# Winston - Panda Shepherd



## radkitten (Dec 14, 2011)

I had joined when we originally got Winston and then day to day life consumed me. I know some people were interested in seeing how he turned out, given his coloring as a puppy though. We have had him tested and he is 100% GSD and our vet believes he is in fact a panda, despite his white not being as extensive as alot of the pictures you find online as he is not piebald.

Anyway, here's some pictures of him from the past months:

First night home:

IMG_3014 by x_radkitten, on Flickr

He loved the snow:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

3-4 Months old:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

4 months:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

5 months:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

6 months:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

6 months:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

6 months:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

7 months:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

8 months:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

9 months:

Untitled by x_radkitten, on Flickr

And those are the most recent as I have, because it is IMPOSSIBLE to get him to sit still at this point. He's always GO GO GO BALL BALL BALL now haha.

The only white he really has left is the white across his muzzle. His chest and overall coloring is a very very light creamy tan, but not really white. We get a lot of compliments on how pretty his coloring is. I think the thing that shocked me the most is that as a puppy his saddle looked like it would cover the majority of his body, but the tan definitely crept up his legs fairly far. 

I definitely know now though that when we get another dog in a few years, it will be another GSD. You just can't beat their temperament and personality.


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## PatchonGSD (Jun 27, 2012)

What is his pedigree if you dont mind me asking?


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## radkitten (Dec 14, 2011)

I don't have a pedigree for him sadly. I have paperwork I could file to have him registered with a local place, but never filed the paperwork, as I don't intend to breed him and he is just a family pet. We mainly had him tested to see if he was 100% GSD or if there was some cross breeding in their somewhere =(. I tried to contact the breeder we got him from to get the pedigree information she has online, but she has been unresponsive =(.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

He's very handsome I don't know if I'd call him a panda tho. One of his parents could have been a white gsd?


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

He's definitely not what I would consider a panda shepherd, but he looks like a great dog either way.


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## PatchonGSD (Jun 27, 2012)

JakodaCD OA said:


> He's very handsome I don't know if I'd call him a panda tho.* One of his parents could have been a white gsd?*


Thats kind of what I was thinking....His head looks very American to me.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

Winston has grown into a handsome young man, thanks for sharing him with us.


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## radkitten (Dec 14, 2011)

Thanks guys =D.

I'm not sure about the white, as when she showed us his pedrigee it was all black and tans. But could be, since she has since become unresponsive. I've since found a better local breeder for our next shepherd, but I am super happy we got him as he is very unique looking =D!


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

This is not panda. Looks like faded black/tan to me. Pigment/color is very poor so the tan appears almost cream/white, lots of ticking and bleed through, very little color left on the tail, and color is faded/fading as he ages. Very little mask as well makes the face appear white/patterned. I bet he will continue to lose color in the saddle and face as he ages - will have little saddle as a mature adult.

Curious - What testing did you for DNA confirmation?


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## Typhoon (Aug 16, 2012)

White doesn't blend. It's a dominant-recessive gene and it will either produce a white dog, or it won't be a part of the dog's coloring.

Winston's just a very light-colored black and tan. There's a guy right here in Austin, with two dogs with almost identical coloring. Very pretty dogs, and I see him walking them together down Parmer about once a week or so.


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## radkitten (Dec 14, 2011)

qbchottu said:


> This is not panda. Looks like faded black/tan to me. Pigment/color is very poor so the tan appears almost cream/white, lots of ticking and bleed through, very little color left on the tail, and color is faded/fading as he ages. Very little mask as well makes the face appear white/patterned. I bet he will continue to lose color in the saddle and face as he ages - will have little saddle as a mature adult.
> 
> Curious - What testing did you for DNA confirmation?


My vet did it, so not sure on the brand for it. I was interested as well on his breeding, since the panda pictures I have seen online doing research were very white in the front and across the muzzle, but the piebalds were more spotty then he is.

The curious thing to me is he has gained more color through his muzzle as he has aged, but has lost coloring across his saddle. I assume as he ages his muzzle will dull, or do you think he will lose some of the darkening he has gained as he reaches maturity possibly?


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

At less than a year old, he has already lost a good amount of color in his tail, mask, and saddle. His tan/brown is also not very sharp or bold - pigment is very poor so there is no intensity in the color - appears cream/white in areas, but really is just loss of color and poor pigment in those follicles. He is still black and tan - just his pigment and color retention is not very good so he appears to have lost color and appears white, but really the pigment is just lost. I will be surprised if he has much black left in the saddle by 3-4 years old. He might gain some color in the face here and there as the weather changes etc, but his face will probably lighten as well. He is certainly GSD, but probably just a conglomeration of American pet lines with no discernible breeding line. Looks like a sweet dog and obviously has a great home with you - congrats


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 4, 2012)

Panda or not I love the pics! He's a definite cutie-pie. 
You were smart to get pics as he grew. They grow up so quickly. Puppy today. Fully grown in the blink of an eye.
Thanks for the share.


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## radkitten (Dec 14, 2011)

qbchottu said:


> At less than a year old, he has already lost a good amount of color in his tail, mask, and saddle. His tan/brown is also not very sharp or bold - pigment is very poor so there is no intensity in the color - appears cream/white in areas, but really is just loss of color and poor pigment in those follicles. He is still black and tan - just his pigment and color retention is not very good so he appears to have lost color and appears white, but really the pigment is just lost. I will be surprised if he has much black left in the saddle by 3-4 years old. He might gain some color in the face here and there as the weather changes etc, but his face will probably lighten as well. He is certainly GSD, but probably just a conglomeration of American pet lines with no discernible breeding line. Looks like a sweet dog and obviously has a great home with you - congrats


Thanks so much for the info! He is very sweet with a high toy play drive, but overall very mellow and easy to calm down. He's definitely changed my thinking on dogs overall and I don't think I will ever have another dog that isn't a GSD. 

My big worry for him as we watched him grow was not being surprised by anything nasty, like poor hips or him being a mix with other health issues to watch for, so I was pretty happy to know he is purebred and his hips are fine. 

I'll just cherish his pretty coloring and look forward to a more traditional colored GSD from the local breeder I recently found when we look to get another =D!


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I'm curious what test, too, since even purebreds usually are tagged as some sort of mix!

I agree with the others, his pigment is poor and washed out. And it doesn't surprise me that now his breeder has the $$ she's unreachable. 

He's a handsome boy, regardless.


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## radkitten (Dec 14, 2011)

msvette2u said:


> I'm curious what test, too, since even purebreds usually are tagged as some sort of mix!
> 
> I agree with the others, his pigment is poor and washed out. And it doesn't surprise me that now his breeder has the $$ she's unreachable.
> 
> He's a handsome boy, regardless.


It surprised me because she was very active with me at first. I sent her regular picture updates, as she was very interested to see what happened with his coloring. But after he hit about 7-8 months she just stopped responding =(. She's about 2 1/2 hours south of me, so not really feasible for me to try to contact her in person either sadly. Live and learn I guess. We found Whited K9 to go to for our next one in a few years =).


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

She probably thinks he's a panda, and "rare"...


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

qbchottu said:


> I will be surprised if he has much black left in the saddle by 3-4 years old.


radkitten, if you'd like to see what qbchottu is referring to, she's described my near seven year old dog's fading saddle to a T. See here: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/pictures-pictures-pictures/195826-pimg-square-stack.html

(Also see the fading pigment in her muzzle, which started greying at just a little older than 1.5 yrs old.)


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

I have nothing to add....except I think Winston is gorgeous!


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## lzver (Feb 9, 2012)

Winston is gorgeous! He reminds me of our Jake, which we have been told is a Black and Silver GSD ... I realize they are Black and Tan and the tan is washed out.

I love Jake's unique coloring, but we get asked all the time if he is pure GSD .... we saw both the parents and the mother's tan was definitely lighter.


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## robk (Jun 16, 2011)

I disagree that he is not a panda. I think he just has minimal white and very paling pigmentation. To me the white stripe on his nose makes him a panda.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

What a cute boy!


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

He doesn't sound like a panda from this description :shrug:
Phenom Shepherds - The Panda Shepherd Standard

He has poor pigment, and his conformation is somewhat less than ideal (according to the GSD standard).

The breeder may have been trying to create pandas and this was the result. Either way, we have a Panda breeder about 40 miles from here and her dogs look quite a bit different that the OPs dog.


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## radkitten (Dec 14, 2011)

wildo said:


> radkitten, if you'd like to see what qbchottu is referring to, she's described my near seven year old dog's fading saddle to a T. See here: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/pictures-pictures-pictures/195826-pimg-square-stack.html
> 
> (Also see the fading pigment in her muzzle, which started greying at just a little older than 1.5 yrs old.)


Thanks so much thats an awesome reference! She is so pretty and definitely gives me a good idea of how his color will wash out as he ages =D!


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## radkitten (Dec 14, 2011)

lzver said:


> Winston is gorgeous! He reminds me of our Jake, which we have been told is a Black and Silver GSD ... I realize they are Black and Tan and the tan is washed out.
> 
> I love Jake's unique coloring, but we get asked all the time if he is pure GSD .... we saw both the parents and the mother's tan was definitely lighter.


I get asked as well. Most people think he is mixed with husky, but then comment that he is way too big to be that type of mix. He's around 100 lbs right now. I love his coloring too, and since he is just a family pet, I don't mind having a non-traditional shepherd.


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## BlackthornGSD (Feb 25, 2010)

Sometimes the white spotting/markings show up even in the best of bloodlines. I knew a GSD puppy born from top working lines with white up over his pasterns, a white blaze and muzzle and bib. 

The Panda gene is unique in the degree of white and that it's a dominant gene--so it's different from traditional occurrence of the white "Irish pattern" markings.

At any rate, thanks so much for sharing pics of your boy--I hope he continues to be a delight for you!


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