# Just me, guessing more breed possibilities...



## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

I've been waiting for Dex's foster family to send me pictures of his siblings. I'm hoping they will provide a clue into what breeds are in him. 

Back story... 
I found Dex on PetFinder about two months ago, and when I first found him, I also found his sisters. I only looked at them briefly, mostly because I liked Dexter (then named "Cody") the most. From what I remember, there were blue merle-ish... and I'm guessing that's why they were all listed as "Cattle Dogs". 

A little more background... Dex and his siblings came from North Carolina, where a different branch of the animal rescue I got him from his located. They brought them up to Jersey to be adopted. Unfortunately, no one had any information about the mom/dad.

Anyway, I went to look at the pups on PetFinder a day later, and they were ALL gone but Dexter. I freaked out and immediately applied for him. After meeting his foster family, I learned that the day I first saw them they were taken to a PetCo Adoption Day. They told me that kids had him out of the adoption pen all day to play with him, and none of the adults realized he hadn't been adopted. All his siblings, who were sitting quietly in the pen, were adopted. Lucky for us 

Anywho, I've been studying up on breeds and trying to figure out what he might be. It doesn't really matter what he is, but it might help with training/health/lifespan/etc. type questions. Also, I like having something to tell people when they ask me what he is.  

Initially I thought he might have some boxer in him, as his markings seemed to be pretty reminiscent of a boxer. I'm not ruling it out, but I'm leaning away from that first guess. A friend of ours got a boxer puppy, and I watched his growth/development, and I have to say he's nothing like Dexter.

As for the cattle dog guess... I suppose it's possible. But I really wouldn't guess that by looking at him. Maybe if I had a better look at his siblings. But anyway, isn't it possible for a litter of pups to have more than one father? So he might not have the same thing in him as his siblings.

He seemed to have some kind of shepherd in him. I don't think German Shepherd, because he's a little too small (he's roughly 20 pounds now, at a little over 3 months). Someone suggested Anatolian Shepherd, but again... he's a bit small. I event contacted an Anatolian breeder, but they thought it was unlikely.

Now I'm sort of thinking Belgium Malinois. From what I've read, males tend to be around 60 pounds, which is what I'm projecting for Dexter. He's also got a very similar coat, and slender build:









I'm also still leaning toward Catahoula Leopard Dog, as suggested on here. It would explain the bright blue eyes, the floppy ears, and the shorter coat. Their weight varies greatly just as they do, so it would fit. It might even go so far as to explain his merle siblings. But again, it's just a guess:









*more*


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

And here's Dex, from our beach day:









Sorry for all the rambling... It's just something I've been thinking a lot about. I'll give it a few more months, and I'll take some better pictures of his body structure.. then maybe I'll really get to narrow it down.


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## ShadowSky (Aug 6, 2008)

Dexter sure is adorable. I love those eyes! As for breeds... boxer definitely comes to my mind just looking at him. Comparing him to the picture of the Catahoula, that might be likely as well... good luck!


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## Layladog (Sep 25, 2008)

Wow what a cutie! I agree about the Catahoula guess, but not the rest. Most shepherd mixes I know have shorter ears (including my dog and my parents' dog) for one thing, and coarser coats. Also, he may have a slender build as a puppy but once he fills out he might look totally different.

My best guess would be Catahoula and maybe Lab. Anatolian also seems like a possibility. I don't see the boxer.


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## Tiggadyrue (Sep 13, 2008)

I totally thought Catahoula, when I first saw him... He is just the cutiest!!


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

Thanks for the compliments  I'll let Dex know, hah. 

His ears are pretty huge, but I feel like a lot of photos distort them. 

Also, when he hit about three months, one or both of his ears started doing this new thing. It was like they kind of sort of wanted to stand up a little. Not sure how to explain it entirely, but the base of the ear sort of turned, so the rest of the ear was held up more than usual. So I could sort of see the inside of his ear. I'd get a picture, but it seems they only pop up like that at random now (although they were like that for almost a full day). Very strange, haha. So I guess we'll wait and see.

Some more pictures... hope it's OK, I'm sorta using this thread to collect things:









This one isn't really for comparison, but would you look at those spots! Incredible:









This guy is a cattle dog x catahoula... very cute combo:


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## doggielove56 (Sep 24, 2008)

Dexter is beautiful! =) Incredible.


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

Breakthrough! Haha. I went through the Animal Shelter's PetFinder page and was able to search their PetFinder database of adopted pets... so I was able to dig up pictures of Dexter's siblings. And boy, they were NOT what I remember them looking like (hah, whoopsies!) Anyway, I can definitely see the cattle dog in them. 

Without further ado, here are Dex's siblings!

Annie:









Clinty:









Bullet:








(look at those eyes!)

Diesel:


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

And just for good measure, Dexter's baby pic:









*So.. any further ideas, based on his siblings?*


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

Sorry to bump this, but I'm curious as to what you guys think of Dex's siblings! :] 

Right now my guess for breed is Cattle Dog x Catahoula Leopard Dog x Belgium Malinois, or Cattle Dog x Catahoula Leopard Dog x Lab, or Cattle Dog x Catahoula Leopard Dog x Anatolian Shepherd.

He looks very much like the Anatolian pups I've seen... though he's a bit small:


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