Do you know what breed?

[shepherdsandlabs]

I have 4 new pups all the same mother and father but the pups all don't look alike. Was wondering if you know what they are. Elsi looks like a cow lol like a Cocker Sp and St. Bernard mix. Dutch looks like a hound dog. Hershey I'm not sure. Cocoa looks like a Choc. Lab. I am possitive they have same parents. Thanks for any help.

[lv4dogs]

welcome to pt. Cute pups you got there, i love the black/white one.
Are the parents mixed breeds? What breeds are they? That can cause some breeds to show up more in some pups & less in others, vice versa.
No dog will look just like it's parents, & as they age they may change slightly.

[BCBlondie]

Hmm...It's hard to tell with puppies because a lot of times mixed breed pups grow up looking a lot different than what they looked like as pups. But from the looks of them now, maybe spaniel/lab/boxer or mastiff? This one's a toughie.. They're definitely not purebreds though lol.

[shepherdsandlabs]

They are a mixed breed. The parents....the father looked like Duke off of Beverly hillbillies lol The mother was all black and had lab in her I am told. I have also been told that they have Blue Tick Healer....Blue Healer in then.....I cant find nothing about those breeds...The closest thing I have found is German short hair Pointer.....I do have to say they are a very smart and very loving! But a hand full!

[Kfamr]

Whatever they are they are 100% pure cuteness!!!
This is pretty obvious coming from me, but I love the Tan/black one!! I'm a sucker for tan pups!



Welcome to Pet Talk, by the way! Tell us more about your animals.



P.S. There's a Florida Pet Talk meeting coming up this May... We'd love to have you anre the pups come
Click here for more Info.

[wolfie]

Wow, you got 4 pups at once! Be prepared for a handful!

They are definately mixed up mutts. I can see spaniel and lab and maybe boxer or pit in them. And hound. They're mutts! Very cute pups! Mutts are the best. ^_^

[EssTer]

Originally posted by Kfamr
Whatever they are they are 100% pure cuteness!!!

I agree

Anyway welcome to PT...Hope you'll enjoy time being here....
Your pups are very beautiful and I think it's quite hard to tell what breeds are in them...

I absolitley love that black and white puppy!!!

[Dogz]

Originally posted by Kfamr
Whatever they are they are 100% pure cuteness!!!
This is pretty obvious coming from me, but I love the Tan/black one!! I'm a sucker for tan pups!



Welcome to Pet Talk, by the way! Tell us more about your animals.

Welcome to Pet Talk, shepherdsandlabs! I am sure you will love it here!

I agree, all four of the puppies are ADORABLE! I was going to say I liked the tan one also. They are all so cute though!

[shepherdsandlabs]

Thanks for the welcome all. I took the pups to the vet and he says they are mixed which I knew, but that they have alot of Blue Tick Healer in them.....It's a bird dog.

[3CaniBellisimi]

Hi,

re your question on the lineage of your puppies:

The one in the foreground appears to me to be a cross of Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Tick Coat) also known as Blue Heeler and Labrador Retriever Mix. Australian Cattle dogs are herding dogs used for herding livestock. Heelers are not bird dogs. They are great at herding and driving cattle by either barking at the cattle and intimidating them or nipping at the heels of the cattle. Because they work at the cattle's heels and will duck down quick to avoid being kicked by the cattle, they are referred to as HEELERS. ACDs usually have extremely pointy ears that are carried in an upright position; but, your pup in the front of the photo looks like he has labrador retriever in him in the face and ears.

The Black and white one looks like he does have pointer/bird dog heritage in his background. Like English Springer Spaniel or English Setter or something.

The third tan and black pup looks to me like he is a boxer mix. Maybe some hound dog lineage or He could also have some germ shepherd lineage in his genetics.

The one in the background looks like mostly chocolate labrador retriever with a slight amount of Australian Cattle Dog Blue Heeler to his lineage.

All four of them are certainly adorable!

If you want to learn more about Australian Cattle Dogs, you can find plenty of breed information on them on the web:

This is an internet link to the AKC website showing pictures and breed information on the Australian Cattle Dog: http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/auscat.cfm

This is an internet link to an excellent website with information on the Australian Cattle Dog: http://www.cattledog.com

One of my dogs is a purebred black and tan Australian Cattle Dog and he is a wonderful pet. Very smart and very motivated. Loves a huge backyard and plenty of exercise or he gets bored. My ACD's name is Happy.

Best regards,
Anna Lisa

[shepherdsandlabs]

Thank you so much for the links! You are the only person other than vet who knew what a Blue Heeler was....People thought I was making up my own breed of dog. (not here) I have 3 acres of land that they are able to run of safely and enjoy. I have found them to be the most loving dog and smart. Again thank you

[3CaniBellisimi]

Glad the links were helpful. Sorry this is a little long, here is some more info that you might like:

You are correct in that not too many people know what a heeler or Australian Cattle dog is. When I adopeted Happy from a shelter 2 years ago, the shelter workers told me they thought he was a Keeshond mix. And I thought, "my, that is the strangest looking Keeshond I've ever seen." And he sure didn't look like a Keeshond to me. So after I took Happy home, I looked all through this reference book I have called the "Complete Atlas of Dog Breeds" that is illustrated with photos of hundreds of dog breeds from throughout the world. And there I found a photo that looked just like my Happy under Australian Cattle Dog. Although my Happy didn't have any AKC papers, my vet told me he looks like a purebred ACD. However, I didn't care what breed he was. I adopted him because of his smart intellect and his sweet and calm demeanor. When I took him home, he wouldn't jump on the furniture and he never had an accident in my house. He was 7 years old when I adopted him.

ACDs generally have long lives and can be 12-15 years old. I once read about one one in Australia that herded every day for 24 years until a few days before his death. (I think it was age 24). Anyway, the farmer didn't want the ACD to herd when he was getting old because the farmer thought it might be too much for an elderly dog. But the ACD would mope and cry and was completely morose at being left at the ranch left behind. The farmer couldn't stand the dog being so sad because he was trying to make the dog have a happy retirement. But the farmer realized that the dog didn't want to retire, the dog loved herding. So, the farmer let the dog work because the dog clearly wanted to work the cattle. That dog lived a very long and active life, happily herding up until the end.

Oftentimes people confuse ACDs with Australian Shepherds and those are not the same. They are two completely different breeds.

Glad to hear you have lots of space for the pups. A big concern with highly intelligent and very active ACDs is that they must be kept busy and active because a bored ACD is a destructive ACD. They are dogs that like to be close to their people (kind of like velcro) and they do not do well if they are kept alone all day or god forbid, they should never be chained outside to a doghouse all day). Of course, I feel no dog deserves to be chained to a box outside all day regardless of breed. As the websites say, ACDs can develop big behavioral disorders if a person doesn't keep them active with lots of attention.

ACDs are very protective of their owner and property. You should hear Happy bark when the UPS man rings the doorbell -- he sounds like 3 dogs barking that is how loud he is. And, they like order -- my dog tries to herd squirrels and chases them from tree to tree anytime one appears in the yard. Happy keeps our yard a 'squirrel free zone' because he barks and scares them by chasing them from tree to tree until they decide to leave my yard because the barking ACD is a real deterrent.

Perhaps because your pups have lab heritage in them, that the lab demeanor will soften their temperament a bit and make them more mellow than a purebred ACD. A purebred ACD is so active and sometimes people have a hard time handling them because they don't give the dog enough exercise and attention. They are great jogging and bicycling companions but you have to be careful not to over do it.

Thanks again for showing your adorable pups to us. Are you going to keep all of them or do you have plans to give them to good adoptive homes? Are you planning to get the mother dog spayed?

Best regards,
Anna Lisa & her 3 dogs

PS: I used photoshop to lighten up your photo so that I could see the pups more clearly in order to identify their breed heritage. Again, since they are a mix of breeds, they aren't purebred anything. But, you can definitely see their heritage in their body shapes and coats. Having knowledge of what breed background a dog has really helps when you are trying to understand a dog's behavior or distinctive personality. Breeds definitely have different trademarks/habits and if you are trying to train a border collie compared to a shih tzu, you will notice obvious behavioral differences. Here is the retouched photo:

[DogLover9501]

Hey! Welcome to PT!

I don't think theres any boxer in them, I think if there was there would be some nost creases, smushy face, wrinkles, sad looking eyes....or atleast one of those

But like Kay said whatever they are they're gorgeous!

Did you plan to breed your dogs? Or was it a surprise type thing? I would like to suggest getting them spayed/neutered

Welcome again!

[shepherdsandlabs]

Originally posted by DogLover9501
Hey! Welcome to PT!

I don't think theres any boxer in them, I think if there was there would be some nost creases, smushy face, wrinkles, sad looking eyes....or atleast one of those

But like Kay said whatever they are they're gorgeous!

Did you plan to breed your dogs? Or was it a surprise type thing? I would like to suggest getting them spayed/neutered

Welcome again!

The parents weren't my dogs but a friends who passed....the parents had new owners but they were loyal to the one who passed and kept going home......the pups werent being nursed or fed so we took them in....3 females...1 male. I will be having them fixed asap! Funny the male is the red/tan pup his name is Dutch and he is the biggest baby! The runt Hershey is the fiesty mean one..(not mean plays rough) The blk/wht one is Elsie and she has longer wavy hair....and is very lazy and sleeps all the time ....Cocoa has soft fluffy hair Hershey and Dutch are slick hair...I want to say thanks to all of you for helping to figure what they have in them...it helps to know. I know they are mutts but I love them just the same. By the way the mommy dog has been fixed already and is on a new farm doing well.....not sure about the daddy, someone took him however i don't know where he went .....to a good home I am sure.

[Layka3000]

Welcome ot PT this is a great place, they are very welcoming!