Small Min Pin (terriers, chihuahua, miniature, pinscher)
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I have a Male Min Pin who seems to be very small. He's mother was small but his father was a bit husky. He's AKC registered and perfectly healthy He is up to date on shots and heartguard and has recently been wormed or is it dewormed? Anyhow he stands 11.5 inches tall. He's beautifully marked and represents his breed well in stance, he walks around like a little prince and fits all the specifications I can find on a min pin but he only weighs about 6 lbs. Every other min pin I see seems to shrimp him. You cant see his ribs or anything, he is just so small, and he doesn't seem to eat much. He picks up one piece of food at a time then runs through the house with it eats it and comes back and picks up one more. When he was a puppy it took me forever to find a food that he would even eat. (He likes Beneful) and I have to run hot water in it before he will eat it.
What is a normal weight for a min pin (he's 2 1/2)
What do some of the other min pin owners think?
What does your vet think about your MinPins weight? A person would have to see your dog to determine if it looked too thin. Each dog is different so I wouldn't go by what a text book says is "ideal" weight. My female MinPin is 12 1/2" tall and according to our vet her ideal weight is 16-17 lbs.
Also, did your AKC registry come from a recognized AKC breeder? Pet stores, puppy mills and backyard breeders have mixed the Miniature Pinscher breed with Chihuahua's in recent years for the fashionably smaller look.
Was your dog dewormed because of an infestation recently? Or do you get your dog dewormed on a scheduled basis?
MinPins in general have a very good appetite. In fact, it is easy for them to become obese. However, it is not uncommon for them to act as finicky as a cat. MinPins are a wonderfully headstrong breed.
If your dogs weight is a major concern, then I would speak to the vet about it. Also, you can try a higher protein food. Canidae is a great choice.
Here's a pic of my 9 year old MinPin. She weighs 17 lbs.
He is dewormed on a regular basis although last time I think he did have worms. He is putting on weight but he is still just tiny. The Breeder he came from keeps a profile on all puppies that she keeps in contact with and says he has a full grown sister that weighs only 4 lbs at 1 1/2 years old. The vet says he's fine and there is no major need for concern, however I was just curious as to other peoples min pins. Someone told me once that there are small medium and large breed min pins (This came from a breeder, Not my dogs breeder) And I thought that this was BS personally but maybe Im wrong. The reason behind the thinking is that he had a very large min pin and wanted our dog to stud her, I dont think she was pure bred and I think he was just blowing smoke.
Miniature Pinschers do not come in the designer small, medium and large packaging. That is backyard breeder double talk.
"Large" Miniature Pinschers are often not Miniature Pinschers at all, but are pure German Pinschers. A wonderful breed all on their own.
"Small" Miniature Pinschers are often born from a mix of a Miniature Pinscher and a Chihuahua or are Toy Manchester Terriers. Easy for people with little dog experience to get Toy Manchester Terriers confused with Miniature Pinschers.
4 lbs. for a Miniature Pinscher is unheard of, and is definately not within even the most relaxed breed standards.
4 lb. and 6 lb. dogs would probably be designated as a MinPin mixed breed, such as MinPin/Chi mix.
I'd venture to say the breeder you bought from has mixed the breed with Chihuahuas somewhere along the line. It happens, unfortunately.
Whether your dog has papers or not, it does not protect you from being duped by a breeder.
Also, do yourself a favor and look up Toy Manchester Terriers.
From what information you have told me, I don't believe your dogs bloodline to be pure MinPin.
Last edited by Carbondated; 04-17-2008 at 11:55 AM..
Reason: addition
Amy -- AKC does not have a weight standard...only height, I have seen minpins from top breeder [show ring] that have different sizes in the same litter. Yes the ones Not closest to the standard should not be bred BUT even if one the right size is bred to another the right size there can be different sizes in the litter. As long as your minpin is healthy other wise I would not worry about him. If you are planning on breeding him then check the AKC standards to see what his faults are...IF he has quite a few & fails any health checks [eyes, hips knees elbows OFA] then please dont bred him. Have your vet run a liver check MinPins have problems with the shunt in the liver...as they grow older the defect can kill. And It is a birth defect!!
AMY just another thought....you said your min does not like dog food. Try feeding him home cooked...there are lots of posts here that will tell you how. Also he is still young & could just be runnung off the weight, esp keeping up to a equ active child!! Dogs are like people they are all different even within their breed!!
I agree that every dog is different Katie1. However, it is highly unlikely a pure quality bloodline will produce an offspring that is dramatically different in sizes. Abnormally small dogs like the ones the OP is referring to, do not come from quality breeding. The chances of having two offspring in a litter (of perhaps 3-4) to be that small is highly unlikely.
Last edited by Carbondated; 04-18-2008 at 06:49 AM..
I have a friend who has a min pin that weights 8 lbs. I think he is about 3 yo. I know she has remarked he is smaller than most other min pins she has seen.
Just my 2 cents.
You could try 'satin balls' if you want him to gain weight. I guarantee they work wonders even for finicky eaters.
The vet said if we got him fixed he would thicken up a lot because all he thinks about is females right now and we live in a neighborhood with a lot of other animals on the street. So when he is outside (In a fenced in yard) He just goes and goes because he can smell females from miles away. And the children have always played with him a lot. When he comes in side he runs huge circles around the house, as fast as he can like 10 times. Then he'll go in his Kennel and lay down. I haven't really worked with him much as far as tricks and things but he is a very intelligent dog. He stays when he's told, He gets in his kennel when he's told, The only problem I've had is breaking him from marking his territory in the house and this is getting better as time progresses. The vet told me he would never quit completely unless he was fixed and he may still have the habit. All in all I am not real worried about him.
And what is "Home cooked" food? He's never eaten table scraps (well I cant say never our children were 2 and 4 when we got him and Im sure they have fed him their share of junk) Sometimes Ill offer him a bone out of steak or something and he'll sniff it and walk off, other times he'll take it and hide it. Very rarely do I see him chew on it, which I think is a little odd for a dog. Maybe not.
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