My pup is 5lb at 14 weeks old but her mom is only 4 lb and her dad is only 2.5 lb. She’s not overweight at all. Is this rare?

[haii]

I was always told that dogs don’t usually get bigger than the larger parent and at 14 weeks she’s only about halfway done to the 6mo stop-growing mark.

The mom was a Chiweenie and the dad was a Yorkie.

Could they have lied about the weights or is this just straight up Dachsund grandparent genes poking through? Crazy.

This calculator suggests my pup will be about 18.5 lbs when fully grown, over 3.5x the weight of her bigger parent.

 

[y2pjwk]

@haii Hi OP the suggestion for pet insurance is a good one but not because mixed breeds are particularly prone to health issues just because you should always be able to take your dog to the vet and get treatment if they’re poorly and without pet insurance you’re likely to one day make a call that isn’t in the interest of your dog because the costs make it harder. Your dog unfortunately sounds like it has come from a slightly confused heritage which like others say does suggest the ‘breeder’ wasn’t breeding responsibly and so you may have any number of unexpected genetic issues from unknown breeds in the lineage, or inbreeding issues, or just irresponsible breeding of pups who were too young or too small or too poorly to breed and you owe it to the little one to be prepared for those issues as you’ve taken responsibility for it, and pet insurance will help you. I wouldn’t breed your pup because it isn’t as simple as birds and bees and happy families, you need to be sure you are keeping mum and babies safe and that involves a lot of research, veterinary care, medical tests, supplies and more, even if it was ethical to breed your dog. And while I completely understand you’re coming at this with good intentions, I don’t think it would be fair or right because you don’t know the true origins of your pup, and know from this thread that they’re likely to include a lot of unknowns and risks, which breeding would knowingly pass on. Love your little puppy now you have them, and give them the very best life and enjoy their fantastic companionship, but please don’t treat them like a collectible item to build a set of or doll to play with as they are capable of feeling fear and pain and don’t deserve to.

 

[haii]

@y2pjwk Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. And don’t worry: We love her a lot and do our best to train her and love her every day. The thought that anyone could think of dogs as collectibles is really strange to me.

 

[renwei]

@haii To breed from her ethically you would need to know the previous 5 generations, test her hips, elbows and anything common in the breeds she's made of. You would need to be clear why you're doing it. Your dog doesn't want to have puppies. She won't be incomplete if she doesn't. You risk losing her during the birth. The only reason to breed is to improve on the breed as in you think she is a good specimen of health and you have a stud who is a nice match (clear for genes she's a carrier for etc)

 

[faithtees]

@haii You’re getting some great advice here! I’d just like to add that if you want to be sure about your puppy’s breed(s), you can buy a DNA test from Embark that will give you a really accurate result, may give you some health insights, and may match you with your pet’s relatives as well (if they have taken an Embark test and are in their system). We bought one for our rescue pup and thought it was well worth the price. Wisdom Panel also makes a pretty good product although I’ve heard they’re a little less accurate, and I’m not sure whether they can match you with your pup’s relatives. Good luck!

 

[haii]

@faithtees Extremely great advice! I will probably do this!!