Why are people so opposed to toy/mini Australian Shepherds when there are other toy versions of larger dogs?
such as the American Eskimo and Poodle?
I own a toy Australian Shepherd and he is definitely not a lap dog. He herds and has the same temperament and appearance as my standard Aussie. I've met some other toys that are very strange and definitely mixed with something so I understand where those opinions come from. I talked to my breeder for months before I made my decision though!
Do you guys not believe that there are any reputable breeders who produce a more compact Aussie?
Okay I wasn't going to answer as I don't really have an aswer until Laura threw her answer in.
All purebred dogs are not being bred by horrible and corrupt breeders, or guaranteed to have health problems, etc. There ARE some "breeders" more commonly referred to as BYB's (backyard breeders) and puppy mills that could care less about the dogs they are breeding or the puppies they produce. THESE dogs are being poorly bred. These dogs are prone to more health problems because the people forcing them to mate do not bother to do any testing on the parents to see if they carry certain health issues. Most reputable breeders will take the time to do this and will only breed top quality working or show dogs together. Tell me Laura, how taking one poorly bred dog and crossing it with another poorly bred purebred dog, you will always end up with a healthy dog? No, you will end up with a genetic slurry that could go any which way. It could have all of the health problems of both...or none. Same as any purebred. To think otherwise...is just plain not looking at the genetics of the situation.
Okay so answering the question. I guess I kind of answered it above. Most reputable breeders will only breed together two very good representatives of the breed. Therefore breeding two dogs that are below breed standard, is generally only done by people looking to gain a few dollars. I have never heard of mixing other breeds in, but I suppose some people might try that. All of the mini aussies I have ever seen have been the product of smaller and smaller generations of mating.
Now...I have also never heard of anyone getting upset about toy/miniature poodles. So maybe somewhere, somehow, one day the mini aussie will grow to be more accepted. Right now I think the problem most people have is that they are potentially very badly bred and are generally the 'runts' and therefore more prone to health problems.
Does this mean your dog is going to have terrible health problems or bad temperament, etc? Nope. It could, just like any other dog. I actually think mini aussies are cute, BUT I question some of the breeding practices that go into creating them.
ADD: The person I know who has mini aussies has them registered through the AKC. They are eligible because their parents, grandparents, etc are all purebred aussies. Could they be shown? Nope, they are WAAAAAY below breed standard for height and weight. I should note that the AKC registration says "Australian Shepherd" with no mention of miniature...because it doesn't exist as a breed derivative as in the mini poodle, toy poodle, and standard poodle.
Whew...that was longer than i intended.
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