PipersHope Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 A few months ago, we adopted a male puppy who was about 10 weeks old and we assume he is an Australian Shepherd. He is tri-color and a bobtail. My mother-in-law adopted what she thought was an Australian shephered, a blue merle female. She has a tail. She was very tiny and obviously younger than Scout, our puppy. Now she has outgrown him and some of her posturing reminds me of a border collie. I started surfing the net and checking out border collies and found some with the same face and upturned nose as our little tri-color male. So what do we have? Aussie's? BC's? Is he an aussie and she a BC or a mix? or what? Pictures to follow... Their backs. The tricolor is our male and the blue merle is my MIL"s female. They are 4/5 months old. Scout Piper IMG]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c96/Daisylegs1960/HPIM1318.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PipersHope Posted January 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Her closeup His closeup Wrestling. Makes her look like a BC The way he stands, he looks like a PB Aussie Also, her ears half way stand up, while his just flap in the breeze and do the interest lift, that is an Aussie trait. If I was to guess, I would guess he is an Aussie, but that she is a BC or Aussie/BC mix. She has outgrown him. Piper a few months ago Scout a few months ago At 10 and 12 weeks old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Well, I don't know, but they are both totally cute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 They both look like Aussie mixes to me. Neither appears to be a 'purebred' anything. That muddy merle is very common in Aussie mixes. RDM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PipersHope Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I'm just curious to know. I'm ordering DNA tests. Can't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Just be aware that, at least in the experience of some members here, DNA tests can be less than predictive. I find DNA tests for determining parentage to be useful, but I think DNA tests that determine breed are somewhat unreliable. If you feel strongly about calling one a border collie and the other an aussie, no one can really contradict you, so you don't really need proof. A tail doesn't mean a dog's not an aussie, just as a bobbed tail doesn't mean the dog automatically is an aussie. Working-bred aussies can exhibit builds that are very similar to working-bred border collies. Trying them on stock might give you a better clue, and in general aussies seem to have more bark and bounce, but that's all subjective, and you could have an aussie that works a lot like a border collie. My first dog was a supposed border collie x aussie. Sometimes I thought he might be all border collie, but honestly it didn't really matter to me, so I always called him a mix. He was a good dog. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierMike Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I'm just curious to know. I'm ordering DNA tests. Can't hurt. I wouldn't waste your money. We had our dogs done as Guinea pigs at our vet clinic where my wife works. No cost to us, just as a test. The brand was Wisdom Panel and it was the blood draw type, which is supposed to have better results and less errors. Our youngest dog came back with a "major" of Border Collie, an "intermediate" of Collie and a "minor" of Samoyed. Our older dog came back with no major, no intermediate and a minor as Chow Chow. Here's my Chow... The testing company said that a Purebred dog had to be in the lineage no farther back than Grandparent to get a "major" ID. Save your money, buy your pups some toys instead, you'll get more use from them. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleybean Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 They look like adorable Aussies to me. I second the motion that you save the genetic testing money and buy toys instead. Enjoy those cuties!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleybean Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Hey Mike, That sure is a good lookin Chow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpacemonkeySam Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 They both look like Aussie mixes to me. Neither appears to be a 'purebred' anything. That muddy merle is very common in Aussie mixes. RDM The muddy merle sure is cute!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCkris Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I wouldn't waste your money. We had our dogs done as Guinea pigs at our vet clinic where my wife works. No cost to us, just as a test. The brand was Wisdom Panel and it was the blood draw type, which is supposed to have better results and less errors. Our youngest dog came back with a "major" of Border Collie, an "intermediate" of Collie and a "minor" of Samoyed. Our older dog came back with no major, no intermediate and a minor as Chow Chow. Here's my Chow... The testing company said that a Purebred dog had to be in the lineage no farther back than Grandparent to get a "major" ID. Save your money, buy your pups some toys instead, you'll get more use from them. Mike wow thats some chow chow!!! ) we did a DNA wisdom panel test too on a 15# chihuahua looking thing and it came back as minor Yorkie and Mastiff! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleybean Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 wow thats some chow chow!!! ) we did a DNA wisdom panel test too on a 15# chihuahua looking thing and it came back as minor Yorkie and Mastiff! lol Yorkie and Mastiff???? How in the world did they. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Yorkie and Mastiff???? How in the world did they. . . I bet somebody put him up to it....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'd say the boy looks predominantly Aussie with maybe 1/4 BC, while the muddy merle girl looks like an Aussie mix. Maybe an Aussie/BC mix, hard to say, without watching her move. For years we had two sisters who were Aussie/BC, 50/50. One acted and looked mostly Aussie, the other couldn't decide which side to take after, on a given day. But both had pointed ears, while only one had a natural bob tail. For fun, I'll try to attach a photo. They don't look much like either of your dogs. Cheers ~ Gloria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 What are they? Freekin' ADORABLE, thats what they are! I would guess they are Aussie mixes, as someone else said that muddy merle is a Aussie mix standard color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKB Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 They are super cute. I would vote Aussie mixes as well- Aussies are sometimes born bobtailed, sometimes not, so who knows. They're both breeds that were standardized more according to performance than appearance, at least in their early development. I've never heard of someone getting a reliable result from a DNA test- but personally I think the mystery is part of the fun with a mix. My BC mix is supposedly half newf but she weighs 51 pounds. So, that's what I tell people when they ask (you can tell who knows what a newfoundland is by the looks of incredulity). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PipersHope Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 The DNA test results came back. Scout, the tri-color male had nothing listed but Level One Australian Shepherd. That means (by their explanation) one of three possibilities. 1) He's a purebred Aussie. 2) Any other breed in him was in such a minute amount to not register, or 3) Any other breed in him is a rarer breed not yet mapped by the company. Most likely scenario, he's a purebred Aussie. Piper, the muddy merle female's test came back: Level Two: Australian Shepherd (50 to 75%), Level 4 Bulldog (15 to 20%)????? Level Four Boston Terrier???? and Level Five Cocker Spaniel (10 to 15%).... While studying the breeds, I've seen purebred Aussie's nearly identical to Scout. So that seems likely. But I certainly do not see any Bulldog or Boston Terrier in Piper. I've decided to just refer to them as Aussie pups to whomever may ask. Now 6 months old. They are within 2 weeks about the same age. Piper A Valentines day kiss. (He started out as the larger dog. She has outgrown him) I love watching the BC's in action at the Scottish games. What puzzles me with Piper is that seh moves like them. Scout moves like an Aussie. Guess we'll never really know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Bulldog? I've heard of those tests sometimes coming back with pretty odd results, even from dogs whose breeding is known! So, I'd say you're pretty safe in just calling them Aussies. They sure look it, to me! They're still cute little dudes. ~ Gloria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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