What's the difference between the largest dog in the world and the smallest dog in the world? Aside from the obvious (284 lbs, give or take 27 oz), the answer is: not a lot.
Despite the fact that "Hercules" (284 lbs) is 200 times more dog than "Danka" (27 oz), the difference is merely a single genetic variant of the IGF1 gene, a variant which small dogs possess and large dogs lack.
Smallest dogIn 2004 the smallest dog in the world was Danka, a chihuahua measuring 7.4 inches:
In 2005 it was Brandy, another chihuahua:
In 2007 it was another chihuahua named Boo Boo – Boo Boo, the smallest dog in the world
In 2009 there are some new contenders for the crown:
- Tom Thumb – a chihuahua-Jack Russell cross
Tom Thumb
He is a third of the size of an average guinea pig, and weighs in at just a few ounces - but this tiny puppy could be a big deal when it comes to world records.
The miniscule chihuahua-Jack Russell cross - appropriately named Tom Thumb by its owners - is a serious contender for the title of being the smallest dog on the planet.
Little Tom was born just three weeks ago as part of a surprise litter to mum Spice, a chihuahua.
Unbelievable: The tiny puppy, called Tom Thumb, peers out of a coffee cup
Owners Susan and Archie Thomson were delighted when he and his brothers and sister were born at the family's West Dunbartonshire home.
His siblings are three times the size of the tiny dog, who can fit inside a teacup and cannot reach his mum to feed when she is standing up.
And he is unlikely to get much bigger - with some previous experience of rearing puppies through their early weeks, the couple are convinced that Tom is almost fully grown now.
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