Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hello everyone!

We adopted a puppy 2 months ago (hes about 7 months old now) and we think hes dutch shepherd or dutch mix. His paperwork from the shelter said he was Plott hound/boxer mix, but we dont think he looks like or acts like either of those breeds. We have had experience with German Shepherds and he seems to have similar qualities. Hes currently about 40lbs, hes very smart, very trainable, eager to please, very friendly with dogs and humans, and super affectionate. Hes content with anything we want to do. If we want to play fetch, he will fetch until we stop. If we want to snuggle on the couch, he'll snuggle for hours. If we want to go for a walk, or a drive, hes all for it. Wed love your opinions! Pictures of Maverick are attached below!

Oh my goodness, he's adorable.

Welcome to the forum . Jay

Glad you got a good companion

nope, no DS< but lots of cuteness'

Thanks everyone! Any thoughts as to what he might actually be? We didnt think full DS for sure because he has floppy ears, but we did think he was a decent amount DS because all the stuff we've read about them and their personalities seems to match him 100% and some other traits too Hes also only about 6 or 7 months old too, so I know hes not fully grown or anything. Its crazy to watch them grow❤

Plots and Boxers are brindle so it’s easy for a shelter to name any two breeds that have brindle.I would say it had some Pitbull Terrier.

Ds are not the only smart breed and my pitt/rott mix I had years back was just like my DS, and they come in brindle as well

Random question, but bark or howl?

Yeah, over the last 25 years or so, ive been responsible for caring for several different breeds and all of them have been smart. Ive cared for a few different breeds of husky, a belgian shepherd, a white german shepherd, boxers, an american Eskimo, a bichon, a black lab, a coonhound, a mini collie, and a cocker spaniel. The ds traits i was referring to that i read about were his ability to know what i want him to do before i want him to do it - even in uncommon situations, he is more affectionate than any other dog ive owned, he is hyper alert, and listens to commands without resistance. He seems to know what im trying to teach him with very little effort on my part. None of my dogs have ever been like that. He is happiest when he knows we are happy, and truly seems to want to do what we want him to do. Ive never had a dog that wasnt stubborn. And of course we also think he looks like a ds MIX. Not a full ds. He has decent length legs (not lanky like my hound, but not short like a pitty or a cattle dog) which i realized he looks stout in one of the pictures we uploaded, but hes definitely not. Hes lean/thin. He has a shepherd shaped snout, a medium sized head (not blocky like a boxer or mastiff or lab, but not scrunched either) and of course SO many breeds come in brindle and most of them seem to look similar. We figured we would hop on this forum to get some ideas as to what he might be if hes not ds. Let me know if his traits differ from those of you who have ds. The only other breed we really thought he could be mostly made up of is a treeing tennessee brindle.

To answer your question (and thank you for asking!), he barks and howls a little. When i leave for work in the morning he barks continuously and then like every 7th or 8th bark, he throws in a really low howl. Thats the only time he has howled (my fiance hasnt even heard him do it yet and weve had him for 2 and 1/2 months) and he usually makes the "ra ra" short little barks when playing. I appreciate all your help and thoughts!!

My initial thought was Tennessee treeing, especially if he howls, based on the head shape and ears.

As far as the personality traits....well, I don't know. Those same traits appear in a lot of breeds and mixes.