# Is This Pure German Shepherd Puppy?



## Y2German (Nov 27, 2014)

My name is Simba. It's my first experience of German Shepherd Dog. My friends say its a mix breed and not a pure German Shepherd puppy. The dog owner said its an original breeed. It's a 8 weeks old puppy. Kindly let me know your honest opinion about this matter?

Mr. Simba


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## Bella67 (Jun 22, 2014)

It's hard to tell. It looks like he could be mixed with lab or Pittbull maybe?


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

My vote is no, note purebred.


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## Y2German (Nov 27, 2014)

So is this half German shepherd or will mostly will look like a GSD? Will it be a big guard dog?

Mr. Simba


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

What did the breeder say? Were the parent dogs on site? Did you see the mother and littermates?

Hard to tell with a young puppy, I think it could be all GSD, they don't all look the same!


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

If it is GSD, I would say poorly bred - doesn't mean he won't fulfill the job you chose him for, just that he was most likely bred without some important factors in mind.

To me he looks "lab-by", but like Maggie said - not an indicator at this age.


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## Comessy (Oct 19, 2014)

Looks mixed with a lab. Can tell by the shape of the ears. His fur is also very short like a lab.


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## Y2German (Nov 27, 2014)

No I didn't see his parents or litter. It was in a newspaper advertisement and the owner dropped it at my house. Now what should I do? Keep him?

Is he more of a rottweiler mix?


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

He is cute and if you are looking for a pet friend and companion this pup should easily suit those needs, quite possibly many more. If you were looking to show in a breed show, do schutzhund etc then I would take him back and buy from a legitimate breeder.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Keep him. He's sweet and you bought him the way you chose to buy him. 

He looks adorable!!!


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

Y2German said:


> So is this half German shepherd or will mostly will look like a GSD? Will it be a big guard dog?
> 
> Mr. Simba


What purpose did you hope for this dog to fulfull?

Big? That is determined by genetics mostly, but can also have influences from diet and nutrition.

Guard dog or watch dog? Big difference in what is expected of the dog.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Y2German said:


> No I didn't see his parents or litter. It was in a newspaper advertisement and the owner dropped it at my house. Now what should I do? Keep him?
> 
> Is he more of a rottweiler mix?


What should you do?

1. Take him to the vet and get him his shots. 

2. Find a good basic obedience class or puppy kindergarten and sign him up.

3. Go to a pet store (without the puppy) and buy him some proper chew toys, and toys, and a crate, and an tag that lists his name, yours and your phone number for his collar.

4. Check out your local laws, and buy him a license if it is required in your area.

5. Buy him some decent dog food. 

6. Continue to read posts from this site and any others, to learn about nutrition, training, and leadership, as well as how to be a canine-owning-good-citizen. Your dog is going to be too big and formidable to be untrained and not properly managed. You owe it to him and to the neighborhood to raise him up properly. 

Or, 

Take him to the pound and pray that a rescue of some sort steps up and takes him, and vow not to get another dog until you are ready to make the proper commitment.

It sounds like returning this guy to the breeder would be worse for him than dropping him at the pound. Sorry, but most breeders are not going to just come to your house and drop you a puppy there. A breeder may meet you at your home or at another location for a number of ok reasons, but it sounds more like this was probably not one of them. 

The time to determine what a dog is, is before you purchase the dog and take it home, unless it is a total mystery from a shelter, and you are not really looking for any type of pure-bred dog, and are just interested in what it might look and act like when it matures. 

When your response is, "what do I do now, should I keep him?" It gives people a lot of misgivings on whether this dog is better off in a shelter where he may find an owner who wants and loves him for who he is. 

As for shepherd? Maybe. It has pencil-toes which is definitely found in shepherds. The first picture is in a real funky angle. Looks almost like a dachshund with an exaggerated head. But the second picture looks shepherd, maybe lab, maybe rotty, definitely largish and formidable. Will need training and leadership. And if you aren't game for that give him up NOW before trouble starts, and give up your desire for a shepherd.


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

holy smokes, seltzer. that was the best advice i have ever seen!

OP, welcome to the forum!

2nd pic kinda looks like a rot head but i don't know what they look as pups. just imagining that head bigger reminds me of a rot.


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## LilyandBella (Jan 26, 2014)

*Puppy*

I'm no expert, but I would guess German Shepherd/Rottweiler(I've owned both), because he has similar markings and huge paws.

I definitely agree with what seltzer said. Even if he's not purebred, he's still a great looking puppy, so raise him up to be a good dog.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

LilyandBella said:


> I definitely agree with what seltzer said. Even if he's not purebred, he's still a great looking puppy, so raise him up to be a good dog.


Love him, play with him, SOCIALIZE and train him and he'll be all the dog you want for the research and planning you put in to get him. Looks like a great puppy.

Make sure you get a good start on ---> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...191183-top-training-expectations-puppies.html

Good luck!


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I'd say he was probably a GSD. Pups look very different and even adult sheps can look pretty different. The present youngest in this household is shiny black, thinner nose, longer face; The 5 yo is a smaller dog, more classic coat, more compact face, smaller (yet still large) ears. I've had PBs that were barrel chested tanks and ones that were narrow deep chested race horses.


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## Y2German (Nov 27, 2014)

Will his ears stand up like a German Shepherd?


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Hard to say about his ears. They should be up by about 6 months. Sometimes they go up and down when they teeth (get adult teeth in). 

He is darling and I hope he grows up to be your best buddy.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

He is adorable. It doesn't really matter purebred or not, does it? I bet he will be a wonderful companion dog.


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## Zeusthegsd143 (Nov 24, 2014)

Y2German said:


> My name is Simba. It's my first experience of German Shepherd Dog. My friends say its a mix breed and not a pure German Shepherd puppy. The dog owner said its an original breeed. It's a 8 weeks old puppy. Kindly let me know your honest opinion about this matter?
> 
> Mr. Simba


I'd say that he will look mostly GSD.. Looks like it will be a big dog!


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

If you can't love him for who he is, please rehome him to someone who can. Even if he is PB GSD, his ears may or may not come up. He may or may not be large. He may or may not have traits that you are looking for. 

I just got a puppy from an out of state shelter. She was listed as a German Shepherd mix. She looks mostly GSD to me. I had her transported to me sight unseen. Matter of fact, the shelter mislabeled the pictures and the puppy I got, is not the one that was in the picture with that name. I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. I adore this puppy. I will love her the same if she is pure or mixed, ears up or floppy, large or small. She is so smart and has so much potential. 

I took a chance. You took a chance too. I hope you do the right thing by your puppy. Train him right and he is going to be an awesome dog. For what it's worth, I see German Shepherd in your boy.


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## Zeusthegsd143 (Nov 24, 2014)

Stevenzachsmom said:


> If you can't love him for who he is, please rehome him to someone who can. Even if he is PB GSD, his ears may or may not come up. He may or may not be large. He may or may not have traits that you are looking for.
> 
> I just got a puppy from an out of state shelter. She was listed as a German Shepherd mix. She looks mostly GSD to me. I had her transported to me sight unseen. Matter of fact, the shelter mislabeled the pictures and the puppy I got, is not the one that was in the picture with that name. I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. I adore this puppy. I will love her the same if she is pure or mixed, ears up or floppy, large or small. She is so smart and has so much potential.
> 
> I took a chance. You took a chance too. I hope you do the right thing by your puppy. Train him right and he is going to be an awesome dog. For what it's worth, I see German Shepherd in your boy.


I could not have said it better myself!!!


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Stevenzachsmom said:


> If you can't love him for who he is, please rehome him to someone who can. Even if he is PB GSD, his ears may or may not come up. He may or may not be large. He may or may not have traits that you are looking for.
> 
> I just got a puppy from an out of state shelter. She was listed as a German Shepherd mix. She looks mostly GSD to me. I had her transported to me sight unseen. Matter of fact, the shelter mislabeled the pictures and the puppy I got, is not the one that was in the picture with that name. I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. I adore this puppy. I will love her the same if she is pure or mixed, ears up or floppy, large or small. She is so smart and has so much potential.
> 
> I took a chance. You took a chance too. I hope you do the right thing by your puppy. Train him right and he is going to be an awesome dog. For what it's worth, I see German Shepherd in your boy.


Great post Mama Jan!


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## Isha (Nov 5, 2014)

Amen to Stevenzachsmom.

Doesn't matter if pure bred or not. There are advantages and disadvantages in both.

Don't know why people think that bigger dogs are better dogs. There are lots of health problems with big dogs.

I've had lots of dogs with different breeds and the best I had was a street dog I cared for. He never got sick. Always ate his food. Had him off-leash all the time (I dont have to teach him to watch over vehicles on the streets). And the his best trait out of all: LOYALTY.


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