Size?

[Annie's granny]

Annie is supposed to be a mini. I was reading in the last post about how to tell about different sizes. She was at the vet today and weighed in at 5.7 lbs. Two weeks ago she was 4.6 lbs. She is 10 1/2 weeks old. Should she still only be about 10 lbs. when grown? Or do we probably have a standard? Doesn't matter to us. We love her regardless. Just wondering. We're also wondering about something else. Do any of you have opinions on whether or not we should register Annie with AKC since we plan to have her spayed when she is 6 months old? We have her registration papers, just haven't sent them in yet. My husband and I were discussing this the other day and would like some input from others. Thanks.

Michell

[~Jen~]

The general rule of thumb for guessing adult weight is to take the weight at 12wks and double it. If you plan to get your dog spayed it is up to you weather you register her.. depends on if you would like to compete in any preformance events such as field trials, agility etc.

Jen http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

[Krista]

Well, all I can offer is my own experience.

For me, both of my boys seem to be double their weight at 16 weeks, which is the way my vet estimates adult weight.

Rudy was a little over 5 lbs he now weighs 10.75lbs or so at a little over 1 1/2 years old.

Roscoe was about 7 pounds and at nine months old he weighs about 13 pounds.

I would only register her if you think you'd like to participate in other AKC events like obedinence, earth dog, field trials...etc. Otherwise, I personally don't want to give my money to an organization that I feel is not doing enough to stop puppymills (and they make money off all the puppymill dogs that are registered). That's just my opinion. I ended up not registering Rudy, though I kept his registration papers, because you can do it later and pay a higher fee. I most likely will register Roscoe because I would like to try some trials with him -he's more active and motivated than Rudy.

Thats just my experience

[pkmiddler]

The AKC standard says 11 pounds for a mini but most breeder do not mind a little bigger female but in a male they want small 10 pounds or less if they can find it.But size means nothing if it is not going to be shown or bred.My standards run from 21 pounds as small on my girls to 34 pounds on my boys as big.I have had litters where some have been the 21 girls and some ladys at 24.6,the boys in that litter range from 26 to 34.If they have the qualities of a dachshund and can go to ground in a 9 inch hole its fine.As far as this UKC thing I think someone is getting over on puppy buyers and just SELLING to make money by saying that is a registered puppy no matter what it looks like or if there are problems in WHO the parents are the word PAPERS bring in buyers.People tell me when they call the DCA referral that they do not want a SHOW DOG but as a breeder I can tell you we sell most of our puppies to PET homes and 9 out of 10 of them could be shown.We LOVE our fuzzy kids and want the best for them.On a couch in a home can be a SHOW HOME too, mine is.

[Cindi]

Registering with AKC is like having the title on your car. It's a proof of ownership BUT if you are not going to show in any areas of the AKC world, it isn't mandatory. (IMHO, it is not AKC's fault puppy mills abound and they are doing what is in their power to help finish them off. They are not a policing organization. The new DNA testing is chasing many of them away to the disreputable registries which, hopefully, the pet buying public will figure out.)
As to the adult size of your puppy, it is a wait and see game. I had 2 puppies from a breeding where genetically these children should have weighed between 9 & 11 pounds at adulthood. At 7 months they were true mini's. The male finished his championship at 20 months of age and he weighed 15 pounds. Gorgeous but very big. The bitch was not much smaller. In the true sense of the word, your little 'baby' may be a standard by definition as an adult but she will truthfully be, and this is only possibly because she could stop growing at any point, an oversized mini IF she goes over 11 pounds. And the definition only means something if you are going to show her in conformation in the OPEN MINIATURE class....otherwise it doesn't matter http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif They aren't registered by size OR coat...so by all other definitions she is a lovely dachshund.