The only way I can describe a Zincer or LAD in layman's terms is she is similar to a Downs Syndrome/Autistic child. They are full of character and fun and demand nothing more than love and attention. Lottie also has a Grade II heart murmur so we do need to be careful just how much pottering around she does.

Lottie is one of the more frail Zincers she only weighs 6½ kgs & stands about 10 inches tall, she is 8 months old and has gained her weight very slowly, everything she does is slow, she doesn't really take up much time to be honest (I expect this may change as she gets older but who knows) She already likes routine, she knows when its dinner time and if not fed will throw a tantrum, she stands and shouts at me stamping her little feet or throws herself around her bed again shouting, its quite funny to watch. She will also stamp her feet for attention and has a different shout for this, well more like a whimper. Her medication at the moment is not very expensive. I would say at the moment she is up for 1 hour (ish) out of 4 and sleeps for about 10 hours at night. We do of course have to keep her safe as she has no fear of anything so thank the lord for crates for when I cannot supervise her. She can be toilet trained to the garden or paper (we have a large seed tray for her paper). Zincies do have troubles keeping warm so Lottie wears a little t shirt everyday to help keep the heat in and has a jumper after her wash as she does feel the cold, she also has a coat for going out to vets or visiting. I do believe because she was started early on her medication it gave her a boost and has made it easier for me to keep her skin as good as it is now. I hope that with careful monitoring we can keep any inflammation under control. Lottie loves going out and adores being around squealing children and will chase them around the room with great joy, she also loves playing with our Mini Bully Phoebe and they share a bed and snuggle down together, Phoebe is very tolerant of Lottie's lack of manners and plays on Lottie's terms.

I am proud to know Lottie's breeder and because of shared information she was able to make the decision to allow Lottie to have a chance of a happy and content life. Not everyone is able to keep a Zincie or know someone well enough who can, and not every Zincie is able to enjoy a quality life, it is at least now being talked about and people are beginning to ask questions and be honest about their own breeding. Perhaps we will see a few more Zincies in the future and better still perhaps with honesty the gene will be weakened in time so that no one will have to make a decision.

I don't think there is any shame in having a Zincer and being honest as to whether you can allow him/her to continue. I do however think that people should find out a bit more about them and learn from others experiences. These little bullies are real little gems, they love to love and cuddling is a high priority on there list of things to be done daily. Another Zincie I know who is now about a year old loves to socialise and really enjoys going out to fun days where she really struts her stuff or visiting people and she finds it delightful fun to have visitors to her home. Yes, they do get grumpy when tired but who doesn't and yes they do have a hard bite and for some reason cannot grasp bite inhibition and they don't really bark but growl which is where I believe people get those two things confused with aggression. So long as they have the medication they need and are treated well they are happy, sweet little bullies and in my opinion deserve a chance to enjoy that happiness. They are a set up to heartbreak but what dog isn't.