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Cross-breed dogs which is smaller

  • 10-10-2011 11:43am
    #1
    Gophur
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,921 ✭✭✭


    Which is smaller,

    the pup from a Spaniel Mother and Collie father

    or the pup from a Collie mother and Spaniel father?


Comments

  • #2
    OakeyDokey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,605 ✭✭✭OakeyDokey


    If the Mother is small then the pups usually come out small but they might grow bigger than her, it's not really black and white.


  • #3
    shinikins
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,842 ✭✭✭shinikins


    There are zero guarentee with crossbreeding. Its a fallacy to say that the pups will usually be small if the mother is, total myth. It can happen, but usually it ends up that a vet will have to intervene as the pups are way too large to be delivered naturally.

    OP if you are talking about a King Charles spaniel and Collie mix then either way, there is a strong possibility that the pups will be way too big for safe delivery. If, on the other hand your talking about a Cocker, or Springer then there's a decent chance that the resulting pups will be of average medium dog size.


  • #4
    lorebringer
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,712 ✭✭✭lorebringer


    It won't make a difference - pup size is not determined by the size of the mother but litter size is (it has to do with how many eggs are released, if there are initially too many they will be reabsorbed). If the father is a really big dog and the mother is very small (think St. Bernard male mating with a Yorkie female) the mother can be in serious danger when it comes to birth and rearing the puppies because they may be too big for her. From a safety point of view, if there is a big difference in size, having the mother be the bigger dog is better (less risk for her and pups) but this does not say the pups will be bigger.

    Each egg and sperm are individual, which is why you can get pups of different sizes in a mixed litter. Sometimes, not always, the mother can mate with more than one male and end up with puppies with different fathers (due sperm survival in the womb and staggered ovulation).

    So, to answer the question - if you are mixing two dogs that are different sizes there is no way of knowing what size the pups will grow up to be and doing a different mix will not guarantee the size of the pups..


  • #5
    Gophur
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,921 ✭✭✭Gophur


    Thanks all.
    I'm not breeding pups but looking at the (ever increasing) number of pups being offered on DD. We have two dogs but I'd consider another one, only if it's small.

    There is one on DD today, cross between JRT and Sheepdog. No pictures, unfortunately, it t would be interesting to see what it looks like.


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