The Tallest Dog In the World and the Smallest Dog In The World!
Though the AKC lists the Irish Wolfhound as the tallest of the breeds, that is a generalization. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the tallest dog alive is a Harlequin (black and white spotted) Great Dane named Gibson.
Gibson is a whopping 170 lbs of Dane that stands over 7 feet tall when he is on his back legs! At his shoulder he measures 42.6 inches! The average Irish Wolfhound stands about 34 inches at the shoulder - this should give you some prospective on just how massive Gibson truly is! His height has made him quite the celebrity; Gibson has been seen on Oprah, Larry King Live and Good Morning America (just to name a few!).
Photo by BinBopSG
On the other side of the coin, or should we say, bone, we have Heaven Sent Brandy. She is stated to be the Worlds Smallest Living Dog (lengthwise) by Guiness. A short coated Chihuahua who only measures 6 inches from her nose to the end of her tail! That is one tiny pooch! While Chi’s are supposed to be small, they aren’t supposed to be *that* small!
So why are there such size extremes in the canine world? Researchers have discovered that the answer may lie in a single gene that they are calling a “master regulator”. All dogs have this as part of their DNA but large dogs have one version of the gene, and small dogs have another version. You can read more about it in this NPR article. Of course, the dogs pictured here aren’t typical - they’re the tallest and the smallest the canine world has to offer!
We recommend: clearance items at SitStay.comRelated Articles
June 18th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Wahaha.. Good pictures and contrast. It would be so cool to have both of them in one pic.
Dog Owner Guide
Learn To Proper Way To Train Your Dog
http://www.dogownerguide.com
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
[...] May a Holly Grey”, the Greyhound, is currently the Guinness World Record holder for the highest jump cleared by a dog - an incredible height of 68 inches! Cindy is a [...]
September 9th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
[...] (which are sadly, quite short). Number 2 on the list of destructive doggies? Chihuahuas! The tallest meets the smallest! Chihuahua owners said their pint-sized pups cost them an average of $1074 in damages over their [...]
October 15th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I think that small puppy is so cute…I love it…we have 4 of them and 1 big dog and they are a lot of fun.