Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello everyone,

So pleased to have found this forum. My name is Jennifer. My girlfriend and I adopted a male dog from our local veterinary hospital about two years ago and we've always wondered what breed(s) he might be. We were told he was a shepherd/pit cross, but never quite bought that because he doesn't seem to have a trace of pit in him. He's very handsome ( ) so gets a lot of compliments on when we go for walks--people have suggested that he may have chow, Akita, cattle dog, etc. in him but those breeds didn't seem right, either. Recently my cousin who is a canine behaviorist suggested he might be a Dutch shepherd, or a DS cross. I was wondering what you guys thought!

His name is Koda. He's turning three in a couple weeks and is very sweet, cuddly (he loves to be physically close to us), protective (to a fault) and active. We take him hiking regularly and run with him about 3x a week but he could easily do more. He has an insane prey drive but is surprisingly good with our cat. He's on the smaller side, short, around 40lbs.

Here are some pictures of him:







This one doesn't show many of his features; I just like it!

Thanks for looking. I look forward to hearing from you.

OMG so cute!! Certainly looks/sounds like he could be a DS or DS mix. LOVE that he cuddles with the cat

he is absolutely gorgeous. he is small for a DS male, but not out of the realm of possibilities. everything else screams DS. so, for all practical purposes, you should consider him a DS.

Welcome! That last picture is my favorite...I love it! He is a looker, for sure. Very handsome. Love his marbled tongue!

Certainly seems more DS than any of the stuff suggested to you. Our Hilde is ~34lbs @14months now, so she's a small one, too. I'm pretty sure she's got a little something else to account for her size, but DS explains so much about her behavior and appearance. Sounds like Koda is similar. Too bad you didn't get that 2nd picture in the "Nap Time" contest; it's priceless!

One question for the experts here: Is tongue coloration typical of DS? I've noticed that Hilde has one or two small dark patches in the back. I've read that spots are sometimes found on Malnois and GSD; if true, then I guess DS could have them, too. That's obviously where the Chow suggestions for Koda come from, but's that's just because people don't realize there are other dogs with pigmented tongues.

My white GSD had a couple of black spots on his tongue....

Hello everyone. Thank you so much for the warm welcome!

Koda is definitely on the smaller side. Keeping weight on him has been a constant struggle because he has a naturally low appetite and is very active, so he burns a lot of calories. The vet suggested he may have had his growth stunted because he was so malnourished/poorly cared for when he was a puppy. Poor guy. And isn't it funny how people automatically connect "purple tongue" with "Chow"? I've known pits and even a standard poodle with purple on their tongues.

Anyway, thanks again. I look forward to getting to know you all.

Hi and welcome,

He looks very DS to me also. The shape of body and head look very DS. Maybe there is something else also but I would bet on a lot of DS. I love the pics with you cat. That is awesome they are that close. thanks for adopting /rescuing!

Dan

I have 4 cats. One is 3 and the other 3 are 2yrs old. We have had Tango for 7 weeks and we just can't get them together. The dog wants to play but the cats think she will eat them so they don't come up from the basement unless the dog is outside. Any suggestions to get them together?
thank you!!

Lots of time...took a year before my dog and cat would co-exist peacefully. Now its all good.

Does Koda have a striped tongue?