# Very Confused about my pup"s age



## ronald_durst (Nov 19, 2010)

When we adopted him on September 11 we were told he was about 4 months old. The people we got him from adopted him from the shelter on August 8. Paperwork from the shelter said he was 10-12 weeks at the time of adoption. It also said he was a gsd mix which i have learned that sometimes they dont know what they are talking about. (we were told that our other dog we adopted from there wasnt nuetered but it turned out that he was). 

Looking at pictures on google has made me question his actual age. 

So i am trying to figure out his age so that i can know more info about his teething and ears going up and all that. Not to mention that when people ask me how old he is, i never know what to tell them. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks 

Here are some pics. 

This one was the picture they sent me when we first inquired about him on September 11,2010 








This one was taken at a park on September 18









This one was takin on November 20.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

From the looks of him in the pics I would say he very well could be about 6 months old now. (Which would fit what you were told.) 

What do his teeth look like? Does he have all of his adult teeth?


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## Deuce (Oct 14, 2010)

I agree and he really appears to be a mix to me, especially his facial shot.


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## Lesley1905 (Aug 25, 2010)

He's adorable!! I would check his teeth like Tracy said!


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## ZebsMommy (Dec 4, 2010)

I agree, approx 6 months by the looks.


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## ronald_durst (Nov 19, 2010)

*thanks*

is he small for a 6 month old or just right? 

I looked at his teeth but im not sure what im looking at and he didnt really appreciate me trying to get a peek. From what i did see, it looks like some of his teeth haven grown in yet..he hasnt shown any signs of teething trouble. Im not really sure what a gsd mouth is supposed to look like as far as teeth go. 

Also should i start trying to do something with his ears? They stand up about half way right now.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

He is definitely a mix, and the ears may or may not go up. Even some purebred GSD's have ears that don't go up, factor in another possible breed and it may have ears that go half up or go up or not at all. I think in the first photo he looks around 10 or 11 wks, in the second more like 12 - 14 wks, and in the last one anywhere from 4 - 6 mo, so I believe they were actually quite accurate in their age estimate.

Regarding a dog being neutered or not, that's pretty obvious so it's hard to believe they thought he was neutered and he wasn't. Sounds like someone just marked the paperwork wrong or there was some miscommunication there.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

ronald_durst said:


> I looked at his teeth but im not sure what im looking at and* he didnt really appreciate me trying to get a peek*.


You need to work with him on this. He should let you check his teeth, ears, paws, whatever you want. If he's fussing about it at this age you're going to have real problems when he grows up. Every day for quite some time you need to pull his lips back, run your fingers along his gums, look in his ears and clean them, pick up his feet and clip his toenails, etc. If you clip a few nails a day, open his mouth daily, and check his ears each day, before long he won't fuss about it.


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## ronald_durst (Nov 19, 2010)

What does he look to be mixed with?


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## ronald_durst (Nov 19, 2010)

*im screwed...*

So basically im screwed...I got a mutt that i dont even know what he is mixed with. He looks way to small to be 6 months according to all of the pics ive seen of others at 6 months. The other breed in him could be the factor that keeps him from being what a gsd is...


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Does he have all of his adult teeth in? They are usually all in around 6 months old. I think that would be the easiest way to tell since you don't know what breed he is.


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

Wait. Why do you say you are screwed??? He is an adorable dog no matter what. And if you really want to know what he is mixed with you can always try a DNA test. But honestly he is a gorgeous pup so I don't know why you would care. If getting a purebred was that important to you then you should have forked over the money to a reputable breeder. I just think the way you talked about him in your last post is really harsh.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

DharmasMom said:


> Wait. Why do you say you are screwed??? He is an adorable dog no matter what. And if you really want to know what he is mixed with you can always try a DNA test. But honestly he is a gorgeous pup so I don't know why you would care. If getting a purebred was that important to you then you should have forked over the money to a reputable breeder. I just think the way you talked about him in your last post is really harsh.


I'm just assuming (and hoping) that the OP said "screwed" referring to figuring out his/her dogs exact age and that's it. I don't think he/she's actually saying they're screwed because it's a mix. 

If you read the original post, I think they knew the dog was a mix before getting him. At least, that's the way I interpret it.


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

Lucy Dog said:


> I'm just assuming (and hoping) that the OP said "screwed" referring to figuring out his/her dogs exact age and that's it. I don't think he/she's actually saying they're screwed because it's a mix.
> 
> If you read the original post, I think they knew the dog was a mix before getting him. At least, that's the way I interpret it.




I hope that is what he meant. I just took notice of this statement:



> So basically im screwed...I got a mutt that i dont even know what he is mixed with.



I hope that I just took it wrong and that is not what he meant because it sounds really harsh.


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## irongrl (May 24, 2010)

I'm with DharmasMom..it sounded really harsh. Like the OP thought he was getting a dog that would like a purebred gsd, with the ears up. Now he is being told that the ears might not come up.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

He's a super cute pup. How much does he weigh?


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## Whitedog404 (Mar 25, 2010)

I hope you fall in love with your "mutt." It's not his fault he didn't meet your expectations, and he doesn't deserve anything less than that from you.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Who cares if his ears dont stand up? One of the best GSDs I ever owned had floppy ears.


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## Dejavu (Nov 11, 2010)

Awww, he's so adorable! :wub:

Don't worry about what he's mixed with, he looks like he's a wonderful dog.
I have a GSD mix and I love him so very much. Yes, his legs are shorter than a GSD's, his ears don't stand as they were both broken by another dog, but I couldn't care less about such things. He's so loyal, faithful, obedient and gives so much love to us. Definitely one of my best dogs ever.


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## JustMeLeslie (Sep 15, 2010)

ronald_durst said:


> When we adopted him on September 11 we were told he was about 4 months old. The people we got him from adopted him from the shelter on August 8. Paperwork from the shelter said he was 10-12 weeks at the time of adoption. *It also said he was a gsd mix which i have learned that sometimes they dont know what they are talking about. (we were told that our other dog we adopted from there wasnt nuetered but it turned out that he was)*.


He thought the shelter made a mistake like last time with his other dog from there and labeled him wrong. He wanted a purebred GSD not a mix. It sounds like he got angry that his dog wasn't purebred after the comments that the dog is definately a GSD mix.


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

ronald_durst said:


> So basically im screwed...I got a mutt that i dont even know what he is mixed with. He looks way to small to be 6 months according to all of the pics ive seen of others at 6 months. The other breed in him could be the factor that keeps him from being what a gsd is...


Jax is purebred, our vet told us for months he's about half the size of what he "should be". He's currently 9 months and 90ish lbs.
Sadie is a lab mix, she looks like a purebred lab but about half the size. I find it quite cute she looks purebred but fun size. Sometimes I wish I knew what she was mixed with, but it passes.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Has either ear ever stood on it's own, even for a little while? Even at six months the pup could still be teething and that could result in it's ears flopping. 

My GSD's ears didn't stand till he was nine months old. By that time I figured that they weren't going to stand and he suprised me. 

It really is a good looking pup!


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

How did you get "screwed" when the shelter represented him accurately? I think maybe you screwed yourself?

Also, you have never provided his weight from what I can see so I don't understand why you think he's so small? He doesn't look that small from the pics.

GSD's are not supposed to be 120 pounds. If he's mixed with a hound or something he might end up on the small size, but it's not like he's a mini dog.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

JustMeLeslie said:


> He thought the shelter made a mistake like last time with his other dog from there and labeled him wrong. He wanted a purebred GSD not a mix. It sounds like he got angry that his dog wasn't purebred after the comments that the dog is definately a GSD mix.


I really don't see what the issue is.

The shelter put up for adoption a puppy that they stated was a GSD mix and 10 - 12 weeks old. The photo provided is of a 10 - 12 week old GSD mix puppy. He knew he was getting a mix. This isn't a dog for breeding, so why does it matter? The puppy is adorable, appears healthy, and hopefully will continue to have a good home regardless of possibly having floppy ears and not being the size of a "purebred" german shepherd.


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## JustMeLeslie (Sep 15, 2010)

Rerun said:


> I really don't see what the issue is.
> 
> The shelter put up for adoption a puppy that they stated was a GSD mix and 10 - 12 weeks old. The photo provided is of a 10 - 12 week old GSD mix puppy. He knew he was getting a mix. This isn't a dog for breeding, so why does it matter? The puppy is adorable, appears healthy, and hopefully will continue to have a good home regardless of possibly having floppy ears and not being the size of a "purebred" german shepherd.


I just got the impression from his posts he thought he was getting a purebred. I myself don't agree with his views... I just got the impression from his "I got screwed over post" that he wanted a purebred GSD. It does not matter to me. I have mixed breed dogs myself and love them very much.


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## ronald_durst (Nov 19, 2010)

*Sam...*

Ok so i want to apologize for my crankiness last night...i was tired and had a long day. Thanks for everyone for replying. Im gonna try to explain myself a little better this time. First let me say this. I love my dog and wouldnt trade him for the world even being a mix. With that said, when i got him i had been looking for a gsd rescue for about a year. When i saw him i thought he must be full blooded...reason why that is a big deal is because my wife and i live in a not so great neighborhood. When i began looking for a gsd my intentions were for it to protect my wife while i was at work. So in my mind, and i could be wrong, if he turns out to be the size of a cocker spaniel, well then he wont be very intimidating. Im trying not to sound stupid but my wife is very important to me and to me a gsd is the perfect body guard. 

I got him from a couple who got him from the shelter. This same shelter is the shelter who said my other dog was not neutered and it turned out that he was. Based on that information i didnt really trust their judgement of the breed which was written on the adoption paperwork. The couple we got him from had him on craigslist. 

BUT, to me, everything about him seems gsd and he is very smart and learns quick. He can be very protective. 

I'm not to concerned with his ears. The research ive done says that they may eventually come all the way up but its no big deal really. 

He's weighing in at about 40 lbs right now so for a gsd at 6 months he is a little light but that might be the other breed in him. 

My original posting was really to try to figure out his real age the best i could so that i can provide the essential care he needs at that age. Also looking at pics of other gsd's at his age, they seem to be much larger. Once again....could just be his other breed.

I love him very much and i think everything will work out fine. He has captured my heart. Now i just have to go find a forum for whatever kind of dog he might be...

Please disregard the last post from me....it wasnt really very nice...great way to start out on a new forum....


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

fyi...we aren't breed snobs.  You can stay here even with a mix! LOL

He looks like he has GSD in him, probably mostly GSD. You never know with a mix what you'll get. Mine was supposed to be part border collie. The only thing that shows up is GSD. And here I was thinking...cool! A small GSD! Instead I've got 25" and 65 lbs of pure maniac. :wub:


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

Well, he definitely has a lot of GSD in him so I'm sure he'll fool many people with his coloring. 

We like all breeds. And GSD forums are THE BEST after all


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## Dejavu (Nov 11, 2010)

As they said, you don't have to look for another forum! I'd definitely love to see more of him here!

And I agree that he looks mostly GSD. He'll do a great job being a faithful companion and a guardian, I bet. 

One more thing, don't worry too much about his size, at 6 months with that weight he can't be small when he reaches adulthood. He's still growing!


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

I am very glad you came back and explained that comment. And he really is an adorable dog. As for the protection idea, most any dog is a deterrent. And a GSD won't really start to become protective, if they even do, until around 2 years of age. 

And since he does look primarily GSD, you will find lots of great info here! So I hope you stay!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

If he's behaving in a "protective" manner at this age, it's not protection, it's fear that is being mistaken for protection. Puppies don't protect, but they do go through many fear stages that need to be addressed so they don't turn into fear aggression.


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## ronald_durst (Nov 19, 2010)

*Thanks*

Just finally got him to let me look at his teeth....(working on that)

From what it seems like ive read...puppies dont have premolars? Cant quite remember. 
Anyway, it looks like like the teeth on his bottom jaw right after the canines are just starting to come in. It looks as if they are about to break the skin of his gums.


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## ronald_durst (Nov 19, 2010)

He mainly just growls at the hoodlums walking down the road. I do correct him when he's doing it though.


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