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Tiny Tiny Sheltie

Discussion in 'General Breeding Discussion' started by conansam1984, May 27, 2009.

  1. conansam1984

    conansam1984 Forums Novice

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    May 27, 2009
    My sheltie is 9months(36 weeks) and is extremely small he only around 5 pounds not much more... Is there such thing as a teacup.... or is something wrong????
     
  2. sheltiemom

    sheltiemom Forums Enthusiast

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    Aug 20, 2008
    Az
    Hi conansam....no there is no such thing as a tea cup or mini sheltie. Normally tinier shelties are a result of bad breeding. Reason they are not actually a "recognized breed" this way is because it takes many years of impecable breeding to get a breed like that. Unfortunately the smaller shelties, although absolutely adorable ( I have 2 now and have had 1 in the past in my rescue) and they had numerous health issues
     
  3. Jaspers_Mommy

    Jaspers_Mommy Forums Regular

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    Feb 20, 2009
    Oceanside CA
    wow and i thought my sheltie was small... mines 7 months and about 10 lbs...

    post a pic i would love to see
     
  4. kami333

    kami333 Forums Novice

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    Jul 7, 2008
    :eek2:

    Sophie is 20months and 9.6lbs (same since 6months old), and is the smallest sheltie I've seen in person. Do you know if the parents were normal sized?
     
  5. BarbV

    BarbV Forums Celebrity

    With the growing demand for "teacup" designer dogs, some breeders are purposefully breeding small dogs to small dogs over and over to force the size down.

    The problem is that by using size as the no. 1 criteria, they could be breeding out the good qualities and breeding in more bad.

    Really not a good practice at all.

    That being said, just like with humans, some are just born small. A good starting point would be to see what his parents and grandparents looked like. Do you know if any of them were registered?
     
  6. Terric

    Terric Forums Novice

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    May 31, 2009
    Tiny Sheltie

    I have a very small sheltie pup Absoutly no inbreeding in the pedigrees. The parents are both normal sized The mother may even lean towards being oversized. She is 12 weeks old & weighs 2.1 lbs. She has a cleft palete. At birth she weighed 3.3 oz I tubed her every 2 hours for the first week & then went to 4 hours at night. She is eating dry kibbles. Everyone encouraged me to have her put down. I just couldn't do that she fought so hard to live.
    All 4 of her brothers were perfectly normal She has had her 1st shots the vet wanted me to wait till she was 2lbs. I won't go into all the details but this wasn't a planned breeding & her mother won't be having anymore pups.She is a strange color as she is all a darker brown with a white chest & feet and much longer hair then the rest. Could she be a throw back?
     
  7. Ania

    Ania Forums Enthusiast

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    Oct 28, 2008
    Canada
    Hello and welcome to our forum Terric. I see you are new. (you should introduce your self and your pup in the 'Say Hello' category!)
    I cannot answer your questions, as I don't know enough, but I am sure that someone here will. In the meantime, I just wanted to say hello, and to let you now that we love pictures, and a picture might help with the answers too.
    And bless you for not giving up on the little one. Just because she is small and has a cleft palate does not mean that she should be put down. I am sure that she will surprise everyone and she will shower you with love and appreciation. Plus, I am sure the bond you are creating with her by nurturing her, and feeding her, will be extremely strong and you will have a very loyal, loving companion. Bless you for what you did for her.
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2009
  8. Rassy

    Rassy Forums Enthusiast

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    Nov 7, 2008
    Manitoba, Canada
    My Vet says,, some ppl are big,, some ppl are small ,,, your 7 lb 4 year old Sheltie is fine shape and good health ...... thats right 7 lbs .. we had him up to 7.5 once,, but he lost that..

    pics are in my profile if you want to compare.. hers a link to a good example of his size.. remember hes probably abour 2.5 years old here..

    http://www.sheltieforums.com/album.php?albumid=29&pictureid=322
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2009
  9. sheltiemom

    sheltiemom Forums Enthusiast

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    Aug 20, 2008
    Az
    know I am going to sound like a know it all, and being far from claiming I am a vet...any vet who looks at a tiny sheltie at a young age and says they are perfectly normal and healthy are not right. I have had 3 tiny shelties. Health wise on a general exam they appear normal;. Normal bloodwork and milestones for their age. It is as they get slighly older...usually closer to age 5 that their true health issues make themselves known...their tiny frames cannot contain the internal organs that grow to "normal size" internally since years of breeding to have the organs grow only as large as their tiny bodies. All three of mine have extremely cramped internal organs, This has resulted in pancreatitis, heart issues and pulmonary issues. If they gain even a pound of weight it effects their breathing and walking. One of my little girls was lame (she walked on her back elbows) because the weight literally crushed her. I could go on for pages regarding the health issues being "tiny" and improperly bred have caused. I will be honest and say all liters have a runt, ad they are the ones that normally encounter some sort of medical iussues (and very expensive ones) later in life. I could never even think of turning these babies away, unfortunately with all the calls I get regarding these tiny babies who are looking for homes to take them because their owners just do not have the time or resources to help them, it would make these breeders who think they have bred a gold mine, rethink this. It is not easy having a tiny adorable baby for 5-7 years ( I have had 2 who have made it to age 13) then watching them slowly and painfully deteriorate
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2009
  10. Rassy

    Rassy Forums Enthusiast

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    Nov 7, 2008
    Manitoba, Canada
    Wow, you guys are brutal..,, look at every post i have ever posted on this forums,, and someone comes in behind me,, and has something negative to say,, dog food choices,, greenies, dog size,, teeth brushing,, caging a family pet for an entire day ... it never ends... No wonder i dont post here much any more... i understand its better to be properly educated rather than ignorant, but it seems everything ive ever known or understood about dogs is wrong or somebody has a different negative opinion on it... sorry about the hijack.. i think im gonna remove this bookmark from my browser now though..
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2009

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