He's a good boy, is he also Dutch Shepherd?

[Aine]

Age: Between 7-9 months. I've had him not quite a month and he lost the last of his baby teeth the 1st week I had him.
Sex: Male now neutered
Height: 23 inches at withers
Length: Shoulder to before tail: 24 inches
Weight: Now 56lbs, he was 30lbs when I got him
Coat: Hard overcoat, he had a lovely plush undercoat up until last week, he blew it entirely during a bath. He has more brindle in his coat now then when I first got him, up until recently he didn't have any on his upper back legs but it seems to be spreading I guess as he is losing his baby coat maybe?
History: No microchip no tattoo unable to locate prior owners despite widespread advertising and shelter contacts. Had a metal cord growing into his neck that had to be removed which is why his neck fur doesn't look very nice is some of the pictures he still has scars and scabs. He was living as a stray for several months with people trying to catch him.
Why I think he might be part DS: I live in a military community and know of several people who have a dutch shepherd so they aren't unknown around here. Unfortunately the folks I know are no longer stationed here so I can't ask their opinions. My former neighbor, a military dog handler, had one and as much as I can remember this guy does look similar to his dog.
He's high drive. He's an excellent problem solver. Very good with other dogs.


Pictures: Sorry these aren't great quality, all I have is a camera phone. The GSD in some of the pictures is 28 inches at the shoulder for reference and weighs 92lbs.











Thank you for taking the time to read my post

[Dutchringgirl]

If he is a good boy, that is your first clue he is not a DS LOL

[Aine]

If he is a good boy, that is your first clue he is not a DS LOL

Haha I actually got a really good laugh out of that thank you. The GSD was a terror growing up so he's my comparison. This dog is like the GSD but not on crack. He still gets into things and he's more work than other working breeds I've fostered but he wants to do well and he learns things very quickly. This guy may on occasion rip a hole in a duvet to get at the stuffing, he loves duvets, but the GSD ripped apart three couch cushions, an ottoman, flipped a 5 gallon water bowl over and spread the water all over the kitchen, and somehow got a hold of an entire package of paper towels that were on a top shelf and tore all those up all in the time I was in the bathroom. That was his worst day but the first 14th months of his life were kind of like that. He's great now though.

My standards may be kind of low for what makes a good dog

[Aine]

So today I was planting and I had just gotten my baby Avocado tree in and I had this guy outside helping me. I went inside to grab a tool and I came back out in less than two minutes he had dug up the tree and was running around the yard with it.

Now that he's a little bit bad and also covered in mud does he look more like a DS?

Right before his bath

[johninny]

the 2nd photo in your 1st post looked very DS to me. he seems to carry himself in the manner of a DS. the coat pattern does not seem DS. Digging up your tree and running proudly with abandon certainly would make any DS proud. while not a given, your boy could certainly have a good dose of DS in him - hard to tell without seeing him in action. sounds like a great dog.

[Dutchringgirl]

If he is a good boy, that is your first clue he is not a DS LOL

Haha I actually got a really good laugh out of that thank you. The GSD was a terror growing up so he's my comparison. This dog is like the GSD but not on crack.

HA.

If he is a low drive shepherd, then that would explain why he is such a good boy . Thalie and Sadie are like night and day, Thalie is low drive, she is very good, never has destroyed anything, Sadie..........now that is another story, she is very high drive.....Ill leave that there.

He could very possibly be as DS mix, his body looks like a DS to me, A little round in the picture of him with the GSD though

[Aine]

If he is a good boy, that is your first clue he is not a DS LOL

Haha I actually got a really good laugh out of that thank you. The GSD was a terror growing up so he's my comparison. This dog is like the GSD but not on crack.

HA.

If he is a low drive shepherd, then that would explain why he is such a good boy . Thalie and Sadie are like night and day, Thalie is low drive, she is very good, never has destroyed anything, Sadie..........now that is another story, she is very high drive.....Ill leave that there.

He could very possibly be as DS mix, his body looks like a DS to me, A little round in the picture of him with the GSD though

As he's starting to feel better he's acting a lot more like the GSD did at that age. So I am glad he is feeling better but my god I didn't want to raise another high drive dog haha. I could finally start leaving the GSD in a room without worrying about what he was going to destroy. And the more you exercise them to try and tire them out the better their cardio and muscle strength gets it's a catch 22

I wonder if the roundness could be lab, labs are really common around here too. It could also be fatness. He was starving when he was finally caught, he had a belly full of plastic which I assume he ate to try and feel full. For the first while he would eat like he was never getting another meal. The vet said to free feed him but I had to stop he could easily eat 8 cups in a sitting and the food he is on (Great Life-Buffalo) recommends a dog his size eats max 2 cups a day.

Anyway thank you all very much for the help. This is a wonderful board so I'll definitely be sticking around to admire all your dogs It's not often you find a group of people who 'get' breeds of dogs like this, I wish I had found you all when the GSD was growing up

[Aine]

I hope it's okay to post a couple more pictures. I just love the first one:

He's pouncing on that white piece of fluff
And in this one I think his legs are getting longer

[johninny]

always love more pics.
and he really does look so DS in some of the pics. chasing white fluff is certainly typical. wouldn't it be great to know what else is mixed in there?!