About to adopt our first dog! A 1 yr old rescue from PR. Help IDing the breed, possible dalmation

It looks like my family and i will be getting a new rescued pup!


My boys (5&7) have been asking for a while and my wife and I finally feel like we are all ready for the addition to the family. Her name is Lucy, she is a 1 year old rescue from Puerto Rico and currently being fostered by friends of ours.

She is around 40 lbs, high energy, super friendly (with kids, males, females) and has responded very well to training so far. The rescue agency thinks she is a Dalmation mutt. I see a bunch of German Shorthaired Pointer... but that is probably because I really like that breed.

Does anyone have any input for what type of breed she might be? If there is any pit, i am assuming that there isn't much because she is so long and lean. They think she is now full-grown but just needs to gain a bit of weight. I doupt we will spend the $ for DNA testing unless there is a concern for a particular breed or genetic issue.














She is wearing pants!




She had her second visit Sunday, and my boys are both super excited. My youngest son was a bit nervous last weekend for the visit because Lucy was super excited and jumped quite a bit. He was nipped in the ear last year by my neighbors rescued lab... I spent the week showing him dog training videos and explained that all dogs jump to greet humans in the face until they are taught not to. My fiends worked with her all week and she only jumped a few times.
He was great Sunday and is super excited. My wife and I are both teachers so we will adopt lucy in two weeks when our Feb Vacation starts!

Sorry for the long post and tons of pics... I figured a bunch of images might help ID the breed.

 

Color/markings suggest some pitty in there, but body structure doesn't. GSP is probably a good bet. Maybe even beagle? Hard to tell with this one.

 

I just adopted one and was told boxer/pit. I was good with that until I heard him bark. He defiantly has beagle in him. But I do know if this is your first dog make sure it doesn't say "pit" anything on his papers, or your insurance company will not let you have him on your policy for your homeowners.

 

Our vet did a doggie DNA test BUT will not reveal 5 or so breeds (a couple terrier, rotty & a couple others insurance companies will give a hard time under your homeowners.

Full Disclosure: My wife did this.

 

Dang I was going to say Pit Bull mixed with GSP too.

 

Thanks everyone! I don't think a dna test would do anything to change our mind. Her temperament has been great. We were told by the rescuers to id her as a dalmation mutt. Thanks for the heads up for insurance. We have no reason to bring up pit. Her body and face is so slender, that i don;t think we have much to worry about. She really has the same exact build and temperament as my cousin's old GSP.

Is it the brindle that suggests pit?

 

I think more of the top of her head looks very pit like, that "brain" double hump shape as best I can describe it.

As long as you love her, and she has good manners, who really cares though!

 

I would guess pit/boxer mix

I see pit for sure

 

hmm... oh well. I obviously see what i want to see. She has a great temperament, so everything should be fine regardless of the breed. If she eventually shows hints aggressive behaviors, then we will worry about it then. I will do everything I can to train her using a positive reinforcement approach. My friends who are fostering aren't worried about her temperament at all, and they have fostered quite a few dogs.

For roaming free for most of her life, she has sure settled into her new world. I can't wait for next sunday when we finally take her home!

 

OP, I would suggest a DNA check to get real hereditary information in any case. Do it at a location that is not your normal vet, or even online and have the results paid for by, and sent to a friend's or relative's address to that they're not tied to you in any way.

Reason being is that it's important to know what you're dealing with. Dogs are not all created equal, and the more information you can arm yourself with, the better off you'll be. Just like buying a car, you need to know what potential problems may arise.

Pits like to be companions to their handlers, while GSPs and their hunting background do better (than Pits) solitary. All dogs require slightly different treatment in training/handling. You'd do poorly to leave a Pit alone for 8-10 hours while you're at work, you'd do poorly to ask a GSP to herd livestock, and you'd do poorly to train a Retriever for Schutzhund.

You need to know what drives the dog is likely to exhibit, how to read its body language, etc. - especially as it comes into maturity.

If you know for a fact there's part Pit in there, you'll be able to look out for potential Pit-like problems, and identify & fix them before they become real issues. This goes for not only behavioural, but medical conditions, too. Same thing goes for whatever other breeds are mixed in there.

The fact that the dog is doing well now is good, but at 1 year the dog is not mature, and her behaviour can change like a lightswitch. I've seen it happen with my own GSD. She went from the kindest, friendliest, gentlest puppy to a full blown "I will rip your throat out if you come near my owner" (in certain rare scenarios) overnight. I was not expecting that and it took a ton of effort to fix and control that behaviour. Had I paid more attention during the early months, I would have recognized the signs leading up to that and dealt with it much easier.

Knowing what you're dealing with is always cheaper in the long run.

 

I agree with everything you just said. I have been thinking about this a bunch, which means I really want to know.