Re: Need Help Identifying Dog Breed

NorskyGal · ‎03-10-2010

@colliegirls wrote:
https://www.google.com/#q=herding+dog+representative+species&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLUz9U3MMpONq5QQ...

Did it look like any of these??

Well, I'm familiar with dog breeds. (I guess I should've stated that in my original post.) So, to me, it looks like it could be an Australian Shepherd or Border Collie. But like I said, it had short, wavy fur. I wonder about those Scotch Collies too since they were used on American farms in the 1900s. But did they ever have wavy fur? I just don't know.

NorskyGal · ‎03-10-2010

@colliegirls wrote:
My husband's family had Border Collies and they had black and white wavy coats. They have tails however, the Australian Shepherd usually doesn't.

Well, I think the tail was bobbed when he was a pup by the breeder.

NorskyGal · ‎03-10-2010

@CamilleP wrote:
Almost guaranteed that he was an Australian Shepherd Dog. Which is, of course, a misnomer, because the breed was developed right here in the US by Basque shepherds who brought some of their ancestors over from Spain, and then bred them with local collie-type dogs and farm dogs here in the US, always selecting dogs who were good herding dogs to breed from. Most of the breed's members today exhibit merle coloration patterns, but occasional throwbacks to tricolors probably always occurred, Duke was probably one of them. The breed retains the soft, silky, slightly wavy double coat, somewhat lighter than the very heavy double coats of the Rough Collie and Sheltie, but softer and longer than most German Shepherd Dogs. Today the breed is also bred in a miniature size as more of a convenient companion animal, and both sizes are registered with the AKC. If you go to the AKC website, you can find links to the breed's parent club website, and that will give you breeder referral information, as well as lots of photos, I am sure. One of those photos might well look just like your childhood pal Duke. Please post again to let me know if you find those pictures, I hope you do!

Yes, my instinct is that Duke was an Australian Shepherd. And your description of the fur sounds like his. I'll see if I can find a pic of Duke this weekend and scan (& post) a pic. Thanks for your info!

NorskyGal · ‎03-10-2010

@MillieMilan wrote:
Pyrenean Shepherd?

I'd say not a Pyrenean Shepherd. But thanks!

NorskyGal · ‎03-10-2010

@colliegirls wrote:
An English Shepherd looks a lot like a collie or border collie. Their coat can be wavy.

Duke had the markings of a tri-color collie with the white stripe down the nose, etc. Def. not an English Shepherd (I've got friends with one an English Shepherd) and I grew up around Rough Collies. Duke was more related to a Collie-type or herding dog.

NorskyGal · ‎03-10-2010

@AnikaBrodie wrote:
Could it be a tri color Australian Shepherd? They come in a number of different tri and merle colors. Beautiful dog.

Duke, I believe, is closest to an Australian Shepherd. I REALLY need to scan a pic of him & post it!!!!!

colliegirls · ‎05-13-2012

@NorskyGal wrote:
@colliegirls wrote:
https://www.google.com/#q=herding+dog+representative+species&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLUz9U3MMpONq5QQ...

Did it look like any of these??
Well, I'm familiar with dog breeds. (I guess I should've stated that in my original post.) So, to me, it looks like it could be an Australian Shepherd or Border Collie. But like I said, it had short, wavy fur. I wonder about those Scotch Collies too since they were used on American farms in the 1900s. But did they ever have wavy fur? I just don't know.

Short wavy hair?? I must have missed that detail.

CamilleP · ‎03-09-2010

The breed standard of the Australian Shepherd states the coat is "straight to wavy", so I am 100% sure Duke must have been an Aussie. My neighbor when I was growing up had a dairy cow herd and a very large flock of sheep, and she had two Australian Shepherds that were not AKC registered, the breed was not recognized and shown in the AKC for a very long time because, like many Border Collie breeders, Aussie breeders felt that show ring competition would take the emphasis away from the breed's herding ability. My neighbor's Twig and Duke were allowed to have litters every few years, whenever an acquaintance of hers wanted a new herding puppy, because Twig was a prize-winning herding dog. She was predominantly white with blue merle markings, Duke was a blue merle with minimal white markings. They were both very sweet, gentle dogs, but they were herding machines! Besides color, they looked very different, as Twig looked alot like the modern Aussie, but Duke was taller and very rangy and long-bodied, so there used to be quite a bit of variety from dog to dog, which you'd expect when breeders bred for herding ability, not show ring looks. So don't be surprised if your photos of Duke don't look like the very cobby, stocky dogs on the breed club's website, he might very well have been bred by someone breeding for herding ability, not the show ring. The parent club's website probably has a history that tells when they joined the AKC, it might well have been years after your Grandpa got his dog. When I visited the breed club's website, I saw photos of tricolors, so they must be more common than I thought, they are an accepted color. I hope you do find a picture of your Grandpa's dog, but the parent club's website might show you a photo that could be Duke's clone, I hope you go take a look!

ETA: I forgot to mention, back in your grandpa's dog's day, besides variety in body type, there was also variety in coat type and texture, so he might have been wavier than average, which might be why you remember that detail so clearly.