Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello all! I posted on the photos forum first and i noticed there was a new members forum as well. So here I am!

As I said in the other post I rescued Riley from the Las Vegas desert and brought her with me to Arizona! Shes an amazing pup and Vet confirmed her to be anywhere from 6-10 weeks old when we took her in to make sure she was a healthy pup and of course vaccines.

My question is... GSD or DS? Or mix breed? When we first got her she seems DS.... however over the last couple of weeks. She is approx. 4 months now, she has started to seem more GSD. Im no expert on either of the breeds this is just based on what i have seen in the past or research i have done. If you guys could give me your opinions I would appreciate it!

I had to laugh because the second picture where the camera expands his head looks just like photos of my Tygo. Very hard for an amateur to photograph a dark dog that moves alot.

Welcome to the forum. I have a 12 week old DS so am learning a lot.

I will say that I think it will be hard to know for certain between GSD mix or DS mix until they get older. I know my guy goes through so many iterations at this age. "Look at those legs, the ears are huge, he is too fat, he is too skinny, he looks like a terrier."

He is brindle right? Hard to tell but I think I see it in the third photo.

The one thing that makes me think he is not a DS is that you can leave the remote control for the TV so close to him and he hasn't snatched it, run like crazy, and destroyed the thing.

Welcome.

DESERT ??!!??
looks like a DS to me. love the white bib! I presume that she acts like a DS.
congratulations on a great find and wonderful that you saved her!
what were the circumstances when you say in the desert?

Well, it was actually my cousin that found her. I was visiting my family for sister in laws baby shower. My cousin was out biking in the desert and ran into her and she just followed him to his car... He couldn't leave her out there so he brought her home. I've always wanted a shepherd so when i heard the story i just had to have her. He couldn't keep her at the time so I brought her home with us.

She is incredibly smart! Within the first 3 days of rescuing her she learned to sit, shake, high five, roll over and stay (the stay part of the rough one, she only stays for about 3 seconds lol) Her favorite toy is actually a stick she found on a walk and loves to fetch, so can go on her over an hour just running back and forth. The only issue im having with her is her fear of bigger dogs at the dog park. She is great with my 2 smaller dogs so im not too worried about yet however, new dogs she stays away from and will growl and show teeth when they get too close. She has confronted a couple dogs but as soon as the other dog moves forward she back down and runs to me... unfortunately other dogs seem to take that as a sign to play so i have stopped taking her to the bark parks.

I will say that she is very head strong. Karin, you mentioned about the remote control so close to her and she doesnt destroy it! She has tried many times but she finally realized that the control is MY favorite toy Also, she is not completely brindle. she just has a couple brownish marking on her shoulders and slight streaking, ill post a better picture so its more clear. That is why i believe she may be a GSD ive never seen a multi colored black GSD though.

Thanks for the responses and happy to be here!

beautiful!
most of us disapprove of dog parks for lots of reasons, but way too much for a pup. need to arrange play dates and have safe meetings - where she feels safe - around and about [ sidewalk, homes, stores ?]. should meet lots of dogs, even for a moment and with good consequences [ happy, friendly dogs ][ treats afterward or when makes sense]. this really is a quick reply; and others are better at this stuff.

johninny wrote:most of us disapprove of dog parks for lots of reasons,

This. My main reason: the majority of owners...not necessarily the dogs. The majority of the people at dog parks are clueless as to dog behavior. I know there are many people who are dog savvy who take their dogs to dog parks...I just wish there was a special section for them: clueless to the left, dog savvy and responsible to the right.

johninny wrote:need to arrange play dates and have safe meetings...even for a moment and with good consequences [ happy, friendly dogs ][ treats afterward or when makes sense]

I cannot agree more. And this goes for any dog...any breed. Teaching your dog the right way to meet, greet, and interact is so important. I would stay away from dog parks while she is a puppy. It is better to invest more work on the front end to socialize and teach her right than to have to go back and correct later. I speak from experience here, unfortunately. I allowed a dog I wasn't familiar with to be around my mini-schnauzer and now she is dog-reactive.

Speaking of dog parks...
I was just catching up on my blog reading and thought I would share this post:
http://thedogsnobs.com/2013/08/13/welco ... o-go-away/

The dog snobs and http://notesfromadogwalker.com/ are my heros. LOL

Great looking pup. As to color, I have a now 3 yr old, that DNA came back 1/2 GSD, 1/4 Lab, and 1/4 Cardigan Welsh corgi( which also comes in brindle). She is about 48-50 lbs. Started out looking black with a few grey "harness marking", and some on belly and back of legs. As she got older the mix of red/gold in the black became more noticable( still has black along topline of back= saddle pattern)
If you google black sable malinois, there are usually several photos that show a lighter version of this coloring. Like you, when I adopted Kella from the local shelter, I searched for similar looking dogs online. Almost every one that looked most like her was either a black malinois or very dark DS. I got lucky in that she has the smarts, but has mellowed out to a lower energy dog than most of the ds. Have fun with yours.
Mara

Welcome! The 2nd photo looks a lot like Elli in the face. It'll be interesting to see how her coat looks after she starts to grow and stretch out.

Thank you all for the responses! So I'm just gonna say she is a DS from now on

I for one, like her bib and i agree it does her a distinguished look Her energy levels are through the roof! she gets 2 walks per day and a game of fetch every other day and she still manages to bug my 2 other dogs when they are trying to relax haha. Im just very lucky that she hasnt started destroying couches or furniture in general!

Over all, loving the experience she has brought to the whole family, such a high energy puppy is a lot of work, but im loving every minute of it!