48 replies to this topic

[kendall]

Hello, Everyone. First poster here. I joined the board because I would like for some more experienced eyes to take a look at Lucy for us.

We adopted Lucy (The Little Lady Lu-Lu) last weekend from the local shelter after she was left on their doorstep in a plastic bin with 8 of her brothers and sisters. They were guessing she was a BC mix. We didn't believe them at first because the wife and I didn't understand the whole smooth-coat/rough-coat distinction, but after some research we were set straight. For further proof, we remembered that some of her brothers and sisters had distinctly rougher coats. Makes sense.

Anyway, after looking at a couple hundred pictures online I can't figure out what other breed might be represented in The Lady Lu. She looks all BC to me.

Can anyone who's seen a bunch of smooth-coated BC pups hazard an opinion on her differences?

Thanks.

kendall

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[Gloria Atwater]

Hi Kendall!

Welcome to the boards. Lucy sure is one cute little pup. How old is she, approximately?

I have 2 smooth-coated border collies, and honestly, I can't tell about Lucy from these photos. The lower photo might suggest some other breed in the blunt shape of her head, but again, there's so much variety in BC head shapes. My Nick, pictured in my profile image, was all big head, blocky shoulders and big knees as a little guy! But his younger sister, my Gael, has a head like a bullet. And Lucy's floppy ears don't necessarily mean much, either. BC ears come in all shapes and sizes, and she may well grow into those.

How does she move when she plays? She's of course still very young, but does she exhibit any stalking or intently-staring behaviors, in play?

Anyhow, I can't really tell, just from the photos. She could be purebred, and the folks who rescued her were thrown by the variety of coats within the litter. Or she could be mixed with who knows what. A little lab, perhaps?

Whatever she is, she sure is a cutie-pie! Congratulations!
Cheers ~

Gloria

[Oko]

Hello and welcome!

As for what breed(s) she is, I've seen Border Collie X American Pit Bull Terrier puppies that looked very similar to her in terms of head shape. She could just be a border collie with a blocky head, or a totally different mix, whatever she is, she looks to be a definite keeper!

Congratulations on the new addition!

[MrSnappy]

Depends how old she is in that picture. She's pretty blunt headed for a border collie, unless she's very young in that photo and hasn't grown a muzzle yet. But she could also just be a blunt headed BC too. You're going to have to wait until she gets older, I think!

RDM

[ShoresDog]

Welcome aboard, Kendall. Little Lucy is incredibly cute! I agree that you're just going to have to wait and see. But meanwhile, treat her like a border collie puppy... don't let her get away with anything! They learn all too quickly.

[mum24dog]

As for what breed(s) she is, I've seen Border Collie X American Pit Bull Terrier puppies that looked very similar to her in terms of head shape.

The shape of the head suggests the possibility of some bull breed in there to me too.

I believe it's quite a common mix in flyball circles over the pond but could be misinformed.

[SecretBC]

As someone who works in a shelter, I can tell you that it is VERY STINKING HARD to correctly guess at the breed(s) of unknown puppies dumped on us. It's a guess and sometimes we guess right, sometimes we guess wrong.

We've had a couple of wee ones come to us that we labeled as "labrador with some border collie thrown in there." Yet when those dogs grew up and we saw pictures or they came for a visit, they ended up looking almost completely border collie. This weekend a former adopter came by to do a dog meet with a new pup she was interested in -- the dog she adopted from us as a puppy was listed as a "collie/australian shepherd" mix. Uhh. In it's adult body it sure looked a lot like some sort of pit/lab mix. lol

When you have no clue of the parentage, sometimes you just have to wait until they grow up a bit. My most recent foster puppy was guessed to be some sort of a border-staffy mix and I can see similarities between her and the OP puppy -- but again, they change *so much*. Even my known pure bc foster puppy from December is hardly recognizable anymore from the puppy he was when he was with me!

[kendall]

Everything is "best guess", but we were told she's about 6 weeks old. She's young enough to still be unsteady on her feet and flopping about on shaky knees.

Haven't seen any stalking yet, but she's not afraid to look you in the eye.

My wife is a stay-at-home mom for our kids so she so she's able to keep a constant watchful eye on the Lady Lu. I got in trouble last night for stepping out into the garage and letting her sneak some of the other dog's food.

kendall

[Gloria Atwater]

Oh, good grief! 6 weeks is so incredibly YOUNG! The poor baby. She should still be with her mama, in my opinion, but obviously her former "owners' thought otherwise. Please do be careful with what she eats and gets into. She's far too young to understand corrections and getting into the wrong food or whatever could get really set her poor insides in a riot.

I didn't want to put the cat among the canaries by suggesting a bully breed, but that did cross my mind, in the second photo of her. However, like everyone says, you really won't know for many months to come. Meanwhile, do be careful with such a very young baby. Hubby and I got a dog that young once, many years ago, and I'd never do it again. It's so much work and so very worrisome! Though that pup did grow up to be one of the most loyal and loving girls we've ever had.

Best of luck and give dear wee Lucy a hug and a kiss from me.

~ Gloria

[juliepoudrier]

I don't think there's any way to tell when looking at a 6-week-old puppy. I look at her and think she could be purebred. What are the chances of that? Who knows? Maybe equally as likely as that she's crossed with some bully breed. I have pointy headed border collies and broad headed border collies. I had a dog here recently who had a shorter muzzle (blunt headed) and a distant relative of that dog, who belongs to a friend of mine, also has a distinctly blunt muzzle. It's less obvious in the mature dog than it was in the pup (that is, he looked really short muzzled as a puppy).

I agree that you're going to have to see what she looks like when she's older, possibly an adult, to hazard a guess. I wouldn't do a doubletake if I met you and her and you told me she was a border collie, though.

J.

[MaryP]

One reason that I would tend to think that she's a mix is that, at least around here, it would be pretty rare for an entire litter of purebred border collie puppies to be dropped off at a shelter. Not that this doesn't or hasn't happened. But, it's pretty rare [here]. But, until she grows a bit more, it's going to be tough to know what she'll look like as an adult.

I give you Exhibit A. This is a puppy from a litter of puppies dumped at a shelter at about 4 weeks old. He's doing his very best, "I'm a border collie puppy" imitation here.



Here's the same puppy all grown up. Clearly, some sort of short-legged dog is in his ancestry.

[NorthfieldNick]

Not much more to offer on the breed, other than to say she's adorable, and looks a lot like a friend's known Border Collie pup who could pass as a Lab mix. My old mutt, the best dog ever, was also a Lu. I hope your pup gets all the brains & sweetness of my Lu, but maybe a little less attitude!

[Tweed]

I have seen many smooth coat pups. I am a bc breeder with smooth coats as my preference. I am also familiar with bully breeds. She looks like there is a good possibility of being bc/ bull something. I see signs in her eye shape/width, head shape, and also possibly her body /leg shape.

[kendall]

We've had her about 2 weeks now, so she's something like 8 weeks old. She's grown a lot in two weeks!

She retains the somewhat stubby snout though not as much as two weeks ago. She's definitely long-legged and she's got huge feet. I'm starting to think maybe black lab...

kendall

Attached Files

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•  Lucy2.jpg   157.18K   216 downloads
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[PSmitty]

Oh, my goodness. She is beyond adorable. She could very well be a BC mix. So hard to tell at that age.

Lucy reminds me of my BC mix, Jack. As a puppy:

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He ended up like this:

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[juliepoudrier]

Love the curl at the tip of her tail in the last photo!

J.

[kendall]

Alright, I had an epiphany this morning. I was holding The Lady Lu in my arms and she was looking up at me when I suddenly saw very plainly what probably everyone else is seeing and not saying. I think our princess is a Junkyard Princess. Lu-Lu is part pitbull.

The ears, the feet, the set of the little black eyes--it all fits. She could be pitbull/bc or maybe pitbull/lab but she's pitbull for sure.

She does have a sweet disposition so far though. Let's hope that keeps up and that most of the pit-ish-ness has been mixed out.

kendall

[juliepoudrier]

Honestly most pit bull aficianadoes would say that pit bulls (and related breeds) are generally very nice dogs. As long as you train and socialize her properly she should turn out to be a nice dog. She sure is cute now.

J.

[SecretBC]

Wow, please get to know pitties a bit better. Maybe then you'll lose the stereotype. They are wonderful dogs!

[MrSnappy]

Wow, please get to know pitties a bit better. Maybe then you'll lose the stereotype. They are wonderful dogs!

To be fair to the OP, pitbulls are generally described as sweet natured, yes - but they are terriers, and terriers are not for everyone! They are a world apart from border collies.

I'd also say that owning a pitty is a pretty up close and personal way of getting to know one, wouldn't you?

RDM