Mi-Ki Dog - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
The Mi-Ki is still relatively young and new dog breed, originated in 1980s in Wisconsin. The founder of this breed is a former Shih Tzu breeder Mikki Mackin. She wanted to create a new small dog with long hair and calm temperament. She mixed several already existing small companion dog together to create the Mi-Ki. The breeds used in development of Mi-Ki include Shih-Tzu, Papillon, Maltese, Japanese Chin and Yorkshire Terrier.
2) Companions
The Mi-Ki is just an amazing companion dog. They have remarkable personality and they just love human companionship. This dog is known for its sweet, affectionate, charming and gentle temperament. This is also intelligent and eager to please dog which makes them good for obedience training. The Mi-Ki likes kids and typically have no problems with other dogs in the family, especially if they are socialized together from the puppyhood. They can even be socialized to happily live with other household pets, such as cats. Overall, this is just amazing companion dog.
3) Coat
There are two coat varieties of Mi-Ki – the long coated and smooth coated. The long coated type has a silky fur with long feathering on the legs, ears, tail and around the face, which is creating a beard and mustache. The smooth coat is straight and closely fitting to the body, but even the smooth variety tends to have heavily plumed tail, but they do not have the beard. You can find this breed in almost any color and color combination. Interesting fact is, that it is not uncommon for puppies to change color before reaching adulthood.
4) Appearance
Next to the loving personality, one of the reasons why this breed is gaining more and more popularity is definitely their very cute, gremlin like look. The first thing your will probably notice about this breeds face are their large and rounde, typically dark colored eyes. The eas can be either erect, dropped or folded. The Mi-Ki is known for having very expressive and mobile ears.
5) Size
This is a small sized and elegant dog breed with average height between 7-9 inch, which is 17-23 cm and weight should be between 4-8 pounds, which is approximatelly 2-4 kg. There are no extreme size differences between males and females.
6) Therapy dogs
The Mi-Ki is not a hunter, guard or herder, but they make excellent dogs for another utilization. Thanks to their affectionate and loving personality, very cute appearance and just for the fact that they like human companionship, they make excellent therapy dogs. It is proven that dogs have the ability to reduce stress and anxiety and helping people with depressions and other health issues by providing comfort, affection and support and Mi-Kis are great choice for this utilization.​

7) Shedding
Great fact about the Mi-Ki is, that it is a single coated dog and they are very low to no shedding dogs. These dogs might be a great choice for people with allergies, because there is a big chance that they will not trigger the allergies. But its important to mention, that there is no 100% hypoallergenic dog, because all of them produce some dander and saliva, but Mi-Ki because the Mi-Kis shedding is minimal so is the chance of triggering the allergies.

8) Exercise
The Mi-Ki is definitely not hyperactive breed and they do not require great amounts of exercise. Several shorter daily walks accompanied by some playtime or training sessions are enough. This is pretty playful breed, so daily playtime is recommended to keep this dog happy. Since they do not need long walks, hikes or jogs just like some other breeds, the Mi-Ki is also great companion for seniors.

9) Maintenance
I mentioned earlier, that the Mi-Ki is low to no shedding breed, but they still need their coat to be regularly brushed to become matted, especially the longer coated types. The smooth coated variety is easier to groom. You should pay attention to the heavy feathered places such as tail or ears. Great fact about this breed is, that it is a very clean dog. Just like with all dogs, you should regularly check the dogs ears, eyes, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.

10) Health
This is usually a very healthy breed with long lifespan. It is not uncommon for these dogs to live into their late teens. Since they have shorter muzzle, sometimes they can suffer from breathing problems. Ocassionally they can also suffer from dental issues, eye problems or ear infections.