German Shepherds

[doglovers]

Hello,

Are there any German Shepherd afficianodos out there?

I had one of my dogs, Charlie, with me at a soccer game this weekend and ran across a guy who seems to think that he is a Tan Shepherd. He has all physical characteristics of the German Shepherd, but has a yellow lab color coat with a reddish/pink nose. I was convinced he is a mix of yellow Lab and Shepard. I have only found one website that listed "gold" Shepherd puppies, but can't find it again. I've heard them refered to as gold, cream, or tan. According to the man at the soccer park, the tans are pretty rare. I don't know. We got him a year and a half ago as a stray who wandered into our lives so we know nothing about his past. Any input would be appreciated. Just curious really. Anybody else heard of them?

Thanx,
Ken

 

[RoseRed]

SHARON!!!!!!

 

[Sharon]

Can't say I've heard of a gold shepherd but that doesn't mean they don't exist. I do know that [has a yellow lab color coat with a reddish/pink nose] would disqualify him as a show dog. Also pale, washed-out colors and blues or livers are serious faults, and white dogs are also disqualified. Not that it matters because you probably don't have any papers for him but he sounds interesting.

Do you have a pic? I'd really like to see him.

 

[doglovers]

Hi Sharon,

Sorry for not getting back to you until today. Very crazy day yesterday. Anyway....

You're quite perceptive in your evaluation of my intentions with this beautiful animal. We have no papers and don't plan on showing him. We're siimply going to enjoy him and the happiness he brings. He arrived at a pretty low time in my life and has really been a God send.

I had read about the dilutes and the lack of desire for them. I had also read about the disqualification of the White Shepherds. Shame, they're beautiful. However, I did read that while they were not recognized by AKC, they are recognized and shown by the CKC.

Again, quite perceptive about Charlie being interesting. That he is. I've never had a Shepherd before and I understand that he possesses some common traits for the breed such as the extreme intelligence, loyalty, vocality (He's quite the singer/whiner) and even the less pleasant Perianal Fistula. He didn't have that when we got him. I understand that it's fairly rare, but when it does occur, it seems to happen most in German Shepherds. Lucky them. We're managing it with Protopic. Any advice you have on that subject would be appreciated.

I'll try to post a pic of him, but I've never done it on here before so please bare with me : P

Thanx for the input!

Ken

 

[RoseRed]

He's so pretty!

M GSD LOVES the water. :shrug:

 

[Sharon]

He's quite interesting looking indeed.

But he does look like a mix to me. He has strong characteristics of GSD in his head, ears, and shoulders, but I've never seen one that color and the back end is equally interesting. Maybe that's where the yellow lab comes in. His front legs look a little short to me for a shepherd, but he looks too deep chested for a lab. I would say you most definitely got a prize in that one a - GermanLabaShep My 2 favorite dogs all rolled into one.

Perianal fistula is not something I'm familiar with, although you were right that it most commonly affects GSD's. I did find this which may be helpful. Is he on a special diet? I'd say he did a good job of finding a home because you obviously love him and taking care of a stray with medical needs is not something everyone is willing to do.

My dog has a food allergy and it was a long road of tests which proved nothing (he had major skin probs) until I figured out what was going on.

 

[justhangn]

A quick search on google gives a few breeders for Golden Shepherds.

 

[Sharon]

So give us a link. I want to see them.

 

[jazz lady]

Originally posted by doglovers
please bare with me : P

I don't think so. I hope you meant "BEAR with me."

Your dog is gorgeous. I have a golden retriever mix about the same color.

 

[justhangn]

Originally posted by Sharon
So give us a link. I want to see them.

THIS IS NOT A SHEPHERD!!!!!!!!!


I'll keep looking...yesterday's link didn't have a picture.

 

[doglovers]

Thanx for the compliments from everyone.

Rose Red,

Water...I have a funny story about that.

The first time I took him swimming.....
My girlfriend had a Golden Retriever, who has since died
When we got there, Charlie didn't seem interested in following the Retreiver into the water. So we threw a stick into the water, which he blindly bolted after. He stopped dead in his tracks when he got to the point where the water was about half-way up his chest and just stood there wimpering. That's it. That's what he did, just stood there whining and shaking. We guess that he was so fixated on the stick, that he forgot that he didn't like water. He must have been scared silly, because he wouldn't move. It took us about 10 minutes to get him to come out of there and he stayed out for the rest of the day.:razz2:
Needless to say, this made us begin to question our speculation that he had Golden/Yello Lab Retreiver in him.

Sharon,

Ya know, you're right about his legs. They are kinda short for a GSD aren't they? Yup, I'm pretty convinced he's a mix....and definitely a prize!!!! We have no idea how anyone could not be looking feverishly for this dog, but after a year and a half, he's ours now and I consider him the best dog I've ever had. That's saying something because, until Charlie happened along, I was certain there was no better breed on the planet when compared to Boxers. Still my favorite breed, but Charlie's my favorite dog.
I was really pleasantly surprised to see a life span of 10-15 yrs for a dog this size.

The vet didn't mention anything about food alergies when it came to the Fistula. I'll do some more checking into that.

Justhangn,

Thanx for the tip, I'll try it out and keep an eye out for some links from you. Even though I'm convinced Charlie's a mix, I'm intrigued by the Golden Shepherd concept.

Jazzlady,

I wrestled with the spelling of that for a little while, but in response, I have this to say.....depends (I didn't see a little devil smiley)

 

[pixiegirl]

Some of these "white" shepherds look awfully yellow/gold to me....

check it out

 

[doglovers]

They sure look that way to me too! Maybe there's some allowable deviation from white for the clubs who show these dogs. I don't know.

 

[doglovers]

Here's another shot of him....

Thanx for inflating my ego about what a good looking dog I have

 

[jazz lady]

Actually, now that I think of it, Charlie looks a lot like a dog I had years ago. She was a German Shepherd/Lab mix. The only difference was she had a little of the black markings from the Shepherd and a black nose.

 

[Sharon]

Originally posted by doglovers
Here's another shot of him....

He's truely regal looking in that pic!

 

[doglovers]

jazz lady,

Sounds like a beautiful puppy. The black nose and/or mask would be a really nice touch on a dog like that.

Sharon,

He does look rather smug in that shot, doesn't he? Kinda like..."Yep, I'm pretty and I know it." I just wish there was some grass for him to lay on there. That was taken out on the lot where we're having a house built. Hopefully, I'll get some better shots of him and his adopted siblings when the yard looks a little prettier.

Do you have a Shepherd now? Got any pics?

 

[Sharon]

From this past winter

It's really hard to get a good shot of a black dog unless it's snowing.

I need a new pic posting host that's free; this one has crapped out.

 

[justhangn]

WHAT?!?!

 

[Sharon]

Originally posted by justhangn

WHAT?!?!

He was trying to get back in the house. It was during the time I was teaching him to shake all the snow off before entering. He finally got the idea but he sure didn't like it.