Help w/ my new puppy's breed?

kluchetta · Aug 12, 2006

Well, JD's about 13 weeks old now. I'm pretty sure he's a Border Collie. I was lying on the couch reading and looked over at him, and he was in the head-down, staring, crouching, pointing posture typical of Border Collies. He had seen Nadette and was waiting for me to tell him what to do. I told him "off" and "easy" and he left her alone. He's a bright young man, all right!

Asteria · Aug 13, 2006

I would say BC is a good breed to guess. That's the first thing I thought.

Good luck with your new pup!

2dogmom · Aug 14, 2006

Well this is the last place I was expecting to find a 'guess what my mystery dog is" game!

I can tell you for sure that if a shelter does not know what a dog is, big dogs are called 'lab mix'. That was what happened to me. Zircon was supposed to be a "lab/chow" mix. Somebody saw black spots on the tongue, for some reason people think that black spots on the tongue means Chow or Shar Pei, blue eyes means Husky (or maybe Border Collie) and black with a white spot on the chest means Border Collie. All are incorrect. For whatever it is worth I started collecting pictures of known mixed breeds to try to provide something to compare a mystery dog to.

It is helpful to know the age and weight. If I had known then what I know now, I would have realized that a 4 month old puppy who weighs only 15 lbs cannot possibly be a Lab/Chow mix. A purebred Lab weighs more like 40 lbs at that age, and Chows are only a bit smaller. BCs are medium size dogs so they should weigh around 30 lbs at 4 months.

Something that is unusual is the prick ears in a puppy. Usually puppies of breeds with prick ears (like German Shepherd or Husky) are born with floppy ears, then they stand up at about 4 months. Terrier have floppy (actually "rose") ears so I think it is safe to say there is no terrier. The key is the herding instinct. Sounds like you are going to have a dog who likes to chase bicyclists and motorcyclists! And catch frisbees in midair!

Have fun, what a cutie!

kluchetta · Aug 14, 2006

Originally Posted by 2dogmom

Well this is the last place I was expecting to find a 'guess what my mystery dog is" game!

I can tell you for sure that if a shelter does not know what a dog is, big dogs are called 'lab mix'. That was what happened to me. Zircon was supposed to be a "lab/chow" mix. Somebody saw black spots on the tongue, for some reason people think that black spots on the tongue means Chow or Shar Pei, blue eyes means Husky (or maybe Border Collie) and black with a white spot on the chest means Border Collie. All are incorrect. For whatever it is worth I started collecting pictures of known mixed breeds to try to provide something to compare a mystery dog to.

It is helpful to know the age and weight. If I had known then what I know now, I would have realized that a 4 month old puppy who weighs only 15 lbs cannot possibly be a Lab/Chow mix. A purebred Lab weighs more like 40 lbs at that age, and Chows are only a bit smaller. BCs are medium size dogs so they should weigh around 30 lbs at 4 months.

Something that is unusual is the prick ears in a puppy. Usually puppies of breeds with prick ears (like German Shepherd or Husky) are born with floppy ears, then they stand up at about 4 months. Terrier have floppy (actually "rose") ears so I think it is safe to say there is no terrier. The key is the herding instinct. Sounds like you are going to have a dog who likes to chase bicyclists and motorcyclists! And catch frisbees in midair!

Have fun, what a cutie!

Well, he's just over 3 months at 11 pounds. But him being sick for a week-ish, he didn't gain any weight for a week or 2. His legs are getting LOOONG! I will have to post a photo, he's just too cute! He already will go down to the ground almost immediately when I say "down". And of course sit, and stay he knows. But I just don't know how I managed to get downstairs every morning without him bumping the backs of my legs so I'd know what to do, LOL!

They just had a big frisbee dog contest here in my city - I think it's called something different, like flydisc or something. Anyway, they showed the contest on TV, and it was all border collies. Boy, those guys can RUN!!!

2dogmom · Aug 14, 2006

kluchetta, my bad! I forgot that Border Collies can have a wide range of weights and sizes. That is because they have not been AKC recognized until fairly recently (1993 I think). If your doggy is about 11 lbs at 3 mos then he will be around 30 lbs full grown. That is still in the range for Border Collies.
Yeah, not only can they RUN they can do it all day long!! Do you need a jogging companion? Maybe you better take him along when you go bike riding!

kluchetta · Aug 14, 2006

Originally Posted by 2dogmom

kluchetta, my bad! I forgot that Border Collies can have a wide range of weights and sizes. That is because they have not been AKC recognized until fairly recently (1993 I think). If your doggy is about 11 lbs at 3 mos then he will be around 30 lbs full grown. That is still in the range for Border Collies.
Yeah, not only can they RUN they can do it all day long!! Do you need a jogging companion? Maybe you better take him along when you go bike riding!

Jeez, I'm not much of a jogger, but I may have to get with it to keep him busy!

loveysmummy · Aug 15, 2006

Originally Posted by kluchetta

They just had a big frisbee dog contest here in my city - I think it's called something different, like flydisc or something. Anyway, they showed the contest on TV, and it was all border collies. Boy, those guys can RUN!!!

These types of dogs EXCEL at agility or flyball. Maybe something to look into after obedience work is nailed down...

solaritybengals · Aug 17, 2006

I think those ears remind me a shepard. Shephards are also good herding dogs so maybe?

kluchetta · Sep 7, 2006

A little update on JD...his 16 week check up and shots had him at 16 pounds (gained 5 pounds in 4 weeks). And here's the funniest thing!! A lady came into the vet's office when we were there, and he ran over to her, and she said, "oh, my! He looks like a Belgian Sheepdog!" I was floored - not many people have heard of them. Then she told me she used to raise them!

Anyways, there are some "issues" with potty training, but we've got a crate, so it's getting better. He doesn't nip at people anymore to get them to go, and I can usually get him to leave the cats alone by doing a "down" command. Here are a couple of pics:

evepie · Sep 8, 2006

he really is beautiful!

momofmany · Sep 8, 2006

It's so hard to judge their breed when they are so young! I've adopted 2 black dogs as puppies from the shelter. We never figured out exactly what they were entirely, so we simply called them "knee-highed black dogs" as their breed when asked. If he is showing signs of herding, then you probably have some border collie / cattle dog / working dog in the mix. My Jethro (1st black dog) loved to stand guard over the cats for hours on end.

He is a cutie-pie!!

eagleeye · Sep 8, 2006

He's such a handsome lil' man! I love his ears. Good luck with the potty training.

renny · Sep 8, 2006

Look at those ears!!!!!! I love giant puppy ears!! He looks alot like the dogs I saw when i was watching a police dog trials show. Belgian shepard (similar to german shepard i think) comes to mind. Either way...cute cute cute!

neely · Sep 9, 2006

Although very cute, he doesn't appear to have the right coat or muzzle for a Belgian Sheepdog. He seems to be a better match with a black German Shepherd and possibly something else. Regardless he looks like a sweetie and I agree, dogs with a herding instinct need mental stimulation as much as physical exercise. Even if you're not a jogger if you have a friend or neighbor with a dog you can set up doggie playdates. My dog has a golden retriever girlfriend that he loves to pieces. He gets the best exercise playing with her. Best of luck and keep us posted on the progress.

kluchetta · Sep 9, 2006

Yeah, he's not quite fuzzy enough for a Belgian. But he could be a mix I think. Also, his legs are getting really long. Fortunately our older lab-mix has decided that JD can stay and is playing with him a lot. That's good for both of them since the older dog is a bit on the heavy side.

4crazycats · Sep 10, 2006

Maybe Lab/Border Collie mix or Lab/Aussie mix.

miagi's_mommy · Sep 10, 2006

first of all he's a cutie for sure!

he looks like a border collie/shepherd mix.

congrats!!!

gsxrgirl · Sep 13, 2006

could he be a healer mix?

kluchetta · Sep 13, 2006

Originally Posted by gsxrgirl

could he be a healer mix?

I think that's very likely, since he nips at everyone's heels. Going by looks, he could be a mix of lots and lots of things, but I've never had a dog with such a strong instinct. Don't know if being a mix waters the herding instinct down or not...either way, he is very sweet, and makes it so much fun to come home he is so happy to see us!

gsxrgirl · Sep 13, 2006

aren't dogs great!! I love our kitten and our cat don't get me wrong, but there's nothing like getting greeted at the back door by a totally excited puppy who is sooooo excited you have to squeeze though the door because he's trying to push on it to get to you.....!!!!

Help w/ my new puppy's breed?

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May the purr be with you

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