miniature german shepherd? - Page 2

i have a female who is only 46lbs about 22 inches petite and compact and she is out of a Baru v h Yu son, IMAGINE THAT!!! lol she is slightly thin.. but i didnt notice her being thin because she has a top notch coat on her and is blowing coat for summer and thats when i noticed and weighed her :)

oh and she is only 15 months old

I dunno, Alphapup, most of the police K9s I see are if anything on the big side- my ex-K9 weighs in about 95 lbs or so. And the Czech police lines tend to be pretty large as well. Which is understandable, just from an intimidation perspective- there is a big psychological difference between being accosted by a 55 lb dog and a 100 lb dog. Sure, the big dog might not be as fast, but he's still probably faster than a human, and that is what matters.

MJ -- yes many police dogs are Large !!-- having worked in law Enforcement -- amny of the K9 officers have had Malinois for work -- but -yes you have more than a extremely valid point and valuable point you offer --aside from the breed differentiation , and i also have 1 belgium amlinios from belgium imports in addition to my 12 GSDs -- the officers are now swtching back to GSDs -- not becuse the mailinois do not work as well , actually they are like pistols , but more so the criminals or ofnders incarcerated do not look upon the malinois as serious as it does the GSD -- the GSD in their minds are extremely intimidating , and even more so if bigger -- this is very very much so / rue and i am not stating this as just forum opinion -- believe me it is fact -- although we in the GSD/canine world know it is not always the size or breed of dog , differnet attributes and size have their place -- a bite is a bite and an apprehension is an apprehension -- i wouldn't want to be bit by a goosd Rottie either !!

Okay, for today should I carry the Ruger 22 or the S&W 45? Both are effective tools for the same purpose, but each delivers in a slightly dfferent way. Speed and accuracy versus true knock-down power. One might also add that for police K9's that size can be a factor as far as knock-down power is concerned. For example, the Belgian Malinois is extremely light, fast, and athletic and is a joy to watch during the attack and takedown. This is because of its smaller size when compared to the GSD. But, if knock-down power is desired, then the larger GSD is the preferred dog. I can certainly see where this size of dog would have an advantage in certain situations. But, it is nice that triodegirl has a female that is very well within the size standard with allowance on each side. I think that many can agree that we still see some size control applied to the males, but the females appear to be larger now than in the past. Maybe it is just my perception since all of my females are over medium size. Most police GSD's that have observed are easily at the maximum of the size standard. But as Alphapup says, I do see where some issues can be caused by the larger size. Bob-O

we all know on this site -- [ i have trained many a canine -- so you are welcome to take my wored for it /or rebutle ] the GDSD IS THE MOST ALL_ROUND canine there is on this earth !! bigger or smaller -- my malinois is faster .. and i am not at exagerating --if you have one you can attest - faster than blinking your eye - and i love mine -- but my smaller shepherd is preety close to her speed --But the Shepherd has going for it also ... not to say intelligence --mals are highly , highly intellegent , but they are to me more hinkers .. they deductive rerason better ..not so reactive as other breeds and they are much much more forgiving in training than other breeds .. especially the Mals .. the mals are more temperamntal and they do not bounce back from training errors as a whole the way shepherds do -- .. for example if you teach something incorrectly the shep can much better adapt to you but teach somehting incorrectly to a mal and they tend to be affected and imprinted more so on it --- not 100% each dog is an individual but there is that tendewncy --- SO the GSD bigger /smaller -- the BEST !!

I totally agree with Molly and the weights she indicated... this is supposed to be an athletic working dog.. except for sumo wrestlers, very few human athletes are in the higher ranges weight wise... I also have a female who is 58lbs (her mom 55lbs), 3 1/2 years old.. I consider her to be a perfect size.. she is agile, fast like lightning and totally in comtrol of her own body, she also, BTW, took down a 225 lb helper.. so we must never underestimate the power in a small package!!

Thanks for all the comments. This female is turning out to be the opposite of how the seller described her, but that's not such a bad thing. He said she was laid back and never barked. She's a little spitfire and might turn out to be a better watchdog than the 100 lb male. Do shepherds suddenly change their personalities overnight in new surroundings? Or maybe the previous owner didn't spend much time with her? She also eats like a horse so maybe she'll still grow a little.

triodegirl, I noticed elsewhere that you said you're probably going to place this dog elsewhere...one group in particular that actually *prefers* GSDs that are on the smaller end of the standard height ranges is the Coast Guard--when you have to carry a dog up a ship's ladder and over the rail to do a drug search, a smaller, lighter-weight GSD is a big plus. They do consider donated dogs...might check with them, *if* her ball and hunt drives are strong.

ALPHAPUP,so right.......... The GDSD IS THE MOST ALL_ROUND canine there is on this earth !! Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!