# Is my dog a purebred?



## Jon Yau (Aug 6, 2018)

Want to know your opinion. A lot of people who see my dog say it's a mix. Does my dog look like a purebred? I am starting to doubt it. I adopted it so I don't know.


----------



## clipke (Nov 14, 2017)

Won't know for sure without a DNA test or pedigree but he sure looks 100% purebred to me. Unless he's much older than he looks, I'd say you're good to go. Should love him regardless of whether or not he is. I wouldn't worry too much about other people assuming he's mixed. Most people in general know absolutely nothing about pure bred dogs and walk around with toy breeds and labs. The only thing I notice is that his paws are really tiny, could be a sign that he won't be very big, which doesn't really indicate that he's not purebred unless he's grossly undersized by like 20-30lbs. Do you have an estimate of how old he is?


----------



## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

He looks purebred to me. Cute puppy!


----------



## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Beautiful pup! At the first picture i thought ,purebred' but in the second picture his chest looks pretty wide compared with the length of his legs for a young purebred GSD. How old is he in that second picture?


----------



## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Very hard to say without a DNA test. Our neighbours used to have a GSD cross (forget what with) that looked 100% GSD, except for one white paw, where the white extended several inches up the leg. 

I actually know of a purbred GSD that had the same markings. The breeder would dye the foot with tea before she took him into the show ring!

So the white on the paws and the chest don't mean he's not purebred, contrary to what some people might think!

Here's Proven Hill's Banker, an American Grand Victor, with a very large white patch on his chest!

Proven Hill's Banker of Altana


----------



## Jon Yau (Aug 6, 2018)

wolfy dog said:


> Beautiful pup! At the first picture i thought ,purebred' but in the second picture his chest looks pretty wide compared with the length of his legs for a young purebred GSD. How old is he in that second picture?


In that picture he is about 3-4 months. I heard he was the runt of the litter.


----------



## McGloomy (Mar 13, 2018)

I'm not 100% sure he's purebred... I'd have a DNA test done if I were you


----------



## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I don't know how accurate DNA tests are. I have seen weird results coming back.


----------



## clipke (Nov 14, 2017)

Jon Yau said:


> In that picture he is about 3-4 months. I heard he was the runt of the litter.


Based on that info, I'm leaning towards mixed a bit now. This is my dog at 5 months, and he was very underweight due to his previous owners not feeding him properly. Look at the paw difference. He looks very undersized even for a runt.


----------



## Kari01 (Sep 7, 2018)

Hard to say! Color could easily be a GSD, however, he does look a little smaller and smaller boned. In the picture that he is standing up in his chest does look quite wide / muscular and at that age my girl was just skin and bones, but not sure if that is because he has a short coat? I am not very familiar with short coat GSDs, my girl has a medium coat.

Here is my girl at 3 months (she had a massive growth spurt between 3 and 5 months). She went from skinny pup to looking more mature very quickly, so maybe yours is just a bit behind?


----------



## Jon Yau (Aug 6, 2018)

clipke said:


> Based on that info, I'm leaning towards mixed a bit now. This is my dog at 5 months, and he was very underweight due to his previous owners not feeding him properly. Look at the paw difference. He looks very undersized even for a runt.


Yeah, you're probably right. Hope he starts growing some how..


----------



## Jon Yau (Aug 6, 2018)

Kari01 said:


> Hard to say! Color could easily be a GSD, however, he does look a little smaller and smaller boned. In the picture that he is standing up in his chest does look quite wide / muscular and at that age my girl was just skin and bones, but not sure if that is because he has a short coat? I am not very familiar with short coat GSDs, my girl has a medium coat.
> 
> Here is my girl at 3 months (she had a massive growth spurt between 3 and 5 months). She went from skinny pup to looking more mature very quickly, so maybe yours is just a bit behind?


I hope he's just behind. But we'll see in a year or so :/


----------



## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

clipke said:


> Based on that info, I'm leaning towards mixed a bit now. This is my dog at 5 months, and he was very underweight due to his previous owners not feeding him properly. Look at the paw difference. He looks very undersized even for a runt.


Your dog is also a good 30+lbs over standard. It would make sense that a dog that matured to 115lbs (and likely still growing), would be a large 5mo.


----------



## GandalfTheShepherd (May 1, 2017)

Jon Yau said:


> Kari01 said:
> 
> 
> > Hard to say! Color could easily be a GSD, however, he does look a little smaller and smaller boned. In the picture that he is standing up in his chest does look quite wide / muscular and at that age my girl was just skin and bones, but not sure if that is because he has a short coat? I am not very familiar with short coat GSDs, my girl has a medium coat.
> ...


Nothing wrong with a smaller dog, more agile and quick ? he's a very handsome pup! For what it's worth he looks purebred to me, if not a lot of shepherd in there for sure.


----------



## kaydub_u (May 14, 2018)

To me he looks like he definitely has a lot of GSD in him. I don't think pure bread but he could just be going through a growth spurt like others say. To me it looks like a GSD and Pitt mixed or some other similar bully breed mixed with a GSD, maybe Rottweiler but it's hard to tell. Your pup definitely has a larger chest. I would do a dna test, they are very easy and around $75. I did one on my GSD mix before he passed and I was so thankful for the answers!! Some dogs get very unique results because they are mixed with so many breeds but yours looks like it has a whole lot of Shepherd in him. Also if you adopted maybe he is just underweight and needs to catch up. When I picked my boy up at 7 weeks he had a parasite is was underweight and it showed in his body proportions. It was hard to tell normally because his fur covered up his torso and we did not notice his rib bones but could feel them. This though made his legs look smaller. It's very hard to tell; maybe wait a little longer as your pup grows and if you still are unsure then get the dna test done. Looking at the first picture I was like 100% GSD. 2nd picture I thought mostly German Shepherd with some Pitt mixed in. In the last picture I noticed her legs were short compared to a young Shepherd. My boy is 4 and a half months now. He has gone through a huge growth spurt where he is starting to look very mature but he still has long legs and when he was younger he definitely looked like has was all legs. I'll add a picture of him when he was exactly 3 months old. The angle in my picture is also different than your second one. It is lower and looks up to him. Either way, your dog is beautiful. Congrats on the new family member!!! Hope to see more of your adventures in the future.


----------



## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

kaydub_u said:


> To me he looks like he definitely has a lot of GSD in him. I don't think pure bread but he could just be going through a growth spurt like others say. To me it looks like a GSD and Pitt mixed or some other similar bully breed mixed with a GSD, maybe Rottweiler but it's hard to tell. Your pup definitely has a larger chest. I would do a dna test, they are very easy and around $75. I did one on my GSD mix before he passed and I was so thankful for the answers!! Some dogs get very unique results because they are mixed with so many breeds but yours looks like it has a whole lot of Shepherd in him. Also if you adopted maybe he is just underweight and needs to catch up. When I picked my boy up at 7 weeks he had a parasite is was underweight and it showed in his body proportions. It was hard to tell normally because his fur covered up his torso and we did not notice his rib bones but could feel them. This though made his legs look smaller. It's very hard to tell; maybe wait a little longer as your pup grows and if you still are unsure then get the dna test done. Looking at the first picture I was like 100% GSD. 2nd picture I thought mostly German Shepherd with some Pitt mixed in. In the last picture I noticed her legs were short compared to a young Shepherd. My boy is 4 and a half months now. He has gone through a huge growth spurt where he is starting to look very mature but he still has long legs and when he was younger he definitely looked like has was all legs. I'll add a picture of him when he was exactly 3 months old. The angle in my picture is also different than your second one. It is lower and looks up to him. Either way, your dog is beautiful. Congrats on the new family member!!! Hope to see more of your adventures in the future.


There are also some not so great breeders breeding dogs not to standard. A breeder near me has dogs that don't go over the height of the standard but they are weirdly wide. Kind of similar to how some labs are barrel shaped. Not real fat dogs but wider than they should be for sure. Pictures can also be deceiving. Looking at pictures of her dogs they look like normal GSDs but in person they just look off.


----------



## clipke (Nov 14, 2017)

Fodder said:


> Your dog is also a good 30+lbs over standard. It would make sense that a dog that matured to 115lbs (and likely still growing), would be a large 5mo.


He was underweight for the standard growth chart in the picture I've shown. He was around 35lbs. Wasn't trying to be rude towards the OP or anything, it's just most of the puppy pictures I've seen on here have had dogs with larger paws than his. The paws seem really small for his age.


----------



## kaydub_u (May 14, 2018)

Kazel said:


> There are also some not so great breeders breeding dogs not to standard. A breeder near me has dogs that don't go over the height of the standard but they are weirdly wide. Kind of similar to how some labs are barrel shaped. Not real fat dogs but wider than they should be for sure. Pictures can also be deceiving. Looking at pictures of her dogs they look like normal GSDs but in person they just look off.



I really like your comparison with the labs. The English labs larger chest and more solid looking body with shorter legs and American's taller more narrow version is exactly right. I feel like English labs look like they have a bully breed in them but it's just their breed. I guess my more optimistic side didn't think of the breeding coming in to play. Also you saying the lady has pictures making her dogs look like pure GSDs but reality is different shows the importance of meeting the parents when buying from a breeder. Even though OP adopted and didn't have that opportunity, I'm thankful this pup found a home with someone who seems caring. All of this makes me even more interested in seeing how a DNA test would turn out.


----------



## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

Jon Yau said:


> Want to know your opinion. A lot of people who see my dog say it's a mix. Does my dog look like a purebred? I am starting to doubt it. I adopted it so I don't know.


I think if you have to ask, I'd just say no and enjoy the pup.


----------



## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Well, a lot of people expect GSDs to be black and silver like Rin Tin Tin. Other people think a sable is wolf or part wolf. PB GSDs can be small or large or standard. Your pup looks PB enough to me but time will give you a better idea. Even at that, don't be too quick to dismiss PB status.


At any rate - cute pup! Enjoy him and I hope this question is the biggest issue you face for many many years to come.


----------

