6 hours each day as they might develop separation anxiety.
Early training is key for a well-behaved adult dog. For insights on early training behaviors, especially for poodle mixes, read our Early Training Key Cavapoo Puppy Behaviors article
History
The Mini Portidoodle dogs are the newest members of the Doodle Breed world. A hybrid mix between a purebred Portuguese Water Dog and a purebred Miniature Poodle, the Mini Portidoodle first appeared in the United States in the past few years. By mixing two highly popular dog breeds, professional breeders aimed to create a hybrid that would possess the hypoallergenic qualities, keen intelligence, agility, and fun nature of both parent breeds. A gift to the world, the Mini Portipoo breed impressed from the get-go and is one of the most sought-after doodle breeds. As a modern Doodle, the Portidoodle breed doesn’t have much history, so to better understand it, we can look at the history of the Portuguese Water Dog and Poodle parent breeds.
The Portuguese Water Dog puppy, also known as Cao de Agua (dog of water) is a centuries-old breed that originated in Portugal. These remarkable dogs were considered the fisherman’s best friends as they would often be seen on Portuguese fishing ships along the coast of Portugal. With their webbed paws, excellent swimming capabilities, and great love for water, the Portuguese Water Dogs were trained to lure fish into nets, retrieve fishing gear and nets from the water, and act as messengers between fishing vessels. When fishing ships joined the modernized era, the Portuguese Water dogs moved on to become loyal, affectionate, and treasured companion pets.
The Poodle puppies, famous for their big brains, gorgeous looks, and sweet nature, are a breed with a most impressive history. Developed in Germany, Poodles have been long admired for their stunning looks, retrieving skills, performance with the traveling circus, therapy work, companionship, and sporting titles. Officially recognized by the AKC for their three sizes (Standard Poodle, Miniature Poodle, and Toy Poodle), Poodles, regardless of their size, never fail to impress with their agility, friendliness, and learning skills. They are considered the second most intelligent dog breed in the world and the top breed in many countries.
Mini Portidoodles are bred into three generations:
- F1 Mini Portidoodle puppies that are a cross between a Portuguese Water dog and a Miniature Poodle
- F1b Mini Portidoodle puppies that are a cross between an F1 Mini Portidoodle and a Miniature Poodle
- F2 Mini Portidoodle puppies that are a cross between two Mini Portidoodle adult dogs