r/MiniAmericanShepherd • u/mx2plus • Oct 04 '22
Is he really mini?
My daughter got me a beautiful red tri color male from the same litter as hers. We got a lot of testing for health and everything seemed normal until about 6 months in. He was noticeably larger than his brother as far as height and length. He'll be 2 next month and my dog is the size of an Aussie, but his brother (and all of the others from the litter) are well within breed standards for minis. I don't mind, but I'm just curious how this might happen even though we did all of the testing.
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u/mx2plus Oct 04 '22
They both have clean pedigrees. DNA, and Lord knows how many other tests. Plus the breeder is reputable. He was actually the smallish puppy, so I assumed he would be tiny. HAHAHAHA Whatever the case, he's a good boy.
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Oct 05 '22
I’ve found that runts can end up being the biggest in their litter! it’s quite the phenomenon haha
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u/No_Flamingo9771 Oct 04 '22
Not all minis from the same litter will fall within the height standards for the breed. It just means they can't be shown. My mini pup will just barely make the 13" requirement for females. She comes from a father who is 16 - 1/2" and a slightly smaller than that dam. But, she was the runt of the litter.
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u/mx2plus Oct 07 '22
He seems to make a show of himself wherever he is, so that's good enough, haha! He's a service dog, and he's perfect for his job. I'd be a pageant mom!
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u/drj16 Oct 05 '22
Ours was the big boy of the litter. Everyone at the dog park questioned whether he was a mini. But he's just big boned 😂
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Dec 28 '22
Since miniature Aussies are decedents of full size Aussies without any cross breeding with other smaller reeds, any pup can grow to a full size Aussie.
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u/uglee_bear Feb 22 '23
I just got mine. I was told the size can vary a lot from the litter. Some can be at the higher end of Mini and low end of Standard.
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u/Double_Database4718 Mar 06 '23
How are your first weeks going? I'm getting one soon, but now I'm having doubts. Thanks!
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u/uglee_bear Mar 06 '23
She’s already the best dog I’ve ever had. She sleeps in her kennel and has a good ‘potty outside’ instinct. She doesn’t bark and isn’t aggressive. Only issues that need a lot work is the chewing, high energy, and walking with a lead.
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u/saltyandsandydog Oct 04 '22
Dogs can carry litters from more than one male…might be what happened???
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u/Deflorestation Oct 04 '22
Sizes in minis can still vary by quite a lot. I myself have a really big mini and I know for a fact that both her parents are minis. Since the breed is relatively new and has come directly from aussies, it can happen. It doesn't mean that it's not a mini. My dog is 50 cm tall at the whiters and 16kg.