Miniature Pinschers

[Davie]

I currently own a Min Pin and love him to death--and yes he sleeps under the covers with me also. I was an all-breed handler for years so was exposed to every breed there was back in the days and raised and showed GSD and Corgies as our breed and showed for client anything but toys, terriers and hounds.

As everyone has said dogs like people are individuals and as such have different personalities according to their breed type and life exposure.

I got Little Man at the AMHR Nationals in 2006 as a 8 wk old puppy and he was gone back to Nationals every year since. He loves to be around people and spends most of his time either in my lap or next to me in my chair and stays in his crate while I'm at work--otherwise my house turns white with toilet paper scraps. I must say the little stinker can't be trusted off a leash and will run away so I watch him closely. He will bark his head off if left in a crate and he can see/hear you close by, but if you tie him to the corner of a stall so he can see what is going on and put his bed down, he will curl up in it and sleep the day away while you are gone. We usually have a tear-down stall at Nationals and if you stop by you will see Little Man either in his bed or on the Golf Car.

Little Man is not the best traveler but once you are one the road he settles down and sleeps. He loves his kitty kitties and his best playmate is "Monkey" the newest kitten to the house. They will play for hours. I also recently "Sat" for a friend's dog over the holidays and was not sure how Little Man would act as the only other dog I have is a Great Pyr but they had a great time.

Little Man was somewhat difficult to house break and even now that he is 2 1/2 I alway leave a potty pad down near the door just in case. He has also been somewhat "high maintenance" as he had LCP which means he lost the blood suppy to his hip joint and had to have the ball removed but that has not slowed him down for one minute.

I did find out when I went to convention this year that he definitely has separation issues when I boarded him at the vets. He would not stop barking and scratching at the cage so they finally had to sedate him. I can leave him at home in his crate (big crate for Great Danes) which is butted up against a doggy door that leads to an enclosed exercise pen in the garage that has potty pads down so he can come and go while I'm at a 2 day horse show, but longer than that he either goes with me or he goes to the dredded vets--not sure who hates to see him coming more--him or the techs.

Now you talk about a dog that will make you sit back and think -- my son's Great Pyr. I've know her from a puppy and she has lived with me for over a year since the family had to move to an apartment. She lives in the front yard, has a wonderful igloo dog house, has a sprinkler system for the summer heat, I play ball with her every day and let me tell you--I watch her like a hawk when people are around--no one will dare get close to her fence. I also would not want to meet up with my vet's Chi Chi--that is one little monster, especially if he is in the truck.

Every dog and every person is different -- so do your homework -- go the the AKC website and find out about the breeds you may be interested in and then either contact a AKC recognized breeder, breed rescue organization or shelter and find your next best friend.

For me it will probably be another Min Pin or Corgie

 

[lilstars]

as a animal control officer, a dog groomer, and a dog show handler i have come across some nasty little min pins that said any breed of dog is only as good as its owner. a friend of mine has 2 min pins both females i think they are around 2 yrs old or so, they are absolutely wonderful little dogs they go everywhere with her, horse shows dog shows grocery stores and even restaraunts. would i own one nope no way.. but not my type of dog. i have a pitbull at home she is awesome great with everyone and everything and i also have a toy poodle (maybe 3 lbs ) she is a good dog one on one but food aggressive, attacks my pit whenver she gets off the couch or comes to me for a pat, and took me over a year and a half to house break her. but my pit loves her so i guess she stays. all i can tell ya is take your time when looking at pups and try to find one that suits your personality, and always keep them well socialized...

(my poodle was a rescue out of a pet shop, she was very ill at 12 weeks laying on a metal grill floor, i offered 150 for her and told them to void the warranty and they took it) seems to me she is a bit ungreatful but we love her anyway!!!

 

[LindaL]

I have a male (fixed) MinPin and he was NOT hard to housetrain...The only time he has had an accident is when I am gone for longer than my "anticipated" time away (like if I stop on my home from work and go shopping for example), but has not even had any accidents for a very long time (he is 10). I think females are harder in general to housetrain than males...my experience anyway.

 

[Mercysmom]

My sister has four of them and is an approved foster home site in CT. I have found them to be loving, opinionated, tenacious, cocky yet loveable... they love to snuggle...one of the four is an abandoned rescue who is not typey of the breed - he is oversized and the most affectionate dog I have ever met - he was bought for $1200 and was abandoned in a CT city but my sister found he had a microchip and was granted ownership as the original owners moved and abandoned him. He is a grateful dog and was so happy to spend time with me when I visit... he loves my ample lap!

Her other neutered male is a highbrow, registered snob but still loveable but he will snuggle up for what he can get out of you. Then she has two sisters with uncropped ears-I love both of them a lot. One is standoffish and the other is a snuggly girl. They are active, talk a lot and seem to be high energy to me but I am used to a GSP and a young Lab and they are high energy cubed.

If I could have one, I would but my GSP would definitely think a MinPin was a chew toy, even if the MinPin had her by the throat!

Denise

 

[Spencer Creek]

We have a 1 year old MinPin named Stewie that is my pride and joy. Stewie was the runt so he weighs only 3 pounds, don't let that fool you, he can run with the "big" dogs. He is an affectionate, loyal companion...but he is only that way with us. If we have company he does his alerting and then heads up to his room until they leave. He is a big mouth but knows when to quit. And he is always the instigator for cat chasing and wildlife hunting. We have 4 other dogs that wait for him to sound and lead the troops. This summer he was alseep out in the yard and a hawk air lifted him. He was missing for 2 days and somehow made it up to our porch and collapsed. He was in a body cast for 2 weeks and wached TV in his little hospital bed while drinking milk and eating cookies. We finally busted him running around the house chasing the cat and realized he was fine but pretending.... They are not for everyone but he works well for us.