If you had to decide...

Wondering if that new friend you just brought home is a Dutch Shepherd? Post here.
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fetch
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If you had to decide...

Post by fetch »

...with only the available information on hand, what would you say? They are littermates. Images taken around 8-10 weeks. Parents unknown.

There's a couple other images but they're in a pop-up slide viewer that won't allow right clicks. None are good distance and/or full body/full side shots. I have not asked if they have any additional pictures available to share.

Since this is being posted to learn what others would say/their reasons for it, I'm omitting mentioning my current bias.


Thanks,
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cordeliandemon
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Re: If you had to decide...

Post by cordeliandemon »

are you asking which one people think is nicer looking, if theyre dutch shepherds or what exactly?
both very cute pups, how are the parents unknown and whats the source and context of the photos?
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Raven
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Re: If you had to decide...

Post by Raven »

What most members have said in the past on similar posts/photos: that at that age, who can tell for sure, especially when other more common breeds can throw brindle?

Parents could be unknown if the litter, or part of, was a dump.

This is often a sticky topic. If you judge by standards, there's allowances--and always exceptions that can be sited. And if a hundred people say lack of black mask indicates not a DS, someone will state otherwise.

There is an old post with a dog that didn't look anymore like a DS than a rabbit does an alligator. Ends up, a respected breeder knew the dog and its lines, and backed them up when others wondered how anyone could think it was a DS.

If you're trying to get a feel for why folks lean one way or the other, read the threads in this section. The older posts have more people chiming in, as opposed to those who (and the number of) chime in more recently.
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fetch
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Re: If you had to decide...

Post by fetch »

I am soliciting people's opinions if they think these three puppies are DS/DSX since this is the "Is my canine a Dutch Shepherd?" thread. (:

It's three littermates. They are in a western US rescue in that specializes in a breed outside the realm of the herding breeds, let alone shepherds. They were dumped as a bitch rejection this rescue picked up as neonates.

I understand its a crapshoot at this age. Especially with severely limited images. I also understand when you are judging one dog in a vacuum, there's always a chance of any one canine cumulatively inheriting enough of the "junk genes" even if they come from "royalty" to look nothing like their actual breed's standards phenotypically. That is, luckily, not commonplace.

Knowing all this, if you had to make a call, what would it be? I wanted to learn what others first impression is. You know...to avoid confirmation bias by seeing if there was any opinion that didn't match mine.

I will go ahead and bias this thread by stating my first impression is they are not. Their maxillae look too short & too broad relative to overall skull size and shape, the stops too steep +/- dishing, even, and I'm just not seeing even a ghost of a wedge an any of the three. They look to me like really cute (especially the last one) terrier crosses misidentified as DSX.

But I could be wrong. If anyone who still participates on here thinks otherwise, I would love to know it and what makes them think so. Publicly or privately, whatever s/he prefers.

Thanks again,
MultiPurposeK9
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Re: If you had to decide...

Post by MultiPurposeK9 »

I would say no based on the pictures and current age . I see a lot of dogs who people believe are DS because of pattern of coat and ear set. They don't understand structure. That doesn't rule out that there might be DS somewhere in the family tree but, I couldn't rule out that there may Lab, Terrier or Pit also.
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Re: If you had to decide...

Post by Dutchringgirl »

I would say no, just because they are brindle and super cute, does not a DS make.
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