@concretegurl
Both. I used to breed and show dogs once upon a time, and I find genetics fascinating, and I study genetics for the fun of it.
It's interesting that you say that about the schnauzer, I had the thought in mind that not too long ago, minis and toys were being born in the same litter (like with cockers and springers), but never bothered to check.
The thought I had was that one can be phenotypically a toy, but genotypically a mini.
And even within the purebred Yorkie, you have "teapots" being born from standard parents.
That tells me that even within the purebreds, the genome for size is still unstable, or heterozygous, with many options possible. That could cause the size disparity in your dog from his parents.
(My daughter is reading over my shoulder and suggests a possible mutation, but I've told her that isn't likely, and explained the background of the discussion. She's disappointed, she liked the idea of a mutant schnorkie, lol).
This is the kind of thing that makes genetics so fascinating for me. Is your dogs' size because of gene imprinting? Is it because of a heterozygous size genome? Could the schnauzer side actually carry mini genes, even though they looked toy? Is it a mutation? Ohhhh I wish I knew!!!! Where is a Star Trek genetics lab when you need one?
@dustinleephil
Believe me, I understand wanting a puppy so bad, common sense goes out the window. Sometimes you have to curb that hunger though, and lead with logic and not your heart. I know I sound like a hypocrite, because I didn't do what I am advising... But isn't peace of mind with it?
Every little thing that she does that isn't normal, I start worrying. If she had come from health tested stock, I wouldn't worry as much, and I would have her breeder to go to, and ask, is this normal, is this OK, what does this mean?
As it is, I'm pretty much alone when it comes to questions I may have, save for this site, and the reputable breeders in my area, who I limit my calls to once a week, because otherwise I would drive them crazy, lol.
If I could change how I went about getting Pixie, (letting my boyfriend who is not a dog person buy her for me), I really would, just for the peace of mind. It doesn't matter that I can afford most medical issues she may have without insurance... It matters that IF she does have any problems, it's likely because she wasn't bred properly.
So she may suffer in the future, because someone didn't take proper care bringing her into this world. Her life is only equated with money in someone's eyes, and they didn't care about her future, only what they could make off her.