Miniature Pinscher Breed Magazine - Showsight

“IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE MIN PIN IS AN OLDER BREED THAN THE DOBERMAN AND NOT DIRECTLY RELATED.”

di ff erent environments, noises and people as early as possible. I start table training informally and sporadically at 8-10 weeks, focused on making them feel comfortable, enticing them with food or toy. Lead train- ing usually around 12-14 weeks, making it fun, with help of treats, toys and experi- enced buddy along. 9. Do you think your current standard is adequate? If not, what changes would improve it? Current breed standard is adequate and no changes necessary. 10. What is the greatest health concern to breeders today? In general, the Min Pin is a healthy breed, but patellar luxation and Legg- Calvé-Perthes would be health issues to watch out for, as in most toy breeds. 11. Is dental care important? Aside from Veterinarian dental clean- ing, the dreaded dental care is a neces- sity, otherwise tartar and plaque will build up very quickly in Min Pins.

1. When and where did you fi rst become interested in your breed? In 1985, via Dr. Boshell’s book Your Miniature Pinscher , while researching purebreds for a family pet. 2. What attracted you to the breed? Th e fact that the Min Pin resembled the look of a Doberman in miniature, a breed I admired. It’s important to note that the Min Pin is an older breed than the Doberman and not directly related. 3. Do you inbreed, linebreed or outcross? Why? I have not done any inbreeding, but will never say never. My original focus was line- breeding. Once I had the desired consis- tency of type, I shifted focus to phenotype (type to type breeding of well bred dogs), whether on the surface it was linebreeding or outcross. In the decision making process, first I must like the dog and/or what he’s producing and secondly, I look at pedigree. Invariably, the breeding decision turns out to be a close or distant linebreeding, but have had very successful outcrosses too.

4. How do you house your dogs? We have a dog room in the house, each one has his/her own bed, with easy access to a secure dog yard where they run and play together. Th ey also take turns spend- ing time on the couch or running around safe rooms in the house. 5. Do you feed supplements? No supplements. We feed Purina® Pro- Plan® Performance/Sport. 6. Where to you whelp your bitches? Whelping takes place in my o ffi ce room (man cave). 7. How and when do you determine a show quality puppy? Evaluation is ongoing from the time they’re 8 weeks old, however, I wait until the show prospects are at least 5 months old to ascertain show quality. 8. At what age do you begin training? Please share training tips. Training varies, but most important is to build the foundation of exposure to

“LEAD TRAINING USUALLY AROUND 12-14 WEEKS, MAKING IT FUN, WITH HELP OF TREATS, TOYS AND EXPERIENCED BUDDY ALONG.”

240 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , A PRIL 2015

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