# German Shepherd Puppy... i think?



## chupacabra8686 (Mar 1, 2016)

Okay so I bought a puppy that is supposed to be part german shepherd, and i wanted to ask people that know this breed pretty thoroughly their opinion. I know its not possible to say for sure until he grows up some and starts developing how he is going to look, but maybe there are some features that are there - or not there - that could hint at whether this dog will turn out looking like a german shepherd (or if he in fact is not at all a german shepherd). And as this is my first german shepherd (i hope), i dont have any experience to go off of.

Supposedly one parent is a pure german shepherd and the other is unknown, but the person i got it from didn't sound entirely certain. While this puppy and almost all others in the litter have what seem to me like german shepherd colors, one of the other puppies in the litter was white. So i am assuming that is proof that at best he is indeed mixed (and likely poorly). My hope is that he will come out looking like the german shepherd parent and not inherit much from the other parent.
He definitely acts like a german shepherd - veryyyyyy intelligent for a puppy. He learned his name in only 2 days (and he isn't very old - maybe a month and a half) His favorite action is to walk to where i am standing and sit next to me. I have always had to train my dogs to do that, so i was thrilled to discover that is his natural tendency. He is very happy go lucky, LOVES to play (way more energetic and curious than my last 2 dogs when they were his age), and he acts more or less exactly like my friends full grown german shepherd - he jumps up for stuff - when i have his attention his tendency is to look at me directly in the eyes, and he looks at my hands when they move - when he gets excited he jumps in the air using all four legs and runs circles - and when i do something he doesn't like, he gets sad and pouts sometimes for up to an hour (i have the be very gentle trying to train him for this reason, because he is very sensitive). 

However, the thing that worries me is that his tail is not as long as the ones i see in MOST the pictures on google of german shepherd puppies, although i have seen some that had shorter tails. I know the ears take time to come up (if they will come up), so im not too worried about that yet. But I know the tail is a trademark feature, so that is what leads me to doubt he will have that signature look of a german shepherd, or that he is in fact some other breed that just shares the colors.

Here are some pictures of my lil buddy. If anyone sees anything that might help indicate if he is or is not a german shepherd, or if there is any hope he will look like one, i would >greatly< appreciate their input. His name is Tyson.

Edit: I am trying to post pictures but to do that i have to have 3 posts, so give me a second.


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## chupacabra8686 (Mar 1, 2016)

Another thing that im worried about is his hair. It is pretty soft and especially around his ears its really fluffy and is almost curly. Is that is normal and it changes as they grow or is that a bad sign?


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## chupacabra8686 (Mar 1, 2016)

Building post count. Picture links in next post


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## chupacabra8686 (Mar 1, 2016)

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/3517/M0IODI.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3179/x0a8XT.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/4912/vFjyZg.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/7896/T8lWYA.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/4994/L5Xpyb.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/4624/hOSx8l.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/5636/7X0vLN.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/553/hnPMxu.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3134/81YuEa.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img922/8611/74ZvTw.jpg


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

He is adorable!Looks like German Shepherd/Chow/Golden Retriever mix??That's my wild guess.Really cute puppy no matter what!


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## Rosy831 (Feb 27, 2016)

OMG! So stinkin cute! That last picture is just heart melting! As far as him being pure or not, I would hate to give a guess on that one. I see a lot of GSD in him. He's a pretty young puppy, their coats are different from adult dogs. He should start getting his adult coat at 3 or 4 months.

Enjoy him! Use this site, there is sooooo much good information here. Build a bond, play with your pup, teach him gently. 

Congratz on the new family member!


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## Agaribay805 (Jan 7, 2016)

Definitely seem some shepherd.


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## Tulip (Jul 31, 2012)

Not sure if I'd say he's pure GSD, but he definitely looks to have GSD in him!! SO freaking cute though oh my goodness *_* <3. I'd guess maybe GSD mixed with something with a curlier/thicker coat, shorter tail, and blocker muzzle? Maybe a GSD/Field Spaniel mix?


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Backing up to the original post - white GSDs can show up in a litter of GSDs. So that's no indication of a mix. (Until people started breeding for them, that's how they happened.) 
However, the tail does look short. Coats come in all sorts of textures in GSDs. Some have blocky heads, some have refined heads, some are in between. Overall, I'd think some one in the immediate family wasn't PB GSD. .. But time will tell. He is very very cute (that helps puppies out a bunch). 
Even with PBs pups change so much that I never know what my dog will look like in the morning. So enjoy what each day brings.

(maybe you can get a tail extension for him like people have hair extensions..  )


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

LOL middle, good one! But puppy tails do grow! 

Agree with the others, First, that much cuteness should be illegal. 

Second, looks GSD-ish, but does look like he is mixed with something. But at this point, can't really guess what it could be. 

And third, as explained, white GSDs can pop up in a litter of regular colored GSDs, so that alone is not an indication of the pups being mixed. What is an indication of your pup being mixed is the shape of the head and muzzle, and the odd looking coat (odd for a GSD pup, mignt be a normal puppy coat for different breeds).


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

That would have almost been irresistible to me. My guess is that he will be a long-haired floppy eared sturdy dog with GSD colors. Temperament can be anything but he looks pretty mellow if he is so comfortable being held on his back. Read up on early vs late/non neutering to make sure he grows up with healthy bone structure. Welcome on the forum.


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## chupacabra8686 (Mar 1, 2016)

Thank you for all of your responses! This forum is much more active than i had anticipated. I will certainly be making this one of my new places to frequent.
I very much appreciate all of your hypotheses. Of course i had expected the difference in opinions as to whether he is truely german shepherd. I am looking at pictures online of other german shepherd puppies, and i see all of his features there in some of them, but at his age i suppose it doesn't mean too much. Even more-so because german shepherds seem to have a large diversity of features. (and of course i am seeing what i want to) 

As for pictures with his features:

For example, the short tail:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c5/6e/f4/c56ef4d3c4faa14cad3da6f8243f12ab.jpg

The curliness and fluffyness of the hair around his ears:
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj57/Crash-mom/Harley8weeks.jpg

His muzzle and the shape of his head:
https://www.google.com.mx/imgres?im...=0ahUKEwiaho3Q3qDLAhXByIMKHesCAyUQMwiGAShLMEs

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Klmb8gIrnYM/hqdefault.jpg

(all of these photos were found on google typing in german shepherd puppies... so i can only guess if they are pure or not...)
But of course in all these pictures, despite the one or two matching features, the puppies are undeniably obviously GSDs. So eh.

And yeah hes cute, but even moreso in action. if ya'll could see him when he gets excited and starts doing his little antics you would wanna cry its so cute.


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