[Snowman88]

A year ago me and my wife got a supposed German/Australian Shephard puppy from our local Humane Society. I had always wanted a GSD and thought this would be a good combination. Well she is almost at a year old now and is an absolutely beautiful dog, thought still small for either German or Australian Shephards, only around 35 to 40lbs max. Is there a chance that she is still growing? I will try to get a good picture posted tomorrow as I dont have any available right now. One very distinctive feature on her is the tail, its in upside down mohawk/hatchet with hairs up to 6 inches long. Is this a trait of any German Shephards? Her coloring is of a GSD but the size issue just has me confused. I have considered doing a DNA test, but would like to hear your inputs first.

Also, I am looking at getting a pure bred GSD in the near future so please let me know if you have any suggestions in the central Nebraska region.
Thank you ahead of time for your replies!!!

 

[hmmiller05]

I am pretty sure the standard for a female Aussie is around 40-55 lbs so that may be where she is getting her size. And at a year I would think that she will continue to fill out a bit. IMO

I would love LOVE to see pictures please! I have always wondered what the combination would look like..

 

[PupperLove]

Im sure she will still end up gaining a few lbs as she fills out. She may not get much bigger height wise. That seems a bit tiny for a gsd/aussie mix, but maybe she is part mini aussie? Or she just takes after the aussie in her buil, because even adult aussies, males or females are what I would consider a medium sized breed. I can't wait to see pictures!

 

[Jax08]

I was just at at ASCA show a couple of weeks ago. Aussie's are not huge dogs so I would think a 40 lb dog at 1 year old would be about right for that cross. She will get a little heavier as she fills out over the next year.

And unless the ppl at the HS saw the parents there is no way to really know what mix she is.

 

[My2Furkids]

Would love to see pics! I wouldn't think the size is too small for some kind of Aussie mix... My girl is about 50 pounds but I think she's mixed with Husky and probably something else:

And this is her with my ex's GSD/Lab mix (He was about 70 pounds or so)

 

[Snowman88]

I dont know how the Humane society came up with GSD/Aussie besides one of the six in the litter looked just like a Aussie looks at that age. She is a very timid dog though, so far in the year I have had her she has run away twice at my relatives ranches, once for 5 nights when she was only 3 months. While I was looking for her I saw 3 coyotes wandering the area she took off to. Both times she has come back happy to see us!

Have any of you had experience with the new DNA tests they can do for dogs? Not sure whether I want fork over the $60-80 that it goes for.

 

[Samba]

Your girl above looks like a Catahoula mix to me.

Here is a picture of my Cat boy....

Notice any resemblance?

 

[My2Furkids]

Your girl above looks like a Catahoula mix to me.

<snip>
Notice any resemblance?

WOW! Never seen a Catahoula with coloring that dark, awesome! One of her eyes is actually half brown and half blue... I've been trying to figure out if this is a genetic abnormality that can occur in any breed or only certain ones ? Always wondered where her brindle would have come from. Interesting..!

 

[Samba]

The half colored eyes are common in the Catahoula. You should read up about the breed; they are interesting. I am willing to bet you have something of a Cat there!

 

[Castlemaid]

So far from what I have read, those breed DNA tests are pretty worthless.

 

[Samba]

I am not hearing good things about those breed detection tests either.

 

[JakodaCD OA]

would love to see a pic! I have two aussies, the female is in the 40 pound range and 21" at the shoulders, my male is 21" but is built like a brick poop house and weighs in at 50 some pounds..so that weight is typical for an aussie...

 

[Konotashi]

I read somewhere that they tested a (I believe) bully breed dog and it came back purebred border collie. So I would take DNA tests with a grain of salt.

 

[Snowman88]

Ok heres an update, weighed her this morning at a mere 30lbs, much lighter than I even thought. Though I dont have a real good method for weighing besides a humans scale. She is 20"tall. And here are some pictures I took this morning.

 

[Snowman88]

Heres the pictures I promised, took me a bit to figure out how to upload them.

Capture.jpg

Capture2.JPG

CIMG1440.JPG

 

[AgileGSD]

I definitely see Aussie in her, not sure about the GSD part. Aussies are medium sized and her size really isn't off for a female. There is also a huge difference between working and show type Aussies in both type and temperament. The show line dogs are larger and heavier boned than the working line dogs. A few working line Aussies:

Typical show line Aussies:

 

[Snowman88]

Yeah, I would definitely agree with the Aussie, never saw any pictures of working line Aussies that looked so similar to her. Since this is cow country I am sure there are plenty of them around! I still think about the GSD in her though because the coloring is SO much alike I just cant get over it!.

On another note, does anyone know of some GSD breeders in the central NE area that sell for less then 300? I know this is low for a GSD but I am really not a fan of spending tons of money on a dog I will never show. (Goes back to the country side of me).

Thanks again to everyone who replied, I wont be getting a DNA test for a while at least since they sound like a failure.

 

[BowWowMeow]

Here's the best place to get a gsd under $300: Pet adoption: Want a dog or cat? Adopt a pet on Petfinder

There are plenty of wonderful purebred gsds out there waiting for good homes!

 

[Marissa]

Missouri German Shepherd Rescue has a lot of wonderful german shepherds in Nebraska. We will be at the Village Point Farmers Market on October 2nd if you would like to come by and see some of our wonderful dogs for adoption. The other rescue I volunteer for (Midwest Dog Rescue Network) is getting a 6 month old LC coming in about a week, havn't even seen her yet though, she is an owner surrender. You can PM me for more details if you like.

 

[Marissa]

Forgot to say the Farmers Market is in Omaha