Hello from Utah! Just adopted a Dutch/GSD mix

[EBukovac]

Hi! I'm Erica from Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

I picked up Dutchie (yeah, I know, silly name, but she responds to it & its cute) last Saturday at the local Humane Society. She's a small female Dutch & German Shepherd mix. She has the GSD black saddle/cape mixed with the Dutch Shepherd brindle and black mask & face shape. Not sure what's up with the collie-like tipped ears, but they're really cute. Its not unheard of for shepherds to sometimes have floppy ears.

She was transferred to my state by the ASPCA who rescued her from a crowded kill shelter in CA. Her shelter paperwork says she was 35 lbs!! But she is now 45 and should be putting on some more muscle. I expect she'll be around 50 lbs. She's 22in at the shoulder & is approximately 2years old, spayed, and a joy to have in our home.

Right now she has come down with kennel cough and is pretty tired, but the first few days home, she has been peppy and full of energy to play and learn. She came home not knowing sit, down, how to walk on a leash, was afraid to go in her crate, she was barging through doorways, etc. She is a quick learner and now has learned to sit, down, wait at doors until invited to come through, goes in her crate on her own, rides in the car politely, and asks nicely to be pet. So far she likes meeting new people & kids, and is a good girl.

She must've been well socialized in the past, as she has an incredibly stable temperament. Nothing phases her when we're out on walks. She totally didn't care about fireworks last night either. The only thing that seems to really bother her is being corrected too strongly.

I can't believe she was close to being put down. I can't imagine why she was in the shelter in the first place, but she is very handler sensitive, so it's possible she may have had behavior problems from an overbearing owner/handler.

We've snapped at her twice to get out of the kitchen while we're eating, and now if she sees my husband and I eating at the kitchen table, she goes and lies down in her crate without us even looking at her or saying anything. I have had sensitive shepherds before, but she takes the cake!
Im doing very short and easy obedience work with her while she's sick with kennel cough, but once she gets her energy back in a couple days, I can't wait to see what we can do.

[ICE]

Welcome!!! Very cute pup!! I love the sleeping shot...

[Dutchringgirl]

she sure is cute!! its hard to tell, i see brindle but also a sable blanket. could be gsd and something else

[racingiron1]

Welcome, and thank you for rescuing! Sounds like you got a real gem. As Lisa suggests, the brindle could be coming from somewhere else, but really hard to tell. She sure has the general look and her behavior sounds familiar. Very adorable, so feel free to keep posting pictures!

[MultiPurposeK9]

Thank you for rescuing but, I see now Dutch Shepherd at all. Relying on the ASPCA and local humane society to identify a mixed breed is just not reliable.

[EBukovac]

she sure is cute!! its hard to tell, i see brindle but also a sable blanket. could be gsd and something else

I'm totally seeing a lot of black sable GSD in her now that you mention that!

But most sable GSDs seem to have tan eye patches, and Dutchie does not... But I'm not going to try to put a square peg in a round hole. Maybe she has a little Dutch in her, maybe not.

Either way, she's totally awesome!!

[EBukovac]

Thank you for rescuing but, I see now Dutch Shepherd at all. Relying on the ASPCA and local humane society to identify a mixed breed is just not reliable.

I agree. The Humane Society just had her listed as a "Shepherd' mix. For better or worse, I saw stripes and came up with the Dutch possibility. I'm now understanding this is typical for people with stripey dogs!

I'm not dead set on her being Dutch, I'm just in "Look at my dog! Isn't she amazing?!" mode right now.

[EBukovac]

Welcome, and thank you for rescuing! Sounds like you got a real gem. As Lisa suggests, the brindle could be coming from somewhere else, but really hard to tell. She sure has the general look and her behavior sounds familiar. Very adorable, so feel free to keep posting pictures!

Thank you! I'm totally smitten with her. I'll post some more with a "maybe a Dutch Shepherd" disclaimer. She definitely is a GSD mix, but seems more sensitive than the GSDs I've had in the past. To me, her face color/shape & eyes look Dutch to me. She is also overall on the petite side.

[EBukovac]

Here are a few more pics!

[Dutchringgirl]

I love the glare in the last picture! Sadie gives me the same glare.

[racingiron1]

Hey, I know that glare, too! Hilde is usually ready to go at a moments notice, day or night, "Hey, did you just wiggle your foot? Let's gogogo!" But sometimes, occasionally, once in a while, when she's reeeeeally sleepy and would just rather not be bothered to uncurl from her cozy little Hilde-ball... I get that glare.