English Shepherd with BLUE EYES!?

[hmontesjr]

I just adopted a shepherd mix, that has the appearance of an English Shepherd but with BRIGHT blue eyes like an Aussie. Could someone help me identify her breed mix?

She is about 5 months, and her foster mom did not know the parents.

Here are a few pictures.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r204/hmontesjr/ATT2656074.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r204/hmontesjr/ATT2333485.jpg

[SharkBait]

WOW that is one pretty dog!! I LOVE her eyes!

i couldn't tell ya what's in her but heck she's gorgeous!

I'm really unfamiliar with the breed, are they registered?
I put 'english shepherd' in a google image search and to be honest i would of passed a lot of them as border collies, with a few Hovawart mixes along the way! lol, no doubt they are good lookin' though.
Do they have any distinguishable features? Howcome you like them so much? Just curious, i wanna learn more :D

[hmontesjr]

I was looking for an Australian Shepherd, we are a very active family with two small boys that love to be outside, many trips to the park and nature trails, i thought an Aussie would be perfect, and I always wanted a Frisbee dog. I brought her home, thinking she was an aussie, but she has a distinct black patch on the left side of her face, hard to see on the pic, I couldn't find any Aussie mixes that had this patch, but I did find a lot of English Shepherd puppies with this black patch. But NO English shepherds with blue eyes.
So my best guess is and English/Aussie mix.

Here is some pictures of some confirmed English shepherds with the black patch like my "Kiah" http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.theadelarose.com/TeaganPadraigHannah.jpg/TeaganPadraigHannah-large.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.theadelarose.com/englishshepherds&h=342&w=420&sz=42&hl=en&start=57&um=1&tbnid=IVW8gFMFC3fEpM:&tbnh=102&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3Denglish%2Bshepherd%26start%3D54%26nds p%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dof f%26rlz%3D1B2DVFC_en___US202%26sa%3DN

And some info on English shepherds.
http://www.englishshepherd.org/

[Zoom]

She's going to be a very good looking girl regardless! Enjoy your pup, it'll be fun and hair-rippingly frustrating at the same time, but as she matures, you'll have the best dog ever. :D

[oc_spirit]

Blue eyes aren't always a direct link to a breed that typically has blue eyes (like catahoulas, aussie sheps, sibes, etc). It can happen in any breed. I forget if it is a recessive trait or a mutant gene though...

[RD]

Do you mind my asking where you're located?

English Shepherds are more common in Europe than in North America. Chances are 95% of supposed "English Shepherds" in North American shelters are Border Collie or Aussie mixes. I'd guess that if you're in the US or Canada, your dog is probably a BC/Aussie mix and not an English Shepherd.

[HoundedByHounds]

OC is right...I've seen one or both eyes blue in pedigreed Akitas, and Beagles....VERY unexpected but always lovely!

[hmontesjr]

Do you mind my asking where you're located?

English Shepherds are more common in Europe than in North America. Chances are 95% of supposed "English Shepherds" in North American shelters are Border Collie or Aussie mixes. I'd guess that if you're in the US or Canada, your dog is probably a BC/Aussie mix and not an English Shepherd.


I live in Houston, i got her from a rescue group in Jasper, Texas. (a lot farms)

[Gempress]

She's a cutie! Love the blue eyes!

I agree with Zoom. I think it's extremely unlikely she has English shepherd in her. That is an insanely rare breed here. Your odds of stumbling across one (or even a mix of one) in a rescue or shelter are incredibly slim.

I'd guess border collie/catahoula mix. Both breeds are very common in Texas, and I think that combination is much more likely.

[milos_mommy]

yeah, i'm gonna say border collie mix, probably with aussie?

[hmontesjr]

yeah, i'm gonna say border collie mix, probably with aussie?


Wouldn't her coloring be unusual for a Border Collie?

My initial thought was Aussie/Golden retriever.

[Zoom]

Border Collies can come in almost every color out there and even Aussies have a sable coloration in their genetic lineup. However, since it's not one of the "accepted" colors, it's never bred for and so is relegated to a rare crop-out color.

And BC's can have blue eyes as well. :)

[RD]

Honestly her color isn't unusual at all for a Border Collie, I know a lot of red or sable (I can't really tell which she is) dogs out there. iluvdogs on this forum has a sable BC boy with blue eyes.

But, I'm quite inclined to say that she's at least part Aussie. Those ears and the width of her muzzle are unusual in Border Collies, though it can happen occasionally. Much more commonly seen on Aussies though and Aussies are popular in your area, too.

[hmontesjr]

Border Collies can come in almost every color out there and even Aussies have a sable coloration in their genetic lineup. However, since it's not one of the "accepted" colors, it's never bred for and so is relegated to a rare crop-out color.

And BC's can have blue eyes as well. :)


I would have never guessed BC, so i did a search to find other "red" Border Collies. I found this site:

http://www.gis.net/~shepdog/BC_Museum/Permanent/BC_ColorTan.html

Thanks!

[Zoom]

Lol, I've had that site bookmarked for years and was actually about to post it for you. Guess you beat me to it!

[Bear Luv]

She looks a lot like the dog "Rum" from this persons youtube channel...

http://youtube.com/profile?user=ginauk84

If I am not mistaken, Rum is a Sable Border collie with two blue eyes.

She really looks like a border collie to me...

Diane:)

[hmontesjr]

She looks a lot like the dog "Rum" from this persons youtube channel...

http://youtube.com/profile?user=ginauk84

If I am not mistaken, Rum is a Sable Border collie with two blue eyes.

She really looks like a border collie to me...

Diane:)


Wow! That does look like her! Thanks!!!

I got a return email from a nice lady from the above mentioned BC site, she says she needs to see more pics but there is a good chance she is a pure breed BC. Her ears seem to be more aussie than BC though, they never "stick up" even when she hears a strange noise.

[iluvdogs]

Here are the pics you asked for hmontesjr

http://i17.tinypic.com/6u8kqxd.jpg

http://i3.tinypic.com/6pqytk4.jpg

http://i11.tinypic.com/87lh4z9.jpg

http://i6.tinypic.com/879yloy.jpg

Hope that helps you out!

[hmontesjr]

Here are the pics you asked for hmontesjr



Hope that helps you out!


Thanks! Great looking dog.

Weather was great here in Houston, so I took the pup out on a long walk,
My son decides to throw a rock into a small pond, much to my surprise, the pup (Kiah) jumps in right after it, she quickly gets out, it was a little cold for Houston, she walks around the pond, tail wagging, then jumps in again this time in the deep end, and splashes around like it was greatest thing in the world...so my question is, do Border Collie like water? Or does she have some Lab in her? More pics!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r204/hmontesjr/Kiah2.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r204/hmontesjr/Kiah1.jpg

[bubbatd]

Whatever she is , she's a cutie !!! There's definately some Retriever in her ... Toller ?

[hmontesjr]

Whatever she is , she's a cutie !!! There's definately some Retriever in her ... Toller ?


Thanks! I never heard of Tollers...that would explain the pond dive.:p

Also, her coat is like a dirt repellent, she LOVES to walk in the mud...by the time we got home from our walk, it's like she never went out. I wish my boys could figure that out.