Size of Newborn

Question
I have a female toy poodle that weighs about 8 pounds and stands about 9 1/2 inches at the shoulder and male mini poodle that weighs about 12 pounds and stands at about 13 inches at the shoulder. They are both gorgeous examples of the breed. Is the difference in size too great to mate them?  I don't want anything to happen to my girl if the puppies are to big.

Answer
Hello Margarita,
First off, you should keep the Poodle types within their own type, ie Toy to Toy and Miniature to Miniature.  If you breed the Toy to the Miniature, you will get some large toys and small miniatures.  It won't hurt anything though if you are just breeding pet dogs.  Just make sure that you sell the puppies with a Spay/Neuter policy or as Limited Registry on the papers.  This means that the people who buy your puppies can register their puppy, but if they breed their dog, their puppies won't be able to be registered.  
When you breed, you are trying to improve the breed.  By breeding Toy to Miniature dogs, you are contributing to large Toys (which aren't considered Miniatures, but large Toys and can't be shown) and Small Miniatures (which aren't considered Toys, but small Miniatures, and again can't be shown).  The AKC keeps records on the parents and knows when a Mini and Toy are bred together.  They won't say anything against the paring of the two, but as I stated above, its better not to.  Also, since your female is the Toy, it would be best to find her a Toy suitor rather than your Miniature male.  This way, the puppies won't stress your female out if they are bigger puppies.  Chances are that it won't hurt your female to breed her to the male, but you would be better not to chance it.  If you are unsure, ask your Vet as they most likely have had expirence with this before.  If the puppies are too big, you run the risk of your female having to have a C-section to deliver the puppies.

If you are going to breed your female, I suggest waiting until she is at least 2 yrs old before breeding her.  This gives her time to fully mature and develop properly before carrying puppies.   
You will want take your female to the Vet before breeding her to make sure that she is healthy enough to breed.  You should also have the Vet check her for genetic problems that could be passed on to the puppies.  

This is just my opinion and I am not saying that you can't breed these two dogs.  Just be responsible when you do and make sure that the people that get your puppies won't breed them, as that is where the problems come.

I hope this has helped you some.  If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.  

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim