Watch the World’s Tallest Dog Meet the World’s Smallest

What happens when a canine that’s not much taller than a credit card and a dog about the size of a small pony meet? Apparently, they become buddies.  

Pearl F. Semler, a 4-year-old Chihuahua from Florida, is only 3.59 inches tall, making her the world’s shortest dog. Reginald “Reggie” Johnson Reiss is a 7-year-old great Dane from Idaho who towers over Pearl at 3 feet and 3 inches tall. That’s a nearly 3-foot height difference between the pets. 

According to The Guardian, Guinness World Records arranged a playdate for the two dogs to get acquainted. Although the canines differ drastically in size, their personalities are similar. Sam Johnson Reiss, Reggie’s owner, and Vanesa Semler, Pearl’s owner, describe their dogs as opinionated and unafraid to express what they want. Both owners shared that Reggie and Pearl didn’t know how to interact at first because of their size difference. However, they quickly warmed up to each other thanks to their friendly demeanors. You can watch them play in the YouTube video above.

Reggie isn’t the first to earn the title of the world’s tallest dog. Many greats came before him, including several great Danes. That’s unsurprising considering the average height for males of this breed is around 30 to 32 inches, per the American Kennel Club. Zeus, another great Dane, still holds the title of tallest dog of all time. He measured 44 inches when he received the recognition in October 2011, about 3 years before he passed in September 2014. 

Pearl is related to the previous record-breaker for world’s shortest dog: a 3.8-inch-tall Chihuahua named Milly, who held the title from February 2013 until her death in 2020. Although Chihuahuas are known for their tiny stature, earlier versions of the breed were probably much larger. They likely started shrinking after being crossed with a smaller, hairless breed from Asia.  

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