Giant Schnoodle

Feed a well-balanced food whose label carries an Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutritional adequacy statement for your Giant Schnoodle's life stage, and take the brand question to your vet if you are unsure.

Adults eat twice a day; puppies three or four times on a consistent schedule.

Slow the meal down. A snuffle mat or slow feeder is not optional equipment for this tier, because eating fast is one of the things that brings on bloat in a deep-chested dog. Know the signs while you are at it: a distended stomach, retching, heavy drooling and pacing or an inability to settle mean an emergency vet immediately, since gastric dilatation-volvulus is life-threatening and moves quickly.

Keep the dog lean. Diabetes runs in both parent breeds and joint disease loads directly onto 80 pounds. The bag's guide gives a portion for an ideal weight and your vet gives a better one; supplements stay a vet's call.

A Giant Schnoodle is the largest grooming job in the breed, and the schedule is the same as for the smaller sizes rather than easier: a professional groom every four to six weeks and brushing at home a few times a week, ideally daily.

Coats fall between wavy and curly with some straighter individuals, and colour is irrelevant to the effort. On a dog this size a missed fortnight is a mat you cannot brush out.

Skin needs no special routine beyond occasional baths. Abrasions, flaky skin or rashes are worth a vet call.

Wipe under the eyes when tear stains show and report any cloudiness, redness or discharge. Clean the ears every time your dog has been in water, which for a Poodle-descended dog that likes swimming is often, and watch for odour, redness and debris. Brush the teeth daily and trim the nails when they click.

A daily walk covers a lot of a Giant Schnoodle's needs, but at this size make it a real one. Both parents are energetic working breeds, and the exuberance a Giant has left over after a short outing goes into the furniture.

Keep hard exercise away from meals. In a deep-chested dog that is a bloat precaution rather than a preference, and it is the one scheduling rule this tier adds.

Agility, nose work, obedience and trick training all suit the intelligence, and swimming and dock diving suit the build. Fetch and tug-of-war fill the gaps.

Giants appreciate room to spread out and run, and while many Schnoodles live happily in apartments, this is the size that most benefits from a yard.

A Giant Schnoodle learns as quickly as its smaller siblings and needs it more. Basic cues come fast and complex tricks follow, all on positive reinforcement, and the work is worth front-loading while the dog is still liftable.

Socialise as a puppy without exception. New people, animals, sounds and situations met early are what make an 80-pound adult polite, and a large dog's rudeness is everyone's problem rather than just yours.

Leash manners deserve their own attention here. A Schnoodle that pulls at 15 pounds is an annoyance; one that pulls at 80 is a walk you stop taking.

Well-socialised Giants get on with children and other pets, and supervision remains the rule with any dog and any child. Keep the mental work going: this breed gets bored before it gets tired.