Is Asterisk tall?
But not to digress... Asterisk played with Wendel and another sheepie named Wendy yesterday. This is the first time I have seen another sheepie since we adopted Asterisk last year, and boy was I surprised. Asterisk was so much taller than the others! She has these long model legs and more slender frame. The other sheepies were shorter with a more square frame. My breeder was shocked at Asterisk's height too and said that she had her father's height. I measured Asterisk's legs and from floor to her back she is 25 1/2 inches. Is this tall for a female? Erin |
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| A couple of us have females that are 27", but I don't know where the line is for what is considered tall ...just that our dogs are. |
| Yes, that is tall. Violet is 26" at the withers. |
| Was your dog spayed? If so at what age? |
| Asterisk was spayed at 6 months old, at our vet's advice. She must be 70lbs now. It's hard to tell what is under all the fur, but when we had her shaved a few months ago, she is really just a tall, lanky lady.
It was just wild yesterday, because from a distance you could tell which sheepie was Asterisk by the one whose head was above the rest. Asterisk will be a year old on May 29th, too. I think she's done growing? Erin |
| My guess is she is taller because she was spayed at 6 months. Spaying so young means the growth plates don't close, among other things, but it definitely explains her legginess. |
Willowsprite wrote: My guess is she is taller because she was spayed at 6 months. Spaying so young means the growth plates don't close, among other things, but it definitely explains her legginess.
We thought that with Murphy as he is 32" at the withers and he was neutered at 6 months. Finn, however is very leggy as well and he is only 11months and unaltered I still think neutering later is better but, about the growth I wonder  |
Willowsprite wrote: My guess is she is taller because she was spayed at 6 months. Spaying so young means the growth plates don't close, among other things, but it definitely explains her legginess.
Uh-huh. Out of my litter of eight, there were four bitches. Three are still intact and the size I would expect from that line. One pet puppy was spayed before her growth plates were closed, but after six months old, and she's a couple of inches taller than the rest. Mind you, I neutered one of the brothers at about 14 mos old and he's the same size as his litter mates. Apart from the early alters (another male pet was neutered at 6 mos old), the rest of the litter is very consistent in size. Height can just come from a specific line and the dog/bitch was genetically destined to be tall. But it's been interesting to see the difference in development in my litter depending on age of s/n. Kristine |
| Ditto Krisitne. I have seen the same thing in our lines.
Erin: Asterisk's could be a combination of both early spay & genes. How tall were the parents? Or even the grandparents? Sometimes I find more consistency looking back a generation or 2. |
| Asterisk's mother was a petite sheepie. I would have to estimate that she was 22 inches at the withers. She was not very square of frame and a bit thin of build. She would typically be 60lbs with her full coat and she was a healthy weight. It's hard to say from memory. Dolly had to be retired. She was a very alpha female and the other females of the group decided that they had enough of her. My breeder was forced to rehome her.
Asterisk's father is a big sheepie though. He's about 95lbs, and is just overall big of build. He is square and tall. My guess is he's 27 inches at the withers. Though he was at the groomers when we went this weekend. She definitely has her mother's face and markings (Also some quirky habits of splashing her front paws into water buckets when she's warm or playing). She does, however, appear to have her father's propensity for tallness and his sweet disposition. |
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