My shelter baby

[Coops]

Hello all! I am new here, but stumbled across this community in my research of this breed! My boyfriend and I recently adopted a cute little girl, Scout, from one of Chicago's humane centers. We fell in love with her giant ears and adorable personality. The shelter had her listed as a "shepherd/pit bull", so since we took her home in April, we have just rolled with that. However, whenever we have her out with us, people are always all, "What is that?!", "Is that a hyena?!" Or, I think your dog is a "(insert any random breed-- German Shepherd, Boxer/Pit, Whippet Mix, Basenji Mix, Dingo etc.)". The other day I was walking Scout, and a dog walker comes up and says, "Oh wow...my friend has a dog that looks just like yours. Hers is a Dutch Shepherd". I walked away slightly befuddled, as I have never heard of that breed. When I got home, I jumped online and researched the breed and found you guys! So I will tell you guys a little bit about Scout, and if you guys (who have way more experience with this breed than I do!!) could give me any insight, that would be fantastic!
Okay-- so I definitely believe that Scout is a MIX -- she is definitely not 100% any breed, but because I have no experience with any DS, if you guys think that's part of her mix (and I think the other part is in fact Pit), let me know, please! A little about her-- she absolutely loves to run. And she runs really fast too. At the dog park and dog beach, she instigates with other dogs by stealing their toys in an effort for them to chase her/so she can chase back. When she is chasing dogs, she tends to try to "herd" them by nipping at their legs. Scout also has mad hops. This dog can jump like no other dog I have ever seen. Like, back legs get at least 3-4 feet off of the ground. And when she knocks peoples' phones out of their hands at the park, it is super embarrassing. She is also incredibly alert, and loves to chase birds, squirrels, and cats. There are some stray cats that congregate in an alley by my apartment, and she will crouch down super low and try and snatch them.

I think that's most of her trademark behavior.....oh yea..she doesn't really bark. I think I have heard her bark about 5 times since I have had her (4 months) but she whines frequently. She is currently 8 months and is probably about 40-45 pounds. She has long legs and looks pretty skinny/svelte. If that makes sense? Sorry my photos aren't the best..I only have a camera phone!

Anyways, thank you all!

[Raven]

That last photo looks like the spitting image (including the eyes) of another new member...nuts...what's the dog's name???...Epona??? I thought you somehow "stole" the image.

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

I'm seeing a boxer/basenji/DS mix, but the brindle could be coming from the boxer. I don't see much Pit but angles are hard in photos. My guy sometimes looks like he has the face of a whippet if I get the angle wrong! Either way she's adorable! Keep posting pics of her as she grows - it'll be interesting to see how she matures!!!

[simbathedog1]

She's a sweetie!! My guy came from a shelter too! I"m no expert in identifying the breed, but have fun with her! If she's like my guy, she'll need to be busy or she will find trouble!

[simbathedog1]

p.s. Someone who saw us walking one day referred to Simba as a "coyote"

[Raven]

p.s. Someone who saw us walking one day referred to Simba as a "coyote"

I hung a picture of the first DS I adopted in my office at work. She was in the woods during winter. Folks would look and squint...what is that?...a deer?...a wolf?...a ????

I'll never get how people think a dog is a deer, but I've heard others say people think their DS is a deer, a coyote, a hyena, an African wild dog.

The boy I have now (also an adopted DS) looked like an African wild dog with his markings (which changed) when he was a juvie and after his ears stood; previous owner sent me pictures. I would have been one of those people asking, "WTH is that?????" if I'd seen him then.

[Coops]

Yes!!! We get African wild dog all of the time too!! Especially when she is playing with other dogs! Crazy!

[Kitty_the_dog]

Absolutely see basenji. I was looking into buying one before we rescued our sheperd. They are Soooo much like cats and they are a smaller breed, also come in brindle. Look into them

[Mobil]

If I'm not mistaken, Basenjis are known for not really barking, aren't they??

[Kitty_the_dog]

Yes thats correct. They more so yodel. We met with a breeder and her momma and daddt dog before we got our little man and they are just stubborn and we wanted a dog that would play when we wanted not just lay around like a cat. Basenjis sound like Chewbacca lol

[Kitty_the_dog]

But then again if it is mixed with boxer or something else then the pup would most likely bark as long as he inherited the trait.
Here is a short clip from dogs 101 about basenjis
DOGS 101 - Basenji [ENG]: http://youtu.be/Hy0mD_t2mNY

[Coops]

Thanks so much for the Basenji video! I found that to be super interesting. I think Scout may have a little bit of Basenji in her...she can sometimes be cat-like (i.e.: the photo of her laying on the top part of the couch) and she doesn't really bark. But she doesn't have that weird Basenji yodel, either. She just whimpers. And physically, besides the shape of her snout, I don't see much other ties to that breed. Her tail is very, very long and doesn't have that trade mark curly-q! She also doesn't have the wrinkles on her forehead-- but definitely has the standup ears! She is actually pretty tall with long legs, and she is much more skinnier than a Basenji. I sometimes hear Boxer with her, but when I look at her, I just can't see it (minus the white boxing gloves!). What do you guys think?

Thank you all so much for the help! I truly appreciate it!

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

Like you said, she's definitely a mix, so there may be several breeds working their magic in her structure. Her face says boxer, along with a bit of her build, yet I also see Basenji in the build too. The ears remind me of some breed, almost like a doberman's, but not since dobs are taped up, and the tail is crazy long like a whippet's, though it could be her body hasn't grown to her tail size yet. My friend has a Mal puppy with an insanely long tail but she's going to be a BIG dog (at least 80 from what he says). And something in the hind legs and shoulders reminds me of a shepherd… Could you post up some more pics, like profile and head on shots where you're at eye level with her? I know that can be hard if she loves to move so they don't need to be perfect. I still have to bait my guy with a ton of food to get him to hold still long enough for a shutter to go off!

Puppies are always so hard to pinpoint as they're growing. My guy had loooong legs for a long while and is finally growing more in the upper body so it looks less weird. And no worries about the camera phone - I think 99% of mine are snapped on a camera phone!

[Kitty_the_dog]

You're very welcome. She is adorable no matter the breed butbi torally understand the curiosity of knowing, i was the same haha like hendrix said above maybe a few more profile like pics could help: )