I have a mystery dog...

[mesla]

Hello,

We just adopted Shadow from a shelter a few months ago. He is full grown, 33 pounds, and about 1 1/2 years old. He has a very sleek build and is black and tan. Some have guessed that he is a Shepherd/Terrier mix, but he also, to my untrained eye, looks kind of Doberman-ish or Miniature Pinscher-ish although his size doesn't seem right for either of those breeds. One odd thing about him is his tongue, which is pink with black blotches. He has a fairly long tail with a tiny bit of white at the very tip. He seems to have a bit of guard dog instinct in him, but maybe all dogs have that.

Any help narrowing down what type of dog he might be will be appreciated!!

PS This is my first time posting, so I hope I did it right.

Thank you!

[KatzNK9]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Great to have you with us. What a cute dog. From the 3rd pic, I would have said Min-pin & Jack Russell Terrier but I see different things in each pic. I hope others have some ideas. Shadow is cute though regardless of ancestry.

[happysaz133]

Hello and welcome! I see Miniature Pinscher too, but I can see what you mean about the doberman too. His ears also look slightly like a Labradors I think.
But whatever he is, he's such a cutie :)

[Bailey-lover]

Hmmm i can also see what you mean a little bit doberman HE IS SOOOOOO CUTE tho

[mesla]

Thank you all for your comments!! We are enjoying him, no matter what he is.

[Aussiepaws]

Thank you all for your comments!! We are enjoying him, no matter what he is.

I'd say Min Pin or Manchester Terrier. Maybe Jack Russle ... very cute dog, enjoy him.

[brittanyasands]

he does look like a lab but, to me, i would say rottie or dobie mix because of the markings.

regardless, that it a beautiful dog.

[xcolbi]

I see a bit of Lab & Miniature Pinscher in him. Whatever he is, he's adorable. :D

[Julia73]

black spots on their tongues have a recessive ticking gene (some Landseers have black ticking on their white coats), this is the same gene that gives Dalmations their spots.

It is common for people to assume that if there are purple spots on a dogs tongue that it has chow chow somewhere in it's line. That is most defanately not true it has to do with the pigmentation gene of the dog itself. I think that he does look like some type of dobie just not sure if it's min. or not lol very cute thought!!!

Julia

[4onthefloor]

He is definately a cutie. I also think he has standard Doberman not only from the markings/color, but look at those back legs(frog) and front(crossed). This is very common in Dobes. Just ask any Dobie friend, I bet they agree.:) Welcome to the forum and thanks so much for giving a shelter dog a forever home!:)

[mesla]

So the spots on the tongue don't really have anything to do with breed? Interesting. I thought it was some sort of clue as to what he is.

You know, I thought possibly a bit a Doberman, too. And today we met a Rotweiller (I know I didn't spell that right) and his coloring was exactly the same as Shadow. The owner said, 'what kind of dog is he?'. My son says, 'we think a Shepherd mix' and the Rott owner was like, 'Um, really?'.

The way he lays cracks me up. He also lays with the front legs straight out, on his tummy with the frog back legs. A friend was over and said, 'if you put a cape on him he'd look like he was flying'. Very funny.

You know, it makes me think that maybe the shelter wouldn't want to say 'he's part Doberman/Rottweiller/whatever' because maybe they thought it would hurt his chances of getting adopted. You know, that stereotypical dog breed thing. Who knows.

[Krista]

hmm I don't see min pin. I see dobe and maybe shepherd. how much does he weigh? whatever he is, he is CUTE! :D

[mesla]

He's 33 pounds and full grown.

There do seem to be a lot of dogs with those black and tan markings, so I guess I may never know.

[clabby]

he looks like he has a bit of patterdale in him but there is defo dobenmeon or poss rottie with jack russel looks a lovly dog tho how tall is he ?

[molliesmum]

Mesla, welcome to the site. You have a lovely looking dog there. What a healthy coat.

[vixen]

he looks like he has a bit of patterdale in him but there is defo dobenmeon or poss rottie with jack russel looks a lovly dog tho how tall is he ?

I was just thinking about the patterdale look about him to.

how much does he weigh in Kg's

[skunkstripe]

Hey folks, just wanted to point out that a very old thread got revived here. :) Although Mesla's dog Shadow IS adorable.

[The Muttlies]

Shadow is just darling! He reminds me a bit of my Kiara:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a194/frailwit/kiaralegs.jpg
They even lay the same way! She also has the white with ticking on her chest as he appears to have in the photos.

She's a bit larger than him (she weighs in upper 40's, lower 50's - depending on how much swimming she does.) We call her a Black and Tan Coonhound/Doberman mix.

A lot of shelters are horrible with breeds - I've noticed a lot call anything black and tan a Shepherd mix. They labeled Kiara and a Rottweiler mix but I don't see it.

I can't quite pinpoint what your boy is but I will say he is 100% adorable!

[clabby]

hi im95% wot your pup is its a manchester terrier http://www.canadogs.com/images/ManTerrierpup6A.jpg notice the markings and the ears are almost the same
notice the resembalence

[Canine-Expert]

Hello,

We just adopted Shadow from a shelter a few months ago. He is full grown, 33 pounds, and about 1 1/2 years old. He has a very sleek build and is black and tan. Some have guessed that he is a Shepherd/Terrier mix, but he also, to my untrained eye, looks kind of Doberman-ish or Miniature Pinscher-ish although his size doesn't seem right for either of those breeds. One odd thing about him is his tongue, which is pink with black blotches. He has a fairly long tail with a tiny bit of white at the very tip. He seems to have a bit of guard dog instinct in him, but maybe all dogs have that.

Any help narrowing down what type of dog he might be will be appreciated!!

PS This is my first time posting, so I hope I did it right.

Thank you!


Thats a very attractive dog. However black or blue spots on the toungue is a strong indication that there could be liver damage which is quite common in abused dogs, you say you got him from the spca so maybe he had a poor diet before he came to them. I recomend you have a vetenarian test him for liver ailments. Nice dog once again.:D

[suejc]

Hi lovely looking dog, I think he looks like a Manchester terrier with maybe miniature pinscher thrown in. My cavalier lies with his legs out behind him like that. Enjoy him!!