Dutch Shepherd Forum

I have succumbed to the fact that I will never truly know if Ellie is a Dutch Shepherd. Or a Dutch Shepherd mix. Or anything about her breed at all.

But I recently read a book called 'Walking Ollie' about a Lurcher dog - I feel like a bad dog person for not knowing anything about this kind of dog. So they're just a mix of some breed with greyhound or sighthound. Apparently big in the UK for poaching at night? Anyway, so I'm looking them up to see pictures and I find:

http://www.dailypuppy.com/dogs/harry-th ... 2007-08-12

The Lurcher Alsatian mix...that just looks like a lanky big eared dutchy.

Aren't dogs awesome/confusing sometimes.

In my "search for the truth" as I like to think of it, I recently came across a German Shepherd rescue group in my area that was adopting out 4 dutch shepherd girls last year and it made me think that someone out there could be breeding dutch shepherds and just dumping them in the area. (Sidenote: Ellie was found tied to a pole in my neighborhood, thus the mystery). Here's that link:
http://www.ogsg.org/dog-scholarships.html

Ah, the things that keep me up at night.

wahinelf wrote:
The Lurcher Alsatian mix...that just looks like a lanky big eared dutchy.

to me he looks like an Alsatian/Akita mix, check the white on the nose. You can never be sure, but there is many nore dogs that have brindle, and in a mix with a shepherd produce standing ears.

The second link, that looks like DS to me. And a lot...sad they got dumped like that

That's what is so weird to me. If you have these purebred, kind of specific dogs...who just dumps them? But I guess crappy stuff like that happens all the time. Just seems strange to me.

wahinelf wrote:I have succumbed to the fact that I will never truly know if Ellie is a Dutch Shepherd. Or a Dutch Shepherd mix. Or anything about her breed at all.

Oh Aubrey. You are in good company, because there are many out there who are not sure, and even if they think they know they might not have what they think they do! Even a good number of dogs with (FCI) papers saying the dog is a DS, may not be quite what the paper says it is.

In my "search for the truth" as I like to think of it, I recently came across a German Shepherd rescue group in my area that was adopting out 4 dutch shepherd girls last year and it made me think that someone out there could be breeding dutch shepherds and just dumping them in the area. (Sidenote: Ellie was found tied to a pole in my neighborhood, thus the mystery). Here's that link:

I agree that the 4 dumped girls look DS to me. I love the 'malinois selection criteria' in that link, BTW. Had a good laugh and at the same time, I think they are right on. The dumping of something that looks quite presentable as a breed, I used to wonder about that too, but just looking at NADSR, I would say that believe it or not, it happens, more than we care to know.

Marjolein wrote:to me he looks like an Alsatian/Akita mix, check the white on the nose. You can never be sure, but there is many nore dogs that have brindle, and in a mix with a shepherd produce standing ears.

I respectfully disagree. I do not see the blocky head or ear set that an Akita would have. A lurcher, of course ,is a cross between a sighthound and a (mostly) shepherd type, to get speed from the sighthound, but biddability from the herder. (speed + brain and will to please) If you take a greyhound (come in brindle with white markings) and a GSD (the 'alsatian') you may very well end up with something that looks like "harry". Though I am surprised about the lack of mask, since a GSD mostly has one, and it is dominant, so why did this mix end up without it? (unless it is a cross between crosses...a good old fashioned adorable mutt)

Honestly, it was oinly the lack of mask that made me think Akita, didn't look at the body too much

I think the dog is really cute regardless of what it is

OMG, those ears! I think he's related to the Flying Nun myself (very cute, tho)