Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi,
We adopted a 4 month "sherherd mix" from the San francisco SPCA 14 months ago (she was 4 months old). What a ride so far! She is super smart and stubborn, always looking for food (maybe part of her being a stray?), very affectionate and tons of personality. We haven't had a genetic testing, but from the photos of DS we've seen, we figure that's what she is. She will be two in June and weighs around 57 lbs. Do you think she's a DS?

She's a doll! DS? Not sure...a definite maybe (perhaps a DS mix?)
(NOT an expert!)

DS GS?? Definatly the DS face and the HUGE radar ears!!!! She is so beautiful!

Thanks for the nice words! We get a lot of complements from other dog owners...she's kind of exotic looking;-). We are still contemplating the genetic test to see just what she is, to settle our curiosity, but don't know if the test includes Dutch Shepherds. She's mostly black, but has some cool tiger striping brindle markings on her hind quarters and flecks scattered about. I'll post some better pics from my home computer.

she really seems DS to me; mix is Always possible, but personally I would not qualify the DS tag with mix based on the pics and what you have said. of course, there are so many details of behavior that would point to Ds even more conclusively. [ having seemed very certain, I disclaim being one of the real experts that inhabit this site]
if you do a genetic test out of sheer curiosity, make sure it is one based on the MARS array. no guarantee of accuracy, but the Mars array gives the best chance of not paying for gibberish.

Thanks Johnny,
I'll make sure on the test.

A couple more. I never seem to have the camera ready when she's doing something interesting, or at least not set fast enough! I thought our lab had expressive ears. Izzie's are like her version of Sign Language. She's vocal as well, sings like a coyote initially when we leave her in the truck (it's short lived though, no nuisance barking, thank goodness!) and grunts and groans more than any dog we've ever had.

at her weight, her looks, her behavior, she seems very DS to me

She is really beautiful.

Can you get one with her simply standing, from the side? I'm seeing some GSD things (her tail, the ear set, maybe her muzzle), but a standing pic would help a lot. I also see lots of DS stuff

I'll give it a try. Tough part is getting her cooperation

Love your dog! Except for the more pronounced stripes, and a little larger, the laying down pictures look exactly like Kella. She was brought in from Los Gatos, to the San Martin Shelter where I adopted her. She will be 3 about April 1. She also has the "talkative" vocalizations. I did one of the other DNA's on her which came out with 1/2 GSD, 1/4 Lab, and 1/4 Cardigan Welsh Corgi? I still think part Dutch is more likely, but it isn't one of the breeds they have - so since the Cardigan is a European Herder with Brindle it may have been the closest alternative.
Being semi computer challenged, the only pictures are through a Facebook link either in Photos or my New member post from a while back . If you got Izzie from SF, we probably arn't too far away, and I would love to see if they are as alike in person sometime. Thank you for sharing her with the forum.

Hi Kella,
We got her at the S.F. SPCA in October 2011. They said she came from another shelter in the Central Valley, and had been a stray...maybe that explains her incessant scrounging for snacks .
I wonder if the genetic tests recognize DS as a distinct breed? I asked the woman from the AKC who is the spokesperson for the big dog show at the Cow Palace when she was on the radio, about Dutch Shepherds, and she said she'd never heard of them. Wrong kennel club I guess .
As the months go by, she has gotten so much better at my shop. She does a lot of light snoozing and "hanging out" without getting into trouble. But as soon as I get up and walk to another part of my shop, she's ready for anything. Took her to the Discount Pet Supply store to get some training treats last week. OMG, she was soooo crazy...thought she was going to jump on the counter to get to the bowl of treats they keep. I said sorry, she's going out for her walk right now and she's wound a little tight .
Here she is in a more profile shot I got in the backyard at my shop.

Just for info, Kella is the dog, my name is Mara. I may change my sign in. Anyway, beautiful dog. Like others here, I'm not an expert at all. I had heard of Dutch Shepherds before getting Kella, but hadn't researched them much until every picture of a dog that reminded me of her, turned out to be a DS or DS mix. ( exept one picture of a Kelpie) Yours is clearly more stripey from the side. Her back end does look more German Shepherd to me in shape. ( I've had 3 of them). ( Some of the DS listed in the DS pedigree database have a similar look too, but as many in this forum will tell you, it can depend on where the're from and can include mixes in the line they came from.)
It seems I remember a K9 import and training business over in the valley that had DS as well as GSD and Malinois. The more in use by Police and Private Security, the more likely for mixes to show up in the shelters. Can just hope their adopters do the research and find places like this forum for info.
Good health and a happy life to you both.

Rob,

She really is beautiful. IMO, I think she may be a GSD/DS cross.

Whatever she is, it sounds like she's found a good home with you, and that's all that really counts, right?

KellaA+dog6 wrote:Just for info, Kella is the dog, my name is Mara. I may change my sign in. Anyway, beautiful dog. Like others here, I'm not an expert at all. I had heard of Dutch Shepherds before getting Kella, but hadn't researched them much until every picture of a dog that reminded me of her, turned out to be a DS or DS mix. ( exept one picture of a Kelpie) Yours is clearly more stripey from the side. Her back end does look more German Shepherd to me in shape. ( I've had 3 of them). ( Some of the DS listed in the DS pedigree database have a similar look too, but as many in this forum will tell you, it can depend on where the're from and can include mixes in the line they came from.)
It seems I remember a K9 import and training business over in the valley that had DS as well as GSD and Malinois. The more in use by Police and Private Security, the more likely for mixes to show up in the shelters. Can just hope their adopters do the research and find places like this forum for info.
Good health and a happy life to you both.

Thanks Mara...sorry for the name mixup Izzie is also a super sniffer, more so than our Lab. We took turns having her look for my wife, son, and I on a walk through Golden Gatre Park one day, and she found us every time. Maybe any other dog could of, but heard DS were extra good at tracking. Maybe we'll try her out in Scent Training if we have time. Mostly she's just our high energy "regular" family dog that gets us a lot of looks and compliments in the park. She's super athletic, and such a sweet dog, great with 99% of other dogs too.

i'm in love with Izzie

She looks very Dutch to me especially from the side. And of course i am not an expert. I
have an Issy also (short for Isabella). Except my Issy is a Dalmatian. Awesome that you rescued her Welcome

Thanks for all the kind words everyone! It's always nice to find a great group of folks with something like our other "children" in common. When I walk her in the park, so many other dog people comment on her it's amazing. Watching all the others, mostly your basic Yellow Labs, or Golden Retrievers and their personalities, she stands way out. Nobody knows what the heck she is . I get a few "Is your dog part Coyote?" LOL!. Finding this forum is cool since there is something a little different about DSs and it's nice to find others that have stories and info about these beautiful animals.

Just a couple questions...we have, up until now, had lots of on-again-off-again diarrhea problems. Do DS have sensitive systems, or just her's wasn't quite mature yet combined with finding the right food? We now have her on Natural Balance Sweet Potato Bison and she has seemed to beaten the problem (having solid poops to pick up makes life SO much better...it's the little things, right?).

I also read they have far less problems with hip displaysia than GSD, though it is something to watch for. We had her checked by her vet when she was around one yr. old, and was solid, and will continue to have her checked at each visit. Is some tennis ball throwing a bad idea? She's so explosive I'm afraid she's going to pull a muscle when she takes off, but mainly worried long term about HD and arthritis, so I try not to over do it. I usually throw for around 10 minutes max (she gets winded a lot faster than out lab anyways), and only when she hasn't been able to play a little dog chase with her buddies at the dog park (a great group). Our black lab (field lab) had so much energy (feels familiar) I would throw the ball until she'd lay down with a two foot tongue. She eventually blew out her ACL. We had it successfully repaired, but she blew the other one a year later. She also developed pretty bad arthritis by age 9.

Can't answer on the activity questions, but I can't feed Kella any Chicken based food or she has major problems. Any lamb and rice product seems to work well for her. I also tried a "red meat" based food that was ok also. I may try the Sweet Potato/Bison a try on her in the future. Sounds like it would give her a workable Change for variety.

Hi Mara,
The Chicken version was exactly what was giving Izzie problems;-).