# Jager & Coda



## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

I thought I'd start my own photo/update thread since I've always got lots of pictures to share : )










*Jager* | Male | German Shepherd | DOB: 07/31/2010​
very long story short with Jager is that back in October 2010 my parents' neighbor had gotten a GSD puppy, and I went to go get one of my own. Jager's parents were "too aggressive" to meet, and it just wound up being a BYB so I was going to play with the puppies to be polite and then go about my way. well, the breeder's son stole my purse when I set it down to play with the puppies. cops were involved but by then the evidence had been disposed of and the breeder felt bad and offered me a free puppy (admission of guilt, IMO). when all was said and done, i got a ~$1350 BYB german shepherd puppy. DOH.

at any rate, I'm glad things played out the way they did because had my purse not been taken, I wouldn't have Jager. he is the most insanely human-like dog I have ever owned and my "heart dog" as you guys say. he currently lives back at home in Ohio with my grandmother; my husband joined the army and we got stationed in NC where finding a rental that accepts GSDs is just a crapshoot. my husband with be separating from the army this year and me and Jager will be reunited for good ♥












*Coda* | Female | GSD x | DOB: 10/01/2013​
Coda was from an accidental litter born on a farm, and had just about 0 human interaction for the first 9 weeks of her life. it took us about 20 minutes to even catch her running around outside, and the whole time i was thinking it was probably a bad idea to take her. but, we eventually caught her and she just snuggled right up on me and fell asleep and that was that, she was coming home with us. luckily, we have had 0 issues with her. she already knew potty = outside only, so housebreaking her was a breeze and she bonded with us almost instantly. she is somewhat cautious of strangers but warms up quickly. 

the mother was a purebred sable german shepherd and the father was a lab, supposedly. my best guess is that the mom had some dutch shepherd muddled in her lines (we're in a military town so there's lots of dutchies) and that's where the brindle comes from, because she looks almost identical to a dutchie pup to me. i have no idea what else she is : )


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## Slartibartfast (Sep 29, 2011)

Interesting stories and thank you for sharing them. I always like to hear about the interesting ways people wind up adding members to the family. Your dogs are great looking and I hope you continue to post more pics over time.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

thank you! i wish i had taken more pictures in the past week. it was such an eventful one that i only managed to get a couple. Jager is going in for a cryptorchid neuter tomorrow, so for the rest of our trip at home him and Coda will have to be separated : (




*01/10/2014 ---*
back home in ohio! some things went wrong at my house back here (long, awful story), so we tried staying at my parents house. they have two chihuahuas who absolutely HATED Coda. the look on the chi's face says it _all_.











*01/11/2014 ---*
so...i promised Coda that not _all_ dogs would hate her, and we went to go stay with my grandmother for the remainder of the visit. as promised, her and Jager hit it off right off the bat. 

but even more importantly OMG is it good to see jager ♥ this is the first time i've seen him since october. as much as it sucks being away from him from that long, there is nothing more awesome than a dog's reaction to you coming home after being apart for long times.




































*01/12/2014 ---*
Jager went and put my boots on : ) i took this as a sign that he meant "hey ma, it's time to go on a walk." we went on a good 5 mile walk over near my parent's neighborhood, and we ran into the lady who owns his brother. she told me he was friendly with other dogs and i should have listened to my gut feeling but i didn't...and it resulted in Jager getting a big gash on his ear. two stitches and $600 later...the poor boy. i feel awful, and trying to keep a 14 week old puppy away from a sore ear is no easy task either.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

*01/14/2014 ---*
took Jager on a real nice long walk at a local trail. i'm not very impressed with my new phone's camera, but he still looks handsome as ever anyways - even with one ear shaved down.




























*01/15/2014 ---*
and all of a sudden, overnight, Coda's ears are fully up now! her ears remind me of a doberman in the first one


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## Adjecyca1 (Jul 25, 2010)

Very cute dogs! Love the brindle pup


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Adjecyca1 said:


> Very cute dogs! Love the brindle pup


Thank you, and me too me too! She is such a ridiculously easy puppy too; half the time I forget she's only 15 weeks old. I can't wait to get her into some obedience classes.

ETA: also, I welcome anyone's "guess the breed" suggestions on her! I asked on here when I first got her, but as she ages I'd be curious to see everyone's thoughts. A lot of people initially thought pit or boxer, but I see neither of those IMO.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

*01.17.2014 ---*

Jager went in for his neuter. He had cryptochidism (a retained/undescended testicle) so much more invasive than your average neuter. He did great! The vet said the retained testicle was the size of an almond, something she had never seen before. To put that in perspective, smaller than a chihuahua's testicles would be. 

Also had his hips x-rayed, teeth cleaned, and was microchipped. His vet said that his hips were beautiful and literally "a textbook example." And his teeth look fantastic! He even got a certificate of bravery : ). 

It was the first time the vet and techs had spent any sizable amount of time with him alone, and they were just gushing over how much they all loved him. They said that he was "just the best shepherd ever" and that he was the friendliest and most well behaved of his breed at their office. They all nicknamed him "Mush" because they said when you hug him, he just melts into a big pile of mush in your arms : )

he has _the most_ shameful cone of shame ever...








but then he lays down and it turns into a super hero cape. dun dun da dun!, super jag!








before and after teeth. they got so bad after he chipped his tooth on a bone while we were trying to find alternative types of bones to keep them clean. they're beautiful and pearly white again now!


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Ermahgerd, snow!!


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## momtolabs (May 27, 2012)

Loved hearing all the stories and seeing pics!! Sorry bout the ear the last pic cracked me up,lol.

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## Little Wise Owl (Nov 12, 2011)

This thread is too cute! I love the stories to go along with the pictures


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks guys  and yeah, the last pic is my new all time favorite of Coda...she's a real ham!

There'll be lots more to come, less with Jager soon unfortunately  I'll be going back to NC at the end of this week. But by the next I come back, sometime early/mid this year, we'll be back for good and he'll be living with me full time again! 

I'm honestly a little relieved I have the extra alone time to work with Coda on training though, before we become one big happy family lol.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

It's so hard to get decent pics of these two together but I love how this one turned out. Also, a pic of my mom's sassy little chi for good measure 

ETA: also, Coda has gained about 11lb. in a little less than a month. She is growing like crazy.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Coda's first walk. 16 weeks old today.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)




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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

lazy Sunday.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

haven't been on in awhile...pics from a snow day we had last month. ~02/11/2014


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Dog park days 02/22/2014 and 03/01/2014.

Found my old foster dog at the park








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Coda got crazy muddy which resulted in her 2nd bath


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Took a day trip out to Wilmington, which is an extremely dog friendly city! Dogs are allowed in most of the stores in the downtown area. 

She was really excited about the roadtrip


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

03/05/2014 - Coda's new "thing" - she must at all times during walks have a stick in her mouth. she does this the entire length of her walks every time now, and won't drop the stick once. it is her job, and she takes it very seriously 

























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## momtolabs (May 27, 2012)

Very nice pictures!! Coda is getting big!
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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Coda looks so pleased with all her sticks haha!


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Lol, she literally walks around proud as she could possibly be with them. It cracks me up every time.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

She is getting pretty big too! Just weighed her, and she's 40lb. at 5.5 months. 










She's turning out to be kinda on the smaller side height-wise than what I expected. She's about knee height at the shoulders right now, and I don't see her getting too too much bigger than that. 

I'm wondering if that supports maybe that she does have malinois in her, or just that dad was a much smaller dog. At any rate her height does not support her being a straight up GSD x lab mix, that's for sure lol.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

03/20/2014, went for a little romp at the park for the first day of spring.





































zoomed in, I love this one:










goofball:


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

and the aftermath of our adventures:


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## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

She's so pretty!


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

jade5280 said:


> She's so pretty!


Thank you! I'm so pleased with how she's maturing, I'm usually not a huge fan of brindles but there's something about her look that I just love.


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## Slartibartfast (Sep 29, 2011)

I love that pic of her with a stick in her mouth and her tongue hanging out.


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## stafinois (Jun 16, 2010)

jsca said:


> She is getting pretty big too! Just weighed her, and she's 40lb. at 5.5 months.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I wouldn't necessarily guess that from height. Malinois are in the same height category as Labs and GSDs. As for her color, Labs can "carry" brindle. Their normal coat color doesn't express it. The self color of blacks and chocolates will mask it. Yellow Labs are extension yellow, which inhibits the production of black pigment. Brindle is only expressed in sables and the points of tanpoints.

Labs throw the occasional tanpoint, and I've seen brindle pointed ones. I've also seen brindle F1 pups when outcrossed to a sable.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

stafinois said:


> I wouldn't necessarily guess that from height. Malinois are in the same height category as Labs and GSDs. As for her color, Labs can "carry" brindle. Their normal coat color doesn't express it. The self color of blacks and chocolates will mask it. Yellow Labs are extension yellow, which inhibits the production of black pigment. Brindle is only expressed in sables and the points of tanpoints.
> 
> Labs throw the occasional tanpoint, and I've seen brindle pointed ones. I've also seen brindle F1 pups when outcrossed to a sable.


I did read a lot about brindle labs when I first got her, especially because the other pups did look like straight up lab/GSD mixes. I don't rule out lab completely; I do think she'd be a good deal bigger if she were a 50/50 lab/GSD cross.

And interesting; I was always under the impression that dutches and mals were somewhat more medium sized dogs in comparison to GSDs.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

You seem pretty knowledgeable about the genetics though - so it is possible for a sable GSD and a brindle carrier lab to produce a brindle pup? I keep reading that brindle is recessive, but can be expressed in a coat as Kk^br, which is confusing to me lol. it's been a long time since I studied genes!


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## stafinois (Jun 16, 2010)

jsca said:


> You seem pretty knowledgeable about the genetics though - so it is possible for a sable GSD and a brindle carrier lab to produce a brindle pup? I keep reading that brindle is recessive, but can be expressed in a coat as Kk^br, which is confusing to me lol. it's been a long time since I studied genes!


Yes, it's possible. And, it's more complicated than just dominant and recessive as other genes can affect what color they are in the end. 



jsca said:


> I did read a lot about brindle labs when I first got her, especially because the other pups did look like straight up lab/GSD mixes. I don't rule out lab completely; I do think she'd be a good deal bigger if she were a 50/50 lab/GSD cross.
> 
> And interesting; I was always under the impression that dutches and mals were somewhat more medium sized dogs in comparison to GSDs.



Medium more due to weight, not height. My first Malinois was 26 inches and 60 lbs. My current dog is small for a male. He's 23 inches and 45 lbs. 


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Oops! I thought I posted this awhile ago but I must've forgot to hit reply. Any idea where the ticking on her could come from? I know it can only be expressed in white fur on dogs, and that a non-spotted dog can carry the gene for it. Her spots just throw me for a loop. I know there are a lot of breeds that can produce ticking, but I don't really see any of the breeds that are known for it in her. 

Maybe seeing as it was out in a rural farm area, she has very low content of a herding breed in her?

Genetics confuse me lol.

Unrelated: Coda's about 6 months old now


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## stafinois (Jun 16, 2010)

"Panda Shepherds" have some ticking. Chances are good that the GSD has it but is normally covered up by color. 

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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

stafinois said:


> "Panda Shepherds" have some ticking. Chances are good that the GSD has it but is normally covered up by color.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Good catch! I hadn't even thought of that, as they're such a rare thing to see. Mismark or not, I've always really admired the panda coloring on shepherds. Since I'd heard of them, I always thought about owning one some day but I feel like it would be quite hard to happen upon a responsible breeder who had one. Thank you for your input, it's definitely helped me clear up a couple of things regarding her lineage


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Coda at 9 weeks and today at 6 months


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

we've been practicing a lot of fun commands lately :-D we've had rollover for about a week now, wave was just learned today as a voice command without hand signal. 

we're going to be working on play dead, beg, and crawl this week! very excited on her progress, she's my first "trick" dog.


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## Chichan (Apr 1, 2014)

jsca said:


> we've been practicing a lot of fun commands lately :-D we've had rollover for about a week now, wave was just learned today as a voice command without hand signal.
> 
> we're going to be working on play dead, beg, and crawl this week! very excited on her progress, she's my first "trick" dog.


What a smart dog 
How long did it take for her to learn the 'wave'?


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Chichan said:


> What a smart dog
> How long did it take for her to learn the 'wave'?


between training the actual behavior and phasing out the hand signal, I'd say about a week. we started out with a "fake out" high five hand signal that she already knew, and then throughout the course of a week phased out a hand signal totally to a voice only command of "wave." she's the first dog ever that I've trained on positive reinforcement only, and voice only signals (after phasing out a lure) and I have to say I'm totally impressed with the method! 

we do a modified version of clicker training where instead of a clicker we use the word "ok!" - but is otherwise 100% based on clicker training.

it's amazing how much you can get a dog to do when they are 100% motivated to work on positive reinforcements


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

Being a ham 


















Think we have loose leash walking *pretty* well proofed. She is still sketchy if there is another dog in close proximity, or if we're on a narrow street and there is a loud car, but otherwise she will walk perfectly  pretty exciting stuff, she is the first dog I've ever successfully loose leash trained. We've also started walking on main roads and have a solid "sit" down pat at intersections.


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## jsca (Dec 10, 2013)

showing off her new lotus collar


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## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

Loose leash walking is definitely not an easy thing to teach. We're struggling with that. She looks good in purple!


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## d_ray (Nov 5, 2013)

jsca said:


> 03/05/2014 - Coda's new "thing" - she must at all times during walks have a stick in her mouth. she does this the entire length of her walks every time now, and won't drop the stick once. it is her job, and she takes it very seriously
> 
> 
> 
> ...


LMAO Jewel does this too!


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## d_ray (Nov 5, 2013)

Both of your dogs are gorgeous, but I am especially smitten with Coda. Call me crazy, but I see a bit of Catahoula in her expressions.


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