# Does my German shepherd look mixed?



## boostedaudi (Sep 11, 2013)

Hello all. I just adopted a beautiful German shepherd "mix" from the humane society a few weeks ago. She was very timid and malnourished when I had rescued her, but she is now much healthier and comfortable with me and her new home.
The shelter believed that she was approximately 1 year old and listed her as a mixed breed on her info sheet. After a few days of a new diet and adjusting to her new surroundings, she weighed 47.5 lbs at the vet 6 days after I had brought her home. I would say she has gained about 5-7 lbs since her visit. 
She is a smaller gsd compared to some of the other females I have seen at the dog park, but she still has a lot of puppy in her and I am hopeful that she will continue to grow and fill out a little bit now that she is getting the proper excercise and nutrition.
She is currently 23-24 inches tall from the floor to the top of her back, which from what I understand is average for a female.
Some characteristics that she has that would suggest she is a mixed breed to me would be the light colored face, dark hind legs, white chest, and a little bit of a skinny face. What do you guys think?
















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## mehpenn (May 22, 2006)

She's very pretty. I definitely see a GSD. And at nearly 50 pounds and 24 inches, she's an average sized female. Her coloring is pale but that doesn't in any way indicate she is not a PB dog. 
Of course, without knowing her history, where she came from, etc, there's no way to know 100% for sure that she is or is not purebred. To me, however, I'd say she is a purebred dog, likely from a BYB, and very lucky to have found you. She's beautiful and looks very happy. Enjoy her!

Something to consider, as well...In our area, shelters will often list purebred dogs as mixes if they don't have proper documentation to prove the dog is purebred.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

It's difficult to say if she is a mix. Overall looks purebred, but as the above post mentioned probably from a back yard breeder. Maybe she is on the smaller side due to lack of nutrition as a pup or the mom did not get proper care. She sure looks like a pretty and healthy dog now!


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

She's PB to my eyes. Shelters will more often than not label a PB dog as a mix because too many people get offended when they go to adopt a dog labeled as purebred and it turns out its a mix. Labeling a PB dog as a mix is really to cover themselves and reduce the number of "you allowed me to adopt a mixed breed!" complainers. your girl is PB.


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## atourya (Mar 23, 2013)

looks pure to me... if mixed, then it would have to be with another type of shepherd.


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

She looks purebred to me, also. As for her markings, from what I can see, she is a blanket back (large black area, covering the back from shoulders to hindquarters), and has a reverse mask (muzzle is dark, face is light, and forehead is dark). In GSD, "tan" can range from a pale silvery cream color to a dark red. 

This dog is obviously a red and and black longhair, but has similar markings.

Dogs 7-3-13 037 by RosemaryBE, on Flickr 

She's also a bit smaller, at 22.5 inches and 49 pounds.


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