Dutch Shepherd Forum

Good Afternoon!

About 10 or so days ago, I adopted Chewy from a rescue. His paper work is really messed up and I was wondering if anyone could verify if he is indeed a Dutch Shepherd mix.

The lady that I got him from said that he looked just like a Dutch Shepherd, but the kill shelter she pulled him from said he was a lab. The vet has him down as a German Shepherd (because they do not have DSD's on their drop down list.)

I know he is a mix, so I thought maybe he could be a Dutch Shepher / Lab mix? But he is my first dog, so I have no idea. =) I have thought about doing tests to see what he came back as, but I have heard mixed reviews on those results.

He certainly looks like he could be a DS or DS mix! He's a cutie, whatever he is!! And he has the white patch that a few of us are so very fond of....
Welcome!!!

Welcome! What a cutie!!

WELCOME! And thanks for rescuing him!
does he focus his eyes on yours? does he always want to be close? does he learn faster than human children? yes to these questions would suggest DS.
do you know how old he is or gotten educated guesses on that? what have his ears been doing? they look in the photo like they might be trying to stand upright; do they stand up sometimes for a few moments? how much does he weigh? in your one photo, he looks VERY small and VERY young. if he is that young, it may be difficult to tell but could be DS without necessarily a mix involved.
more photos would be entertaining and helpful to analyze. also anything you can tell us about his character, behavior , etc., is even more critical in figuring out what he is - which probably includes DS, but not lab.
finally, like your vet breed list [ not limited to your vet at all], the genetic tests do not include DS in their databases. as a result, any dog that is DS gets results that are total gibberish. so do not bother unless it is decided that he is not DS - which seems unlikely at the moment since he looks completely like a very cute and beautiful DS baby.
also, assuming he is DS and being your first dog, have you read enough here or elsewhere to know what you are getting into? do some reading....DS are extraordinary dogs that can be [ likely be ] an incredible handful but are so unbelievably rewarding to someone who is open to their intelligence and attention and is willing to respect them and provide breed-knowledgeable guidance to bring out the best in them.
CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF YOU! should be quite a journey and everyone here would like to be a part of it to help out and to share in the emotional rewards.

I agree with Johninny ^^^... Congrats! I would say definitely DS!! I mean look at his face, coat, and ears! Reminds me a lil bit of my Kora when she was that small. More photos of this little guy, please!

Chewy is def. a fast learner. It doesn't take long at all for him to learn a command. He keeps eye contact with me when I'm speaking to him unless he is distracted by another dog or person he doesn't know, then it becomes a little hard to get him to follow a command. He is usually very quiet, doesn't bark much.

He is protective of me and if I go into another room he will come find me and sit until I go into the living room and if I'm not playing with him he will play with some of his toys.

He has whined when I'm not around by giving a few little huffs and a small whine but doesn't usually last more than a minute before he stops and they are very quiet, barely heard from the next room.

He is supposedly 10 weeks old right now. When I got him he was badly malnourished, and I am currently giving him medication for coccidia and hook worm. He was eating cat food at the rescue because he was starving, and I switched him to Blue puppy formula when I adopted him. He has gained some weight and is no longer pure bones.

Today I got to buy him a size small harness as his extra small is almost too small for him now!

He has dandruff and the vet and I are trying to work out if he has a skin issue or if it was from malnourishment. The rescue was giving him 2 baths a day and that may have dried out his skin since DS are not supposed to be washed but sparingly due to their all weather coat.

He is incredibly sweet and loving. Has bouts of puppy energy that keeps me active! He does very well with women, children, other dogs, and surprisingly cats. He is a tad weary of males, but may be due to his life up to this point.

His ears perk up if he is actively listening for something, and are less floppy now then they were a week ago.

OMG he is so adorable! I agree he look DS and sounds like DS...welcome to the forum and we love pics so don't be shy!

I agree that he looks DS. Thanks for rescuing him and thank God he found you when he did!

yes, both lucky i think. Chewy sounds very much a DS and no reason so far to say there is any mix.
while vet tries to figure out his skin problem, try giving him a fish oil capsule every day [ preferably from ''wild-caught'' fish ], 100 i.u. vit.E capsule, and add some teaspoons of coconut oil to his food. also with all his meds and other stuff he has been through, a probiotic [ liquid or capsule -- from vet for dogs or for humans from drug/health/vitamin store ] could help him tremendously: should be administered with some food but not near in time to when he is getting antibiotics. definitely continue this for at least a while after antibiotic treatment ends. also because he has been nutritionally challenged and his infections AND his treatments continue to interfere with proper nutrient absorption, it might be an extra-good idea to add a great nutritional supplement to his food, such as the one i give my dogs their entire lives. some stores may have it, but it is mostly on-line directly from the company: Platinum Performance CJ [complete joint].
good luck with him. it should be an amazing experience with him.