MY COMMENTS: Yes there is such a dog as the Miniature
Shepherd. It is NOT the Austrailian Shepherd but I personally believe that the (American) Aussie has the miniature shepherd
in it.
The miniature shepherd originated in the united
States. They were German Shepherds who were too short for the ring. These dogs were tossed out to the American public in the
early days of the American German Shepherds.
Every breeder knows that when you continuely
line breed and run out of new stock your stock gets smaller. They also know that Line breeding 'sets' genes and you get consistancy.
So if you only breed the best to the best eventually your stock gets smaller.
There was a New York top winning gsd by the name
of NESTLE QUICK or something like that. He was a LOOKER ! Well proportioned and put together, but... he was SHORT...
Where did he come from, who all did he
breed too, where did his siblings go? I am quiet sure he bred to hundreds of females as he was a top contender!
Miniature shepherds began to show up in dog sheltures
or what we all called the county or city pounds. My best friend who lived across the street from us on Encino Place
in Oxnard calif had one of these dogs.
The dogs name was 'snoopy' she was a dark brown
sable (or mottled) who stood about 16 inches tall and weighed about 35 lbs. The coat was rather thick and did shed some. She
was an indoor dog but she also loved her backyard and the three young boys were her best friends.
Snoopy liked to play ball also and loved kids.
She would not roam the neighborhood but stayed pretty much close to home. She was easy to train and was totally loyal to her
family.
Snoopy's tail was kind of bushy and her coat
was not as short nor as close to the body as the German Show dogs. Her ears did not go up all of the way either and she had
feathering around the base of them.
If snoopy was a mixed breed of dog i would say
that she was a cocker spaniel German Shepherd mix.
The vet that the Tighes went to called Snoopy
and miniature shepherd. That was back in 1964? or thereabouts...
