14Week-old Puppy Isn't Fluffy- Purebred or Mix?

M

Mercedes M

Forums Novice
Hi all, I'm new to Shelties and I have a 14 week-old puppy that I fell in love with when I visited an Amish breeder. I saw the dam, who looked normal, and the older brother who looked tall and skinny, but not the sire.

I love my puppy, but I'm just wondering if his fur growth is normal for his age? He's pretty small, currently weighing 5.9 lbs, and is around 9.5 inches to the shoulder. I've seen photos of other Sheltie puppies on Google images and YouTube, and they all seem to be much fluffier and filled out. Also, his tail is still pretty rat-like. Is this normal? Does he look purebred, poorly-bred, or mixed?

Thank you all for your input!

Here are some photos of the puppy https://flic.kr/s/aHskJNfBUQ : the first was when I brought him home at 9 weeks, the second was his ad picture, and the third was a photo that I just took at 14 weeks.
 
He is adorable!! I love his ears. I think he looks pretty normal for that age. It takes quite some time for their full coats to come in. When I look at the old pictures of my shelties they definitely look kind of "awkward" until they got their full coats. Especially when they were getting taller and it looks like they have such long skinny legs.

Enjoy your pup, I look forward to readin your stories as he grows up.
 
What a cutie! Phoebe had a rat tail too. It started fluffing out at between 4 and 5 months and turned out well. Some dogs have very heavy coats and some not so heavy. Both are very pretty. My dog doesn't have a huge coat, and for that I am grateful. Not so hard to care for!
 
What a cutie...just to let you know I have had 2 wispy coated puppies, and 2 fluffy coated puppies. Even in the same litter you can have some with more fur than others. If you are concerned about tipped ears, I would GET ON that right away.
 
He is insanely adorable! Annabelle at that age was tiny and didn't have much fur. She still doesn't have a lot. But as mentioned, less fur is less to clean up. He is at an awkward phase where his body hasn't caught up to the rest of him yet. It's hard to tell by just a picture, but he looks like other 3-4 month olds I've seen.

I got lucky with Cooper because he didn't go through as much of an awkward phase. I'm sure your little guy will poof out eventually. BTW- what is the little guy's name? I missed that.
 
Awwww. How cute. :)

The ears look a little big, but our first Sheltie went though a stage where he had "bat ears" so it's hard to say how they will end up unless you start training them now. I live in the "heart" of PA Dutch country and we've got these Amish "breeders" all over the place. While I don't think they are intentionally cruel, they view dogs and puppies more like livestock than pets. And, they are notorious for not being completely honest about the puppies' heritage.

As long as you only want a companion and have had him checked out from bat ears to rat tail ;), then I wouldn't worry about how pure your little guy is.

FWI, both my current boys started out with lighter coats and now are huge fluff balls. In the past few months, they've shed enough fur to knit a polar bear. :D
 
Adorable puppy. He looks normal to me. Wait til that coat goes BAM. I think what bugs me the most when so called breeders use
CKC, and the pups are not Canadian Kennel Club. Its some made up name Continental Kennel Club and buyers buy into this CKC
Lil' Lady's coat came in fast and my Lucky was a little slower so I wouldn't worry. You have a real cutie. Congrats and enjoy.
 
Don't worry, he'll grow into his ears. Our friend's Sherman had ears that grew first. They were full sized when he was 3 months old. Then the rest of him grew and he's gorgeous now.
 
Mine wasn't all that fluffy either. Look at it like "easy to groom". Mine still doesn't have the biggest undercoat which is fine by me as he is easy to wash, dry, and groom at 2-1/2.

If you have any questions about the full blooded-ness get the Wisdom Panel DNA 3.0 or 4.0. They will tell you if he is full or mix. What's more, they also give you the MDR1 status (multi drug restistence mutation). That is VERY useful to know through life for many forms of medications, maintenance drugs, and anesthesias. Since testing through VetGen or University of Washington is pretty much the same price, and the Wisdom Panel is sanctioned by University of Washington for MDR1 testing as OK, it's like getting a free DNA check too. I would highly recommend it.
 
Mercedes M said:
Hi all, I'm new to Shelties and I have a 14 week-old puppy that I fell in love with when I visited an Amish breeder. I saw the dam, who looked normal, and the older brother who looked tall and skinny, but not the sire.

I love my puppy, but I'm just wondering if his fur growth is normal for his age? He's pretty small, currently weighing 5.9 lbs, and is around 9.5 inches to the shoulder. I've seen photos of other Sheltie puppies on Google images and YouTube, and they all seem to be much fluffier and filled out. Also, his tail is still pretty rat-like. Is this normal? Does he look purebred, poorly-bred, or mixed?

Thank you all for your input!

Here are some photos of the puppy https://flic.kr/s/aHskJNfBUQ : the first was when I brought him home at 9 weeks, the second was his ad picture, and the third was a photo that I just took at 14 weeks.
Click to expand...
 
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