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New GSD owner

3K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  Sam_Isaacks 
#1 ·
Hello All,

I have recently rescued/adopted a GSD. She was found wandering the streets and didn't have any form of identification on her. My cousin had watched her for a few a days and discovered she was living off of scraps and trash.

My cousin brought her to my house and I immediatly fell in love with her. I took her to the vet and no identification chip was found. So, I decided to adopt her as my own. She was around four months old when I adopted her. This is my first experience with a Shepherd as an owner and I've got to say this is easily the best breed of dog out there!

I've never owned a dog that was able to pick up so quickly on the commands I was giving.

One thing I've wondered since I got her, is she a Shepherd mix or a pure bred? The main reason for this is her coat, which is solid black.. Save for a large white cross on her chest and each of her paws is tipped with white as well. She also has white hair at the base of her tail. Her eyes are also more on the Amber color and could be described almost as yellow. Leading a few people to believe she may have recent Wolf ancestry. I doubt this, but then again I'm not positive either.

Here are some pictures of her.

Dog Mammal Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae


Vertebrate Mammal Canidae Dog Green


Mammal Dog Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae
 
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#5 ·
How old is she now? She is gorgeous - but not sure if she would be pure-bred. Can't really put my finger on it, but I think there is something else in the mix. She certainly looks like she if mostly GSD, no doubt about that.
Shes just about seven months give or take a few days. She doesn't have the slopping back that I've seen in most Shepherds. Your description is the same one my Vet gave of her.. Mostly Shepherd, but maybe something else!
 
#9 ·
shes very pretty. She looks mostly shepherd to me too..but with the white thrown in there i would suggest maybe mixed with some border collie. I read your other post about her having some wolf in there and highly doubt it. I wouldnt bother doing a DNA test to figure it out because IMO youde be wasting money.
 
#11 ·
Yeah, I've decided against doing it. I don't think she has any Wolf either..As she gets older I think she is just a straight up German Shepherd. I got to looking at her legs today and noticed that she has this weird brindle/sable coloring that is starting to show up. She also has a red cast to her coat.

I'm thinking that she isn't American GSD.. She appears to be Working line. She doesn't have the extreme sloping back, though when you stack her, she does have a slope.. though not extreme. She is displaying all the traits of the working line, Protective, High energy and doesn't seem to mind cars and people passing by. She's not fearful of loud noises, I skeet shoot occasionally, and shes not affraid of other dogs. Infact if another dog tries to come up to me she will cut them off and keep them from getting petted! I've seen other working line blacks that look nearly identical to her, so I don't think she is mixed. Could be wrong, but I don't think she is.
 

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#12 ·
Well, I think I've figured out what the "other" element is to my Mischa's background. I was browsing through some pictures of shepherds and came across this particular photo of a GSD, Border collie mix..

VCAS pet of the week: Shelby is a 7-month-old black and white border collie and German shepherd mix Ventura County Star

I thought it was my dog when I first seen her! Definitely a good choice of breeding if thats what her parents owners had intended. Two of the top three of the most intelligent breeds out there.
 
#15 ·
I'd say she weighs a good 65-70 lbs.. I got to thinking about something after I posted that pic. How does the adoption agency that posted that picture, know that the dog was a Border collie cross? She was reported as being a stray. So that leaves a bit of doubt in my mind.. But hey, who cares? I love her just the same no matter what she is.
 
#17 ·
Your dog is absolutely gorgeous. I think she might be purebred like you think. Maybe there is border collie but maybe not. A while back I had a conversation with a lab breeder about colors, and believe it or not is is actually very normal to see black labs and brown labs with white chests and feet... and yet they are purebred, not mixes. It doesn't happen all the frequently, but it is still completely normal. Either way, she is gorgeous and looks super happy.
 
#18 ·
My first thought was husky or some other spitz type dog. Her muzzle is shorter and narrower as well as her dainty feet.
I wouldn't put much faith in a shelter's description of any dog. Whoever is writing the blurb makes the call and they come up with some whacked mixes. They tend to put in breeds most commonly known and those that people will adopt (you'll almost never see Pit bull mentioned in certain areas due to the prejudice, they will be listed as boxer mix every time).
Either way, she is a very pretty girl and looks to be very happy in her new surroundings :D.
 
#23 ·
Thanks! Actually, I'm not sure what my dogs situation was. My cousin found her wandering the streets and eating scraps. So, she watched her for a day or so and assumed she must be lost. She went door to door looking for her owner and posted her picture on facebook asking people if they recognized her. No one did. So I took her in as my own. She had a collar, but didn't have indentifaction.. I don't know, she may have been dumped.. Hard to tell.

At any rate she found a nice home up here with me! I live in a farming community out in the country. We've got quite a bit of land and woods so she has endless areas to explore and play in. Plus she has a best friend next door to us in the form of a blue tick hound/bird dog cross.. So yeah, she is living the life!
 
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