GSD/Akita???

[BlueEyedPaints]

So we have this puppy that we found abandoned and emaciated and very young! Its obvious that she is a GSD but we arent sure what else she has going on with her. She is BIG!! At just 10-11 weeks and me only having her for a week so she was still very skinny she weight 22lbs!! She has nearly double in size only a few weeks later! (Im gonna take her and get her weight again maybe later today or tomorrow.) Anyway, our thought after looking at some GSD mixes online is that she is mixed with Akita. It really fits and answers ALOT of things if its true. She is very laid back…not like she is sick or ill because she can be very “puppy” but she is just calm and gentle and reminds me a bear cub when she runs…slow and steady and her coat/skin just rolls, lol. Speed definitely is not her thing!! haha. She does have a thick undercoat that is becoming more prominent as she is shedding out her puppy coat now. She has really attached to me and LOVES the kids already. She is crazy smart and has learned things very quickly and you can really watch her think and almost analyze every situation. She also has some serious will power when she has her mind set on something!! Anyway enough of my rambling here are some pics…yall tell me what you think??

not the best shot at all but Im posting it for a size comparison…the dog she is laying with is a 65lb 3 yr old Pit/Boxer/Vizsla mix

And I guess here is one of her and I

[TKR]

First, God bless you for helping her and giving her a great home! She is a beauty and as a GSD woman, they are soooo intelligent and loyal and I can
certainly see the GSD in her. As for the Akita, I’m not very familiar with the breed, but that is certainly a possibility. Regardless – you got a wonderful puppy and I hope you have many years of joy with her! What’s her name, did I miss that?

PennyG

[BlueEyedPaints]

Thanks! She is very sweet and fantastic with my boys! We have fallen in love with her very quickly And her name is Izzy…my kids sorta picked it for her after I suggested it once and it stuck but I think its cute and fits her too so they did good

[IdahoRider]

You can absolutely see the GSD in her, that is for sure! What a cutie. I am not so sure about the Akita.

There are certain characteristics that seem to breed through consistently in mixes. Like Shar-Pei ears and muzzles. On most of the Shar-Pei mixes I have seen and worked with, you look at the ears and the muzzle on the dog and you know there is Shar-Pei in there.

With the Akita, the tail and the sheer broadness in the head seem to be what breeds through. An Akita tail is relatively short, and carried tightly curled. Mixes seem to retain that tail to varying extents and the width of the head, relatively small eye and short snout also seem to breed through consistently. Often with mixes there is an upright quality to the hind end, too.

It is a little difficult to get a good idea of what other breed could be in the mix with your pupper. Her tail seems to wag a lot! Which is cool, but it makes it hard to get an idea of shape. It would be fun to see a conformation shot of her, with her standing still and square and the picture showing all four feet, and her whole body.

Whatever she is, the GSD has come through loud and clear and she looks like a 1005 sweetie!
Sheilah

[BlueEyedPaints]

Thank you! I know exactly what you mean about the Shar-pei! Its very hard to mistake one of those What lead me to this though is that her tail is very much like a GSD but its shorter than it should be for a GSD and she does carry it up over her alot but she doesnt have the full curl…but could that be because of the GSD? Her nose is a little more narrow for an Akita but I chalked that to her being a GSD because its also short for a GSD and kind of blunt ended. Her head…at least to me is a little wider than your average GSD pup but I do agree not entirely as wide as an Akita. The other thing that lead me here is that she is very think and bulky all over…alot more so than a GSD and that combined with the shorter tail and her carrying it over her and the pure lack of a single Malamute in SC that I have been able to locate brought me to the Akita. Plus her personality. She is simple and calm for a 14 week old pup. Very humble like and observant. She would rather lay down and mouth wrestle than tumble around and play or run. She does also have spots on her tongue like I know is common in GSDs but even more so is Akitas. These spots are black and NOT purple/blue and Im 200% sure she is not a Chow and aside from those breeds Im not sure what else their was to give her this bulk and other characteristics she has. Do you know what I mean??

[BlueEyedPaints]

This is also what I found online. They are all GSD/Akita mixes and look A LOT like my girl

check the tail on this one

Just want to clarify that Im not trying to argue or anything just simply pointing out what has brought me to my thoughts I will look through my pics and see what I have and if I dont have one I will go get it

[wendy]

I would like to point out that very few non-purebred dogs are actually crosses between two purebreds- most mixed-breed dogs aren’t mixed-breed, they are just mutts with no purebreds in their ancestry whatsoever.
Or occasionally you’ll get a cross between a mutt and one purebred. And most mutts that people claim are a mix of this and that, well, they are just guessing wildly, so looking at pics and comparing to your dog isn’t really that informative. It’s been proven that visual identification of breed(s) in mixed-breed dogs is very inaccurate. It’s hard to tell from your pics, but it’s not impossible the dog is a pure Shiloh or even a pure GSD. Very few people describe akitas or GSDs as laid-back or gentle, but those are words associated with Shilohs.

I would guess your pup is older than you think- at 11 weeks of age, any of the larger breeds (labs, GSD, great danes, irish wolfhounds) are all going to weigh about 20 pounds in a non-starved state. It’s only around 5 months of age that you can figure out how big the dog will mature to- the labs/GSDs are going to be slowing down in growth rate and will be at 40 to 50 pounds at that age, while the bigger dogs will be around 50 to 60 pounds at that age and will continue to grow rapidly for many more months.

[BlueEyedPaints]

[QUOTE=wendy;6952751]
I would like to point out that very few non-purebred dogs are actually crosses between two purebreds- most mixed-breed dogs aren’t mixed-breed, they are just mutts with no purebreds in their ancestry whatsoever.
Or occasionally you’ll get a cross between a mutt and one purebred. And most mutts that people claim are a mix of this and that, well, they are just guessing wildly, so looking at pics and comparing to your dog isn’t really that informative. It’s been proven that visual identification of breed(s) in mixed-breed dogs is very inaccurate. It’s hard to tell from your pics, but it’s not impossible the dog is a pure Shiloh or even a pure GSD. Very few people describe akitas or GSDs as laid-back or gentle, but those are words associated with Shilohs.

I would guess your pup is older than you think- at 11 weeks of age, any of the larger breeds (labs, GSD, great danes, irish wolfhounds) are all going to weigh about 20 pounds in a non-starved state. It’s only around 5 months of age that you can figure out how big the dog will mature to- the labs/GSDs are going to be slowing down in growth rate and will be at 40 to 50 pounds at that age, while the bigger dogs will be around 50 to 60 pounds at that age and will continue to grow rapidly for many more months.[/QUOTE]

I do agree but only partially. I do plan on getting a dna test done to see as well but…guessing is fun Izzy is now 14 weeks and she has been aged by a vet as well as 2 very knowledgeable dog people in person and all 3 came to the same conclusion at 3 different and separate times. She is a large pup and has been growing extremely fast. She still had puppy breath when we found her 4 weeks ago and was only just getting in a couple of her molars. She also has not lost a single tooth yet.

ETA: I hadnt heard of Shilohs…thanks for the info!

[BlueEyedPaints]

Here are a few more pics of her from today…

[BlueEyedPaints]

here is the best size visual that I can give yall…I took this right before I made her crate larger (by moving that divider). This crate is for dogs up to 90lbs. Does that help you gauge her size?? lol

[threedogpack]

I can tell you for certain she is 100% Lovable Puppy and Cute as They Come. Totally certain of that mix.

Could be Akita, I also thought perhaps Malamute or mayyyybe Husky.

No matter what she is, I am glad she landed with you, especially since your kids love her too.

[lovey1121]

She’s just adorable, and I was thinking GSD x Malamute x Pony with that bone and broadness of head I love her eyes!

[TKR]

GSD’s have branched into several “types” and many of the West German (traditional) can be larger, heavier, broader, etc. and some are pretty laid back. My male (now deceased) was a big boy at 120 lbs and a very broad head as is the male I just bred my female to last week. Both of them are very gentle and dignified, but will protect if needed. They are all W German. The DDR/East German, Czech, etc. are smaller and show some untraditional coloring (IMO) and tend to be more intense. The American show lines are real slopey hips, lighter bodied. So, some of that could come from GSD lines. I agree that she could be part Husky, Akita or several different breeds, which is expected. I would guess one GSD parent and the other who knows what, but the GSD seems to dominate, which is marvelous!
PennyG

[cnigh]

Very cute pup. I agree he looks a lot like the first picture of the cross. I also think he could be an older pup. Looks 4-5 months old. Teeth can be delayed, making it harder to age by mouth. He`s not just big, he is more mature looking than 14 weeks.

[BlueEyedPaints]

Thanks for the info guys and the compliments on my girl I thought Malamute at first but I have been unable to find a single Malamute in the state that I live in anywhere. Ive looked on craigslist, petfinder and googled them and have come up empty so with that I chalked off the Mal but I do understand that it still could be possible I suppose. And as for the age thing…Ive never heard that about teeth…very interesting. She did also still have puppy breath 4 weeks ago…its gone now but with that still present then Im still thinking we are pretty close to being right on

[Guin]

She looks some large percentage GSD and 100% adorable!

[S1969]

[QUOTE=BlueEyedPaints;6953982]
Thanks for the info guys and the compliments on my girl I thought Malamute at first but I have been unable to find a single Malamute in the state that I live in anywhere. Ive looked on craigslist, petfinder and googled them and have come up empty so with that I chalked off the Mal but I do understand that it still could be possible I suppose.[/QUOTE]

I understand the desire to identify the various breeds involved, but I think you are being thrown off by the idea that there is a purebred dog directly involved in the pedigree. I think it’s unlikely that a purebred Akita is the sire or dam; and probably also true of a purebred Malamute. But that doesn’t mean that another cross-bred (“mutt”) dog with significant Akita or Malamute genes / traits wasn’t involved in the breeding. Unfortunately, that is the downside of the mixed breed dog - you really don’t know.

I think, however, that barring GSD or labs that you will find any particular breed in the direct lineage of most mixed breed puppies. Of course it happens, but I think less often than a mixed breed x mixed breed litter. Or, possibly a “GSD” or “Lab” that is maybe registered, or maybe not, but might not be a good specimen of the breed, which may throw off your perception based on looks alone. Even in a well-bred litter, it is possible for offspring not to represent the breed standard (I have a massively oversized dog of AKC champion breeding), so anything short of really well bred might result in lots of variations!

In your case, I’d err on the side of younger v. older, but would definitely consult my vet regarding feeding a large breed. Large breed dogs can have issues with bone growth, so assume it will be huge and feed accordingly.

Sure is adorable, no matter what!

[BlueEyedPaints]

So I guess I just need to call her a Shepherd mix(?) then?? LOL

[cnigh]

Oops she - lol.

The only reason I mentioned that teeth can be delayed is that she wasn`t fed properly before you got her. That may have caused delays in development.

It can happen in people too. My son needs braces, but cant get them until all of his baby teeth come out. Hes 14 and PO`d that he has to wait, but his mouth age is of a 10-12 yr old due to chemo.

[danceronice]

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras–Shilohs are NOT common at all, so the odds of randomly finding a cross of one is lower than even a Husky mix or Akita. But there are a huge variety of GSD types, the Belgian shepherds are increasingly popular (and look a lot like variations on the GSD theme) and all of them could explain some variation on the head size. The picture doesn’t scream anything other than GSD to me (with a non-ideal head, and that could just be a not-great example of the breed, or she could be mixed with any sort of broader-headed breed. Heck, a lab cross would give you a broader forehead.)

No matter what she is I bet once she’s used to a regular diet she doesn’t stay quiet for long! And I hope you like hair. Lots of hair. Lots and lots and lots…my mother says she was still finding Bismarck’s hair (our last GSD, who was put down for a heart defect when I was less than two–I only vaguely remember him, though I do just a tiny bit) in the house vents a couple YEARS after he died.