Why does my berner/aussie have BASSETT legs??

[Ali]

My first encounter with this board was when I was looking for advice regarding my "funny looking puppy", which was the actual title of my post. He was 8 weeks old then, and I was concerned that although he was from an oops litter from a breeds whose aussie female got with a berner male, he had very very short legs. Well, here we are 6 weeks later, and no matter how many times I tell my story about his parentage, I hear "oh how funny! He looks part bassett!!". Why does this matter? Nothing more than vanity, I admit it. Please take no offense, anyone, but I am just not partial to small dogs or short dogs. I am a big dog girl and I picked Koji due to his mix. I love him to bits and he's my guy no matter what, but I'm wondering where his legs are? Is this funny, uneven growth normal? His tail is a mile long, his feet are huge and he has a ton of loose skin to grow into. I have verified that the breeder he came from only has aussies and berners - no bassetts. Any thoughts on my funny little man?

[Britz]

He is adorable maybe  he has a little bit of dwarfisim??

[Ali]

As far as I know, the other littermates don't have those stumpy legs. But, the lady I got him from said that she adopted out a mastiff mix pup with the same kind of legs, and the owners and the vet were all freaking out saying "this is no Mastiff", then sure enough, a year later they were all looking at an 85 pound mastiff with nice legs. Go figure.

[Ali]

LOL 

[VdogLover]

Well hes either a Dwarf or theres another "puppies daddy" out there

[Ali]

Ok, my next email will be to the Jerry Springer show. I think he's got one coming up called "I Don't Know Who My Midget Puppy Daddy Is". Look for me on your TV! Gosh, I wonder who can play me in the made for TV movie?

Seriously, though. Where are the dog's legs?? Poor little boy is going to have a complex.

[VdogLover]

LOL I will watch for you on TV
Wonder if a vet would be able to tell you if he is a dwarf of 2 larger breeds or not what you thought he was?

[Ali]

My vet is a thousand year old southern grampa - I'm not sure he remembers his own name half the time. He thinks Koji is a lab mix. I've told him a zillion times that I know the parentage, but he keeps saying, "he's a lab mix, right?" Sure, pops, whatever you say.

 Is there really such a thing as dwarfism in dogs?

[Ali]

Yeah, I wondered if the aussie momma got out and did some midnight roving somehow. (It's not like a bassett could jump a fence, right?) The litter mates, except for Koji and the runt, all looked like berners, though, with the berner markings.

[VdogLover]

My vet is a thousand year old southern grampa - I'm not sure he remembers his own name half the time. He thinks Koji is a lab mix. I've told him a zillion times that I know the parentage, but he keeps saying, "he's a lab mix, right?" Sure, pops, whatever you say.

 Is there really such a thing as dwarfism in dogs?

LOL maybe he will forget to charge you one day.
Yes, there is Dwarfism found in many breeds and Aussies are one of them. I will try to find some pics and post them.

[Moni]

I'm opting for the "milkman daddy syndrome"...

Seriously though, Aussies and Berners are both longhaired, and as adorable as Koji is, he doesn't look very fluffy.  So, I'm guessing a sneaky basset. 

[VdogLover]

Here is a 3 part article with some pics of different breeds with dwarfism.
http://www.dogstuff.info/dwarfism_lanting.html


Some very cute dwarf GP http://sonic.net/~cdlcruz/dwarfs/index.html

[VdogLover]

I'm opting for the "milkman daddy syndrome"...

Seriously though, Aussies and Berners are both longhaired, and as adorable as Koji is, he doesn't look very fluffy.  So, I'm guessing a sneaky basset. 

I have to agree with this!!

[Ali]

Very interesting links - thank you! Although, they all look a bit funny...

[lorim2]

Not really sure what he is, but he is adorable!  What a cutie!!