Size, diet, exercise

Question
Dear Kim -

I adopted a poodle from a rescue - the lady told me that she had fostered the dam, and that the dam was a 50ish lb Standard. My pup is currently about 3 months old, but he is only 11in tall and weighs only 8lb. This seems rather small. Is it likely he will be a small standard, or a mini? He is the best temperament-wise so I love him either way, but I wonder about how much to feed him, how much to exercise him, and so forth.

Answer
Hello John,
Yes, that does sound on the small side for a Standard Poodle, but your puppy is only 12 weeks old, and alot can happen in a month.  Size depends alot on background and the size of the parents and grandparents.  It can also be depended on the care the puppies get, so if this lady wasn't the one who whelped the puppies, they could have gotten less than adequate care, both before they were born through the mother and after they were born.  
I would be sure to feed a high quality food, such as Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro (Max or Natural Choice), Blue Buffalo, Diamond Naturals, or Bil-Jac.
As far as feeding, it will depend on your schedule, but 2 1/2-3 cups a day is average, divided between 2-3 meals.  
Since your dog is a puppy, he will exercise himself by running and playing but a walk is fine as long as its in the morning or evening.  This heat won't benefit anyone or anything.  If you are super active with your puppy, you can feed him closer to 3 cups a day.  If he is less active and you notice he is starting to get heavy, cut his food back just a bit.  
You can also give him treats or nibbles of goodies now and then, but if you are feeding several treats (such as if you are training him and using treats as motivation) lower the amount of food you are feeding to compensate.  

Puppies continue to grow until they are around 9-11 months of age or more, so you have awhile before he gets his full height/weight.  Give him some time and I am sure you will see him fill out.  I don't know anything about the parents or grandparents, but if the female is a healthy 50+ lbs, then this boy should be 55-60 easy.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions about this, or other Poodle questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim