[lauren]

We just adopted this little girl from a shelter. She is 6 months old and about 10 lbs. She definitely has the min pin coloring, but her legs are so long and she's pretty lean. I just wanted everyone's "expert" opinion on whether you think she's an Italian Greyhound/min pin mix or just a min pin. Don't worry, we love her to death no matter what she is!
Thank you!
Lauren

[Yogi]

Being that the Miniature Pinscher breed stock is made up of IG and smooth coated Dachshund, this is a common mistake people make when seeing them when they are young. Though the breed standards note that the dog should not be shorter than 10 inches nor taller than 12.5 inches, the fact is that this dog was originally a breed larger than the standards so it is not uncommon to confuse long legs thinking it may be a mix. My 2 boys who will be 6 months on the 29th are both approx 12 inches tall and weigh approx 10lbs. They also have long legs but this is primarily due to the fact that physically outside of their height, they have not fully matured yet. Once the body fills out, the legs will not appear to be quite so long. I do not see anything but a Red Miniature Pinscher in this dog. For that matter, Amie who is the mother of my boys when she arrived at 15 weeks at the airport the cargo handlers thought she was an IG. They were stunned when I told them they were half right. She is a purebred AKC registered Blue & Tan Miniature Pinscher who is tall at just over 13 inches.

[lauren]

Yogi,
Thanks for all your input. I am now actually wondering if she could be a German Pinscher. Would her current size (of about 14 inches at shoulder) and weight (11-12 lbs) at 6 months more closely follow a GP's growth? Or most likely is she probably just a large min pin? Just wondering...
Thanks again!
Lauren

[Yogi]

No GP in this pup. I have included a pic of Zeke, my AKC GP. Their body and head structures are totally different than the Miniature Pinscher. I have included pics of Jerry Garcia and Carlos Santana. These are my boys from the last AKC litter born 3/29/2010. Both are nearly 13 inches and weight 12lbs. They are just over 6 months old. It needs to be pointed out that originally the Zwergpinscher was larger than the standard of today. Averaging approx 14 to 15 inches and weighing approx 13 to 15lbs. There is the occasional throwbacks to this especially when breeding for the true version which I do. Their mother is 13 1/4 inches and weighs 14lbs, their father is 11 3/4 and weighs 11lbs. Her litter a year and half ago also produced just 2 pups, both the male and female are 12 1/2 inches and weigh 11 1/2 and 12.0 respectively.
You can see Jerry and Carlos playing tug o war with Zeke and the size difference in the breeds. Zeke is also pictured with Charlie a former AKC show IG. Other shot shows the size of the pups in conjunction with their mother Amie the blue and tan Miniature Pinscher. Yours is basically the size of the boys and these are purebred.