# What breed mix is .....Shug?



## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

This is Shug (Actually Suga---"Sugar" with a Southern accent, and I can't say it properly....my mouth is not Southern. So I call her Shug). My mom is fostering her. Spayed female, about 3 1/2 years old. Is bossy with the other dogs, and will bark at them to get them to play or if they're doing something she doesn't like. Wants to eat the bird, and will fixate on him, just staring at the cage for long periods. Likes to shred her stuffed toys. Has longer, crimped fur on her ears (looks like an '80s hairstyle back when everyone had crimping irons). Weighs about 40 pounds, and is 16 inches tall at the shoulder.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

I'd guess border collie mix.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I see the BC for sure. But what do you think she's mixed with? I'm thinking Spaniel of some kind, or maybe Beagle (I see it in her head shape). I can't remember where I saw the crimped ear fur before....on a Brittany? Springer?


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## bluedawg (Apr 20, 2008)

BC mix but I cant say what else. Maybe a bird dog do to the fixation? What BYBs are in the area where she was found?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Hehe, everyone is a BYB around here. If someone has never raised a litter of pups they're weird. Especially if their dog is purebred....they concede that mutts _maybe_ should be spayed/neutered, but if you have a purebred, you might as well make some money by selling pups. But I digress......

I don't know exactly where she was found. I was told she was young and very emaciated when found, but I was not told where she was found. But her former owner lived in a very small town about 20 miles from here. In the rurals very near that town, there is a very large puppymill that has just about every breed. From Chihuahuas to Mastiffs, Shih Tzus to Bernese Mountain Dogs. So who knows?

What do you consider to be a "bird dog"? A Springer? A GSP?


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## bluedawg (Apr 20, 2008)

Willowy said:


> What do you consider to be a "bird dog"? A Springer? A GSP?


Any dog used for bird hunting, to me is a bird dog. Labs, Retrievers, GSPs, etc etc.

That last pic reminds me of the Bluedawg, but I doubt she is part Aussi or Husky.


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## gills (Mar 16, 2008)

She looks all Border Collie to me -- though a little on the small side. Does she have the "eye"? Does she have a fixed stare at things like toys, or something that moves? Does she sort of crouch, with her front legs lower than the back end, or maybe in a complete down, when she's doing the "stare"?

Her behaviour will tell you if she's a BC or not. Their instincts are so strong that's the surest sign. If she doesn't have the "eye", then she's not a BC, or at least, there's some other breed in there drowning out the instincts.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

She looks a bit square to be all BC to me.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

She looks mostly BC to me, the only thing off is the ears. The ears look aussie, but she is small..too small to be aussie x BC...on the small side to be pure BC too..I'm gonna go with BC x spaniel, no idea what kind of spaniel though.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

No, she doesn't do the BC stare. And I think her legs are too short to be pure BC, even if badly bred. For some reason I thought of her when I saw the Kooikerhondje/Munsterlander thread.....there ARE a lot of Dutch people in the area, though I don't know if any of them breed Dutch dogs. Well, probably we'll never know, unless I spring for a DNA test and her breeds are covered by it.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Bumped for Tirluc.

New developments....her former owner tells me she was found in Tennessee, and I don't know which breeds are common there. He former owner believes she's part pit, but this is based on some silly things she was told by other people (she has "pit eyes"; she has colored patches on her tummy that "only pits have" etc.). I saw a Brittany at the shelter that looked like her in the face and eyes (except he was liver and white). I have more pictures that I need to upload. She hates having her picture taken, so it's hard to get a pic of her looking relaxed.....she always has her ears back in the pics.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

I'm changing my vote to all BC. First I thought her ears were dropped, but looking closer, they look airplane but with fringe??


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

From your first post sounds like she may have the Border Collie "eye" if she fixates on the bird.


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

do you have some better shots?...some that are not "looking down" on her?....from what i see there, she looks pure BC to me....remember, Borders come in many sizes, shapes, drives, "eye", etc....i could put up pics of all 4 of mine from the side and they don't look the same (similar, but not the same)...heads are different, build is different, even the way they move is different.....

as for Kody, i am thinking that he may be BC w/ a little Whippet or IG thrown in there...the flyball people like to get the speed w/ smaller size and have bred (as alot of you know) Border/Jacks, Border/IG, Border/Whippet, and he did come from down south which, i may be wrong, but i was told is big into flyball.....i'll do some trimming up on him (feet and such) and post some close up and you'll see what i mean....


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## Jen D (Apr 23, 2007)

Looks like Border Collie mix to me and a very cute one at that!


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Like I said, she really HATES having her picture taken. She runs when she even sees someone pick up the camera, LOL. I'll try to get some better ones. My brother takes most of the pics, and, since he's really tall, they all come out looking down on the subject. 

She's a funny dog. She's not really drivey enough (IMO) to be pure BC, although I'm sure some BCs turn out to be not as drivey as the others. She doesn't fixate on the bird anymore, but she still wants to eat him. 

Yes, her ears are airplaned with fringe. They stick out to the side when she's alert. This first pic shows her ears the way they normally are, not pinned to her head (although these 2 pics are fuzzy....like I said, I'll try to get some better ones).


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Well, I ordered a DNA breed test.....just a cheap one (normally $60, on sale for $30). I'll let you all know what it says. Probably it'll come up with "Afghan Hound mix" or something weird like that  .


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## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

when do you think you'll get the results?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Finally! Yeah, we're the world's worst procrastinators  . Here DNA results came back today, and this is what it said:
Level 2 (37%-74%) Australian Shepherd (surprise! no BC!)
Level 4 (10%-19%) Collie (presumably Rough Collie? They do have BC on their breed list)
Level 4 (10%-19%) English Springer Spaniel (I knew she had Spaniel in her)
Level 4 (10%-19%) German Shepherd Dog confused
Level 4 (10%-19%) Great Pyrenees confused
Level 4 (10%-19%) Weimaraner confused

So she's some kind of mutt! With that mix, I'm surprised she isn't bigger. And that she doesn't have thicker fur.


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## lizalots (Aug 29, 2008)

I definitely see the weimaraner


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

lizalots said:


> I definitely see the weimaraner


Really? I don't see it _at all_. Where do you see the Weim in her?


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## lizalots (Aug 29, 2008)

I'm just kidding!


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Hehe, you'd think I'd have caught on to the joke!  Yeah, I don't see Weim at all. Or GSD. Weird.


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## lizalots (Aug 29, 2008)

It's probably just a random result in the testing. I've done several searches to see what method they use for the DNA sequencing, but they are very secretive about their methods or I don't know... the information doesn't seem to be out there. A lot of them say "Backed by a decade of peer-reviewed veterinarian science research on dog genetics" but yet they don't offer the peer reviews to read. But man, whoever thought of it is making a pretty penny.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

Eh, the first three don't surprise me...and she could be up to 74% aussie...I can buy that...


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I've developed a theory concerning her background, LOL. I decided her mother was a very mixed-up, muttly, hairy farm dog, and her father was a wandering purebred Aussie. Maybe he was a Mini  , since she's smaller than the last 3 breeds would suggest. 

Anyway, at least we can say she's an Aussie mix when people ask.


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## pamperedpups (Dec 7, 2006)

I agree with tirluc and have to say I trust those DNA tests about as far as I can throw them.


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