There is a common misbelief about the German shepherd miniature puppy breed. The bloodlines of the German Shepherd are kept very clean by the established German Shepherd Breeders and regulating Societies. In very rare cases a German Shepherd couples with the miniature dog of a different breed but this is not the production of a new miniature and is not the persuasion of dog breeders.

There are always crosses between German shepherds and Border Collies but they do not qualify as miniatures because this is not an approved breed.

King Shepherd, Shiloh Shepherd and Shepadoodle which are products of German Shepherd and poodle are some of the hybrids of German Shepherd.

Many breeds of dogs are being miniaturized but technically the German Shepherd miniature puppy breed does not exist and is not recognized. The different dogs which have been transferred into miniature sizes include the stumpy tail cattle dog, border collies and Staffordshire Terriers. These are not approved as show dogs and all the true German Shepherd are large boned and heavy dogs. Therefore do not fall prey to breeders and Kennels which claim to have miniature German shepherds.

A type called the Dwarf German Shepherd sometimes confuses puppy buyers about the reality of shepherds. This type is not a miniature of the breed but is original German Shepherd suffering from an abnormality called pituitary dwarfism. This implies that this dog will not grow as normal shepherds would do and requires veterinarian care for it to live longer. A puppy suffering from the said dwarfism is easily recognized at birth.

Other possible ailments that a Dwarf German Shepherd may suffer from are thyroid, pannus, allergies and poor coat. Some of them may even get hairless through aging. Weight problem is another, wherein none of them can weigh more than 30 pounds. Luckily, the characteristics of a normal German Shepherd remains in dwarfed ones. All you got to do is nurture them in a happy environment and caring owners where they can still be a great companion.

Many breeders denominate the actual large German Shepherd puppies as miniature German shepherd. However, this is a fallacy because the dog is bound to grow up to 80 pounds in weight and that cannot be considered a miniature. A number of people have been fooled into buying the miniature German Shepherd only to realize that it is a huge problem that keeps growing until it reaches maturity.

This deception by breeders has caused many problems not only to owners but to rescue centers as well. Almost all of these dogs are "thrown" into dog pounds especially when their deceived owners can no longer keep them as they now grow more than the size they supposed them to grow.

The original breed was developed in Germany by a cavalry officer from the German army named Captain Max von Stephanitz. He has developed a golden middle that means a good temperamental dog of large size would qualify as an original and authentic German Shepherd.