Could a Chihuahua breed with a Great Dane?

DH were talking animals and genetics and he posed an interesting question. If a female chihuahua and male Great Dane mated (ok, yes I realise it would be tough, but say by in vitro or something), could it happen?

Are they too different? Would the chihuahua genetics know it couldn't carry a great dane cross (size wise) and reject the sperm?

Could you imagine the pups???

yes it could happen but would probably kill the Chihuahua female, if the breeding didnt kill her first. Their dna is essentially the same. It doesnt know the difference between sizes or anything else.

I don't even want that image in my head!

I don't think there would be anything genetically wrong with the puppies per se, but the female may not physically be able to withstand the mating, and certainly the pups would be too big for the tiny female to deliver normally.

Not a dog person myself, but just looking at the logistics of the situation I can envisage problems - pelvic size of the female vs. much larger puppies... I would imagine that great dane newborns must be nearly the size of a full grown chihuahua.

But in terms of genetics, a great dane and a chihuahua, however different in appearance, are the same species - and the scientific definition of a species is that it is able to breed with other members of the same species and produce fertile offspring. Compare to a horse and a donkey, or a lion and a tiger - or even very similar looking species such as a blue and gold macaw with a scarlet macaw - which while they can be bred together even though they are different species, only produce offspring which are infertile, because they are genetically different... whereas a great dane and a chihuahua are the same species and are genetically (if not physically for the reasons outlined above) compatible.

I really don't think it'd be possible. the female chi would probably die giving birth.

The opposite could occur (female GD) but I think if the mother was a chi, it would literly kill her.

And if the chi was the father, he'd need a step ladder

I saw a photo of a dog who was a Golden Retriver / Dachshund mix. It looked just like a Golden, but with little stubby legs like a Doxie. Very cute.

But the logistics of it made my head hurt.

There was a picture someone posted from a shelter on the east coast - was a cross of a lab and basset. The pups really were cute - had the head of a lab; body of a basset

But we don't promote delibrate breeding to see what happens.

It would have to be a male chiuahua with a female Dane I think for it to maybe work..thats weird though

I once had a dog that was the result of a male GSD climbing into the backyard of a neighbor and getting her female Toy Rat terrier pregnant.
She only had three pups, by emergency C-section and only one lived.

Reno was very, very tiny, but she looked like a white GSD with a lemon colored saddle spot.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

And if the chi was the father, he'd need a step ladder

Click to expand...

I continued to think about this thread late into the night, and this was the exact mental image that was lingering in my head as I was trying to go to sleep. I do wish that my brain had an off switch.

I was heard of a chihuahua getting a rottweiler pregnant. where there's a will, there's a way!

I've heard of a dashound (sp) getting a rottie preggers, so yeah, it's possible. (Didn't hear the outcome of the pups, though.) It would definitely be easier for the larger dog to be the female to carry and deliver the pups, though.

Possible yes... if planned very stupid ...

I saw the result of a papion and a Great pyrenees ... yes the papion was the mom.... One pup conceived and one pup survived, she was cute tooo

Originally Posted by Lorina

I saw a photo of a dog who was a Golden Retriver / Dachshund mix. It looked just like a Golden, but with little stubby legs like a Doxie. Very cute.

But the logistics of it made my head hurt.

Click to expand...

Mine was a black lab and doxie mix whose picture I have posted here before. Speaking of logistics, they would be quite different depending on who was who, in my case the lab was the dad.

Originally Posted by sharky

Possible yes... if planned very stupid ...

I saw the result of a papion and a Great pyrenees ... yes the papion was the mom.... One pup conceived and one pup survived, she was cute tooo

Click to expand...

Oh my goodness, I just can't even imagine that!!!

Usually when you get these outrageous mixes, the dad is usually the small guy. A 2 pound chi would not be able to withstand the mating, and if by some miracle it did, her uterus would rupture from the weight.

I know of a case where a cocker spaniel dad mated to a great dane (she actually squatted down for him) and the resulting pups actually looked like green eyed bloodhounds...weird

Originally Posted by valanhb

I've heard of a dashound (sp) getting a rottie preggers, so yeah, it's possible. (Didn't hear the outcome of the pups, though.) It would definitely be easier for the larger dog to be the female to carry and deliver the pups, though.

Click to expand...

There were pics of the puppy in all the UK papers. It was actually a bit freaky looking.

Apparently the owners thought it would eb ok not to spay the female as they didnt think the dashound could climb the stairs (the female was kept upstairs whilst she was on heat) let alone mount her!!

Its possible. Sad but possible.

People do it with horses alot funny enough, like mateing a large size pony with a Mini, or a Mini with an Arab what have you.

The one Mateing I saw was a Paint Pony and an Arab, and he had a little ramp he climbed up..

I have seen some mixes that make me wanna cry...for the dog though.

GSD/Basset and Lab/Basset are two i saw once at petsmart. Big deep chested dogs like that, and stubby legs shouldnt be crossed. At all.

At the rescue I volunteer for, we had a couple of lab/dachshund crosses. They were quite cute actually. I'm sure they originally came from a BYB .

It could definitely happen, but like so many other have said, the birth would kill a female chihuahua, let alone the gestation. That'd be like you giving birth to an entire litter of elephant babies. Okay, that's little exaggerated, but still, you get the idea. A male chihuahua and a female great dane, no problems.