Is this a mini DS in Chattanooga, TN?

[racingiron1]

Hi Everyone!
After 16 years (15 great ones, last one pretty rough) with our previous pup, we had to let her go last year.
With the new year, we knew it was time to rescue another. After scouring the local shelters, we found her. Who could resist those eyes?!

Waiting to finish paperwork at the shelter...

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We had no idea what breed(s) she was, but the black muzzle and other features suggested a bit of GSD. We gave her the name Brünnhilde, though we call her Hilde (pronounced HILL-dee, though my German friends would say HILL-deh). We reserve the full name for when she's being bad.

Probably thinking of doing some mishchief...

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She's been great so far, lots of energy and very affectionate. Searching for brindle dogs, we stumbled across some pics on the 'net that look almost exactly like Hilde. Turns out they're all Dutch Shepherd shots. So, here I am to get your opinions...
She's a small girl. About 13 months old now, she's 19 or 20 inches tall and weight is around 28 lbs. She's a SUPER fast learner and very agile. Loves to run at the dog park with friends, and especially likes being the one who is chased. She'll taunt other dogs with sticks or frisbees she thinks they might want to try to take from her.

Being chased by friends.

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She's got a scissor bite that will absolutely destroy even the toughest toys almost instantly, and she takes great pleasure doing so.

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She definitely needs to keep her mind occupied, and if left alone will often cause great damage. We've begun a training regimen and she really seems to enjoy new tasks. I'm starting to wish I had a big yard filled with sheep, just to watch her tend them...
Apart from her size and brindle coat, she's got a white spot on the chest and a bit on all the toes (and 2 or 3 white claws!), but not so much that would seem unusual on a DS.

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I just realized that I don't have any good standing pictures of her yet, so I'll try to get some. In the meantime, here are some other shots:

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So, I would be really surprised if she doesn't have at least a good helping of DS in her. Luckily, the name Hilde is somewhat common in Holland as well as Germany.
Anybody see anything else? Something that might account for her size? Of course, it doesn't really matter to us WHAT breeds are in there, it's just helpful to know any tendencies she might have.

It seems we are attracted to somewhat obscure breeds (or are they attracted to us?). The last one (Hannah) was a stray we picked up simply because she needed a home. We had no idea about her breed either. Vet said Chow mix, even though the tongue was completely pink and she was about Hilde's size. Most others said she looked like a fox! I stumbled across a book in a used bookstore because the dog on the cover looked familiar. The appearance and behaviors were spot on, right down to the rapid high-pitched barking at prey chased into a tree. She was definitely a Finnish Spitz!

Still miss that little cutie!

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[racingiron1]

OK, it seems I got her weight wrong. She's actually about 34 lbs. I also grabbed some standing profile pictures yesterday:

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One of the questions I have about her is that her joints make lots of faint popping sounds when she rises from a long rest. She doesn't seem to be in any discomfort, but it's always tough to tell with dogs. Is this just a normal part of growth at her age or something to have checked out? She does do a little bit of jumping and hopping during play time, but nothing extreme (yet).

[TexasMedy]

What a great story and lucky Hilde to have found you! She is very cute. I would have to guess she has a good dose of dutch shepherd in her from the look and traits you describe. Probably something else as well hence her size. The ears seem a bit rounded, coat a little long and a bit short legged, all probably from the other contributor? But like you say it does not matter. Welcome to the forum.

[Vhyran]

Oh wow, what a beautiful dog! Welcome

[racingiron1]

Thanks! Seems like a nice community here. I've already found some tips on joint supplements in the feeding section that we'll try. We've already been using a very high quality food and adding fish oil. I really wish I knew her parentage to see what could account for her size without really diluting much of the DS appearance... Maybe Border Collie? I'm also wondering if early nutrition might partially account for her size. She was stray for a while until a family picked her up, but they promptly sent her off to the shelter... And thankfully we got her very shortly after she arrived. So, the first 6 months of her life were probably very poor nutrition.

[rapportk9]

I agree with the others about her being a Dutchie. She may even be full. I have a 18 month old that I bred and she is smaller then your girl. She was the runt of the litter and I bottle fed her so Im not sure if that had something to do with it. Her dad is 90lbs and mom 70lbs. She is probably about 40lbs. Maybe she will grow more, not to sure. It will be interesting to see how big my pups that are from the litter I have on the ground now with the same parents. Here is a photo of my Nyx. She is tiny and mean. My personal protection/ service dog.

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[LyonsFamily]

Your dog is so cute! It almost looks like she has a little cattle dog in her or something. The face looks a little square with a shorter muzzle. It's hard to tell from pics though as the different angles are throwing different proportions. The tail looks a little corgi to me too, which might explain the shorter legs. Who knows?

My Elli is full grown at 40lbs now. I will probably get her up to 44 with a little more muscle and bulk put on, but she's tiny. She is all DS, but like Hilde, she had a bad upbringing and didn't get a lot of nutritional help in the growth department.

As for joint supplements, I recently switched Odin over to Dasuquin with MSM. I'm really happy with the results so far.