# Could she be full rat terrier?



## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

I was looking a bit more into what breeds Sydney could possibly be. From what I've read rat terriers come in many different colors and not all purebreds have erect ears. Does anyone think she could be full rat terrier and why/why not? Thanks for any replies!


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Excuse the mess here.








And here's what she looked like as a pup.








And for fun, here we are waltzing.


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

In all honesty, I'm no expert, but I have looked a lot at Rat Terriers, and I don't think your cute pup-pup is fully RT. RT's have shorter fur and skinnier tails, and similar to JRT's are usually entirely white except for patches of darker fur.


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## railNtrailcowgrl (Jul 24, 2008)

I don't think so, her size and body build is all wrong, IMO, to be full rat terrier. There is just something about her that isn't 'right'. Also her markings are weird to be RT. Here is a RT with drop ears. How much does she weigh? I personally see RT/ACD.

FOUND ONE! Rat Terrier/Blue Heeler Mix

For comparison my RT/JRT mix:


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

She weighs 18 pounds and has a very light build. Which is why I think if she is RT x ACD (which was my personal guess as well ;P) I think there has to be something else. She's much more delicate than both of those breeds and has very long legs.

EDIT: Yeah, see! She doesn't have the stocky build of that dog at all.


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## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

Your dog screams Australian Cattle dog. Quite a bit of heeler in her, I don't see much, if any rat terrier. She's a pretty girl . There's definitely something smaller in her as well, perhaps a small terrier. 

Here's examples of Cattle dogs-


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Yeah, my upstairs neighbor who I share a yard with has an ACD and they don't look very much alike to me aside from the coloration. Her body is way different and she runs and moves differently.

EDIT: The first photo in my second post that says "excuse the mess" is the best representation of what her body looks like in real life.









This is the photo that made me first think rat terrier. Her fur color and length is admittedly different, but her body shape is spot on like this dog's.


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

kafkabeetle said:


> Does a rat terrier mix sound like a good guess though? And what else do you think is in her?


From what I can tell she doesn't have a very large chest, and terriers tend to have large chests, so I don't really see much terrier in her... Honestly I can't tell what she is. Maybe she's some kind of super mutt!


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## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

Her body shape still isn't that of a rat terrier. It's possible she's a mix, but she's a very very low content mix. There's alot of Cattle dog in her, that's obvious from her coloration which is spot on for Cattle dog. Rat terriers are generally slender dogs, not quite as leggy and your girl has a 'fluff' at the end her her tail rat terriers with tails don't have that. As someone already mentioned Rat Terriers have short tight hair, your girl has hair more like an ACD. Hopefully Johnny(i think that's his screen name) will stop by, he shows ACDs.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

JLWillow said:


> Maybe she's some kind of super mutt!


I think this is what I will tell people from now on!


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## jinnyretr0 (Oct 13, 2009)

head shape, coloration and body shape all say "australian cattle dog" to me. But she is really beautiful


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Alright. ACD has been established.  Any guesses on where those slender build and black saddle genes came from?


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## jerrysmom (Feb 13, 2011)

Can I just ask you when you got her?? She looks a little like my baby and I wonder if they are related. He was a rescue that came from Ohio several years back. We have always wondered about his long lost brothers and sisters.... We always thought he was half cattle dog half rat terrier but never really could confirm....


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

jerrysmom said:


> Can I just ask you when you got her?? She looks a little like my baby and I wonder if they are related. He was a rescue that came from Ohio several years back. We have always wondered about his long lost brothers and sisters.... We always thought he was half cattle dog half rat terrier but never really could confirm....


We got her from a rescue in New Philadelphia, OH in 2007. It was called From Heaven to Earth rescue. I'd love to see pictures of your boy.  It'd be pretty cool if they were related!


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

More for JohnnyBandit:


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## lauren17 (Apr 14, 2009)

I know someone with a known rat terrier/ACD mix and she is built almost exactly like Sydney. Her dog didn't get the ACD coloring like your dog has but they look very similar other than that, I wish I had a picture of her to show you.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

lauren17 said:


> I know someone with a known rat terrier/ACD mix and she is built almost exactly like Sydney. Her dog didn't get the ACD coloring like your dog has but they look very similar other than that, I wish I had a picture of her to show you.


Pretty cool. I would have loved to see a picture.

And might I say I'm pretty horrified looking at the older pictures in the beginning of this thread. Her nails were just awful.  At least you can see them improve as the pictures get newer. The one in the pink harness was taken just last week. I'm still working on reigning them in more, but they are waaaay better now that that itching picture in the first thread. Ugh, it makes me cringe to look at it.


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## CerbiesMom (Jan 30, 2008)

Her legs are long and slender like Cerbie's. We think he's a ACD/GSP mix. I love Sydney's ears. I wish Cerber didn't have floppy ears. I love crazy ears on a dog.









you can kinda see his front legs in this pic. He's a slender guy, but has a huge ribcage and tiny head for his size.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

CerbiesMom said:


> Her legs are long and slender like Cerbie's. We think he's a ACD/GSP mix. I love Sydney's ears. I wish Cerber didn't have floppy ears. I love crazy ears on a dog.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, they do seem to have a similar build. We thought she was going to have floppy ears because they kept going back and forth and when she was a puppy she had entirely floppy ears. This led the rescue to guess she was part beagle. Which still may well be the case--she has a sort of yowly bark, but definitely not a full on bay. Cerbie looks a lot bigger than Sydney, how much does he weigh?


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## CerbiesMom (Jan 30, 2008)

He's runs anywhere between 28-35lbs. I like the 32lb mark myself, but he usually stays under it. He's under 2' at the shoulder. He's a medium dog. And both heelers and GSPs are usually bigger than that, so he's just a little guy. I don't know if his having distemper as a pup affected his growth at all. I'd love to have a dane sized Cerbie. That would be fun!


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