Controling size?

It's a good point, that the breed is still relatively young, and why we are seeing such wide size variations.

In Bacca's own litter, I think he is the only one that went oversize, but he wasn't even culled out for that reason (he was sold to me because he was cyrptoid).

I guess for a few more generations of pups we will continue to see this wide disparity. Which again, points again and again, to more controlled breeding.
 
Is it just me, I love the variety in the breed and dont want to see that change. Size, colour, shape - they all still look and act like Shelties. Who wants to go down the road of the retrievers and other old breeds where one basically looks like the other, even with a variation in coat colour. Collies, luckily have the variety in lines (British vs American) so at least there is some difference, otherwise they would all the same as lassie.
 
Personally, I'd like to see them standardized.

I think that's why we continuously get bombarded with mini-Collie questions. I can look at the face of a Collie and the face of a Sheltie and tell the difference. But most could not.

And I also want to get away from the latest "mini-Sheltie" craze. These are designer dogs. Stick to the range, I say.
 
Id love to see the breed be more uniform...I mean lets face it you can almost automatically tell the difference between someone who's breeding toward the standard and someone who's BYB and producing spindly oversize dogs. Its usually quite obvious so I think we are doing a good job at making them constant its just the size that keeps ranging all over the board. How long will it take to get the breed uniform? I dont know, however I think there will be like several other breeds an English/European line and a US line of shelties. They tend to like the finer bone and will keep it that way I'm sure.
Id love to see the day when every dog in a litter can be show quality...I think we are working towards but it may take a bit.
 
Lightplum said:
Id love to see the breed be more uniform...I mean lets face it you can almost automatically tell the difference between someone who's breeding toward the standard and someone who's BYB and producing spindly oversize dogs. Its usually quite obvious so I think we are doing a good job at making them constant its just the size that keeps ranging all over the board. How long will it take to get the breed uniform? I dont know, however I think there will be like several other breeds an English/European line and a US line of shelties. They tend to like the finer bone and will keep it that way I'm sure.
Id love to see the day when every dog in a litter can be show quality...I think we are working towards but it may take a bit.
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Yep, yep, yep!
 
This is all very interesting! I think I've mentioned this before, but Buffy's litter ranged pretty widely in size. She is just 12.5 inches and her brother was small too, but the other two were oversize. Even at 8 weeks Buffy was half the size of other pups there and that is basically what happened when they got older too.

And I also want to get away from the latest "mini-Sheltie" craze. These are designer dogs. Stick to the range, I say.
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So many people have asked me if I have a mini Sheltie! Ugh. I tell them that I don't believe such a breed exists, and certainly not legitimately. I haven't heard of any around here and I hope people don't go seeking them out!

My favorite was a lady at the park when Buffy was just a baby - "I was thinking about a Chihuahua but now I think I should get one like this! Do you think she would fit in my purse?"
 
Diana said:
This is all very interesting! I think I've mentioned this before, but Buffy's litter ranged pretty widely in size. She is just 12.5 inches and her brother was small too, but the other two were oversize. Even at 8 weeks Buffy was half the size of other pups there and that is basically what happened when they got older too.

So many people have asked me if I have a mini Sheltie! Ugh. I tell them that I don't believe such a breed exists, and certainly not legitimately. I haven't heard of any around here and I hope people don't go seeking them out!

My favorite was a lady at the park when Buffy was just a baby - "I was thinking about a Chihuahua but now I think I should get one like this! Do you think she would fit in my purse?"
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Ginny and her litter have same story. Ginny's brother is oversized, Ginny's sister looks like she'll be the correct height, even though her conformation doesn't look good. And then there's Ginny who definitely will not make 14". Ginny and Sadie both came from the same reputable breeder.

At almost 7 months old Ginny is only 12.5" and seems to have stopped growing. We were hoping she would be closer in size to Sadie, who is slightly oversized, but Ginny's big personality more than makes up for her small size. :rolleyes2:

She is just so cute and small that a part of me wants to get a purse for her, but that would just be wrong. I don't want people to see her and start specifically looking for "mini-shelties." Not to mention that she wouldn't tolerate a purse well, given the amount of energy she has.
 
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OntarioSheltie said:
At almost 7 months old Ginny is only 12.5" and seems to have stopped growing. We were hoping she would be closer in size to Sadie, who is slightly oversized, but Ginny's big personality more than makes up for her small size. :rolleyes2:
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She may still grow a little bit. Bailey grew 1/2 an inch at 8.5 months old. Some shelties keep growing until they're 10 months to a year. Some just stop at 6 months. It's all genetics. Either way, she will most likely still be a smaller sheltie.
 
take4roll10 said:
She may still grow a little bit. Bailey grew 1/2 an inch at 8.5 months old. Some shelties keep growing until they're 10 months to a year. Some just stop at 6 months. It's all genetics. Either way, she will most likely still be a smaller sheltie.
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Yeah, I assumed that she'd probably grow another half an inch to an inch, but I've been measuring her regularly and she seems to have stopped growing taller. I still think she might grow that extra half inch possibly. Sadie grew an inch and a half after she was 6 months old. I'll be really surprised if Ginny reaches the 14" mark though.
 
Diana said:
So many people have asked me if I have a mini Sheltie! Ugh. I tell them that I don't believe such a breed exists, and certainly not legitimately. I haven't heard of any around here and I hope people don't go seeking them out!

My favorite was a lady at the park when Buffy was just a baby - "I was thinking about a Chihuahua but now I think I should get one like this! Do you think she would fit in my purse?"
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I hope you told her to get a stuffed animal and not a real live dog - of any breed :no:
 
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