just a curious question

[khan-inka]

hiya,
i am in no way thinking off breeding and as most will be aware i have neutered and am spaying my female, i was just wondering what the perfect size of a rottie is.
My boy is very big, he is quite tall but not fat or anything? i would like to no if he is over big, my girl is a lot smaller and she looks like many of the rotties around the area. i am just interested as people all talk about being the perfect size and things.
Also what are some of the things that disqualify rotties in shows etc, im not thinking of showing them just really interests me, i have a couple of people that i have met in training classes etc who are so competative in the showing and things.

thank you xx

[JemarsSerena]

USRC Breed Standard
This link is to the USRC page on what the breed Standard is. You can also research this on the AKC page. As for me, I look for balance and proportion. Size varies from there.

[spoiledbabies3]

Size in rotties is genetics. A rottie is born based on the genetic makeup of his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. You can use the size of his parents as a guide, but each individual rottie is different..much like each child born of the same parents is different. You get what you get! You can help control size with diet, but features such as height and head size will be based on the genepool received at birth. Enjoy both of yours and monitor growth as a youngster. It is important for rotties that they not develop too fast...as this can contribute to later issues with HD, etc.

[Dugganmom]

Originally Posted by spoiledbabies3

Size in rotties is genetics. A rottie is born based on the genetic makeup of his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. You can use the size of his parents as a guide, but each individual rottie is different..much like each child born of the same parents is different. You get what you get! You can help control size with diet, but features such as height and head size will be based on the genepool received at birth. Enjoy both of yours and monitor growth as a youngster. It is important for rotties that they not develop too fast...as this can contribute to later issues with HD, etc.

Duggan is really tall, taller than any of the other dogs in any of the litters and due to the fact that he got so tall he has hip dyslasia.

[rencook]

Originally Posted by Dugganmom

Duggan is really tall, taller than any of the other dogs in any of the litters and due to the fact that he got so tall he has hip dyslasia.

Actually, hip dysplasia is an genetic, inherited disease-dogs cannot "get it" from being too tall, large, etc. That said, dogs that have hip dysplasia should not be overweight-they should be kept slender to avoid any unnecessary strain on their joints.

[giglz15]

Whever I go everyone says my what a small rottie you have...I am sitting there thinking ya he is tiny at 88lbs. He is just really short, although recently he seems to be getting some legs lol. His mother was short with a giant head we never saw the father, I can't wait to see what he looks like filled out right now I think he is in a stage my friend called the fuglys.

[Dugganmom]

Originally Posted by rencook

Actually, hip dysplasia is an genetic, inherited disease-dogs cannot "get it" from being too tall, large, etc. That said, dogs that have hip dysplasia should not be overweight-they should be kept slender to avoid any unnecessary strain on their joints.

I undrstand that it is genetic but none of the other dogs from any of the other litters have it...neither do the sire and dam....i just figured it was due to duggan getting so tall. But i dont understand why duggan has it and none of the other dogs do. I talk to the breeder 1 time a month...he calls to check on duggan all the time.

[WessonsMom]

Dugganmom- It is deffinatly hereditary, however it shows up at different ages for every dog. And not every dog in a litter will get it. It could be that because of Duggans size that he showed signs earlier than some of his relatives.

[spoiledbabies3]

Originally Posted by Dugganmom

Duggan is really tall, taller than any of the other dogs in any of the litters and due to the fact that he got so tall he has hip dyslasia.

As said by others, HD is hereditary. Samson has mild HD and as said on this forum it is very important to keep his weight under control. Gene makeup can also be traced to grandparents and great-grandparents. Perhaps it is possible that one or the other were built more like Duggan. Do you have access to determine this through your breeder? It might be interesting the facts that you discover. I generally use the analogy that my rotties are much like my children...different genes appear in each. I.e., my sister inherited the "Native American" skin coloring, hair and eyes from our great-grandparents, dark hair, deep dark eyes and olive skin. Her husband has the same coloring, however, her oldest daughter looks completely different. She is blue eyed and red haired (if you see pics of my grandmother she looks identical). So I was just wondering if that same analogy might be the answer for Duggan's genetics?

[Dugganmom]

I belive i can get his past 3 pedigrees from the akc...I always new it is hereditary i guess i was trying to put it the way you did that i belive the reason this is happening to him is because he got so tall. I mean that it is happening to him so young. We are working on weight right now hopefully to lose about 10 pounds. After i got in the car accident they did not really get the exercise they are used to getting. It was in december and now duggan injured him self so he can only do walking and swimming(which he hates) He has lost some weight but he and my lab needs to lose more...We just got them some food for weight management the vet told us to get since he is not out running around as much as before. He is getting exercise though. they eat NUTRISOURCE

[Bob Flynn]

Originally Posted by Dugganmom

I undrstand that it is genetic but none of the other dogs from any of the other litters have it...neither do the sire and dam....i just figured it was due to duggan getting so tall. But i dont understand why duggan has it and none of the other dogs do. I talk to the breeder 1 time a month...he calls to check on duggan all the time.

Just because the parents and their siblings do not have HD, has zero bearing as to whether your dog will or will not. Genetics can go as deep at 10 generations, so that is a large order. I have seen exceptional bloodlines throw a clunker now and again, and to say it can never happen is incorrect. Diet plays a tremendous amount into HD, which is why it is so important to get an exceptional diet going on your new pup(s). Every breeder will produce a HD dog...regardless of the breeder and the bloodline...it just becomes a matter of how many they are producing. So, is it just a fluke or is the breeder producing mass HD..... that can be hard to tell given most rott owners do not OFA their dogs.

Bob-

[Skip]

Originally Posted by Bob Flynn

Just because the parents and their siblings do not have HD, has zero bearing as to whether your dog will or will not. Genetics can go as deep at 10 generations,......
Bob-

Totally disagree that it has zero bearing.... maybe you were exagerating to prove a point, but the statement is wrong. If that were the case, there would be no need to do any research on any parents health clearances. Of course past generations have influence, but the parents will have a very strong genetic influence. Why else are most good breeders only breeding with good hips. It's still a gamble...and sure parents with clear hips and elbows will still produce displastic pups, but it's very clear that parent genetics have a huge bearing on the possible outcome.

[Dugganmom]

Originally Posted by Bob Flynn

Just because the parents and their siblings do not have HD, has zero bearing as to whether your dog will or will not. Genetics can go as deep at 10 generations, so that is a large order. I have seen exceptional bloodlines throw a clunker now and again, and to say it can never happen is incorrect. Diet plays a tremendous amount into HD, which is why it is so important to get an exceptional diet going on your new pup(s). Every breeder will produce a HD dog...regardless of the breeder and the bloodline...it just becomes a matter of how many they are producing. So, is it just a fluke or is the breeder producing mass HD..... that can be hard to tell given most rott owners do not OFA their dogs.

Bob-

Duggan does have HD. we found that out when he injured his acl. He has done good so far. we are working on his weight. He is not over weight but i personally think it would help him to lose about ten pounds. Duggan is 3 years old.

[rottcrazed]

Very obvious faults actually disqualify a dog from showing (ie overshot/undershot bite, missing teeth, long coat, entropian/ectropian, etc...), but dogs can be very faulty in other ways and still show. Light eyes, really wavy coats, cow hocked, bad movement, really, this list can go on an on and on. Since there is no one perfect dog, you have to know what you have before you go in the ring. My bitch has a lighter eye and is smaller than most. She finished her CH and is an awesome working dog.

The trick for me was making sure who I breed her to has what she needs. So far so good!

As for the health of the pups regarding hips, well, as Bob said, you can test and do it religiously, you will always find you will have a pup now and then who does come up with something down the road. No one can deny that.

Kristi

[khan-inka]

thank you very much, i find the shows and that really interesting and quite fun to watch although i do not think i could ever show.

How would you be able to tell if someone has HD?