I'm still puzzled by his size. OK - according to the vet he is about 10 1/2 weeks old now. This morning he weighs 13.6 pounds - 10 days ago he was 10.5. He looks just like a ten week old puppy picture I found online minus the white muzzle. He acts healthy, full of life, nips and bites everyone, plays and at times acts like a maniac! Yet everywhere I see people talk about Berners being around 24 pounds at his age. Apparently he is gaining a little over 2 pounds a week - he gets fed several times a day - some raw, some large breed puppy dry holistic and some holistic canned - mostly grain free. He looks stocky - just doesn't weigh a lot!

First, know that for a large breed dog like a Berner, the goal is 2-3 lbs per week for proper growth. So this is a good growth rate and should not be exceeded.

If this is not a large breed dog however, this could be too much gain and so this is the tricky question.

I CAN tell you that it is true, this puppy is grossly small if a Berner and likely has no bone or substance per the breed standard. Now I see so many backyard bred and puppymill dogs like this that it could be just that - and he is a Berner that is poorly bred.....
OR.....
He is not a Berner at all....always possible.

We have had two club members run to the shelter for example and adopt what was advertized as a Berner and they thought was a Berner puppy only to discover the dog is really an Aussie once grown.....

So this is why it may be hard to tell right now given this really young age.

I just went back and looked at the photo you have posted and that photo overhwhelmingly looks like an Aussie to me.....

The ear set in particular looks very Aussie as they are set high, traingular, and forward on the head....this is Aussie standard....not Berner.

Go to the Australian Shepherd Club of America website and look at their photo gallery of puppies...you can compare there and I think you will find many similarities.

Rachel

Aussie? Bernese?? At then end of the day you have a beautiful little pup that is going to be a wonderful companion. And it sounds like you are already in LOVE !

Right - it doesn't really matter - just for health conserns and my curiosity - I find genetics fascinating - even in people. He is what he is, which is fine! :-)

I agree - there is great value in understanding breed so you can raise, feed, train, and treat appropriately. Aussies have very different needs and very different health concerns and I would want to know as a result as well

To this end, Aussies are MUCH healthier too and live more than twice as long.....so a key difference.

I understand the difficulty in what you are seeing -this is really tough given that Aussies come in such a variety of markings with far more latitude than Berners. I also find that true agility and field trial people prefer little white on their Aussies and go for this (and this is bred for) while those in the show ring prefer a lot of white because it is flashier (and breed for this).

As tails are docked you don't typically see them but I can tell you that it is a feathered long tail naturally - like a golden retriever or Berner.

The tip on the tail is tricky though!

Rachel