Ringo, the Foster Dog

edited October 2012 in Other Breeds
So... a new foster came to me today. He was originally going to be fostered through the place I work, but I think I'm going to bring him home to foster him since he's a pretty sensitive boy and I think the daycamp environment day in and day out might be too much for him.

He is obviously not an Akita, but he does have fuzzy cheeks and a curly tail.


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I'll post more pictures once I get a chance to get him outside. My phone is poop indoors.

Comments

  • edited October 2012
    Besides the sickle tail, I do not see any Akita. Some pinto akitas have similar spots on their coats and legs.
  • edited October 2012
    @Zinja - I don't really see Akita either. I see mostly a pastoral/herding breed, but I'm not sure what. This dog is a rescue from TN and was first labelled as a "heeler mix", possibly just because of his coloration. His online profile says he's an Australian Shepherd.

    His most distinctive feature to me has been his walk - he walks with his head low and his tail curled and resting on top of his back. He's very light on his feet. Ringo also has rear dew claws, which I feel I see most often in herding or guardian breeds. He's about 85 pounds, energetic and very wary of strangers, but not much of a barker. His favorite play move, so far, has been neck-holds and this "pounce" that takes him entirely into the air.

    I'm only worried about portraying his breed as accurately as possible to potential adopters because he is a pretty high energy dog (he's tired both London AND Russell out at this point) and his wariness of strangers in addition to his mouthiness. I want to set him up for success from square one (his online profile, in most cases). I feel he has a similar look to some of these smaller/lighter Anatolians I've been seeing. I suppose I could see a Heeler or a Border Collie sort of dog mixed with Anatolian producing something like Ringo.


    (long post is long)
  • The ticking makes me think Australian Cattle Dog, and his body is consistent with ACDs I've seen. The head and tail are something else, though. I'm not familiar enough with Anatolians to make a judgment on that guess.
  • ehhhh i'm not really seeing any urajiro. As far as akita-ness: the eyes are too round. The snout is too long. And high energy... that isn't an akita, japanese nor american. His paws look too small, though that could be from the mixture. Though, the wariness of strangers/mouthiness does remind me of an akita. Maybe look

    I dunno. I'm not seeing Akita. There are so many other non-spitz breeds with a sickle tail, (right? like, i googled "dog breeds with sickle tail" and a hound breed popped up.) (and really, sickle tail is a default in the akita. it should be cute and curly! :)

  • edited October 2012
    @jellyfart - His tail isn't so much sickled as it is completely curled over his back and resting on top of it (his tail was going "at rest" in the top picture). I don't think he's Akita, which is why I wanted to get the opinion of Akita people before I said "uh, no :1" to the idea completely. What I thought was weak urajiro was the white bit on his cheek the brindle goes over and on his eyebrow, but it's hard to tell because of his ticking.


    After doing a little poking around, I think Border Collie (pos. mix) x Anatolian Shepherd might be appropriate for his label if he has to be given one. Ticked/mottled border collies from working lines seem to have a similar look as he does and Anatolian Shepherds are sometimes wary or suspicious of strangers, are fairly big (he's 85 pounds at a little over a year) and have the brindle gene.

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    mottled/ticked, purebred border collies

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    This is a female Kangal, but his body shape, tail set and head shape are very similar to this dog. His tail doesn't curl as tightly as this, but rests on his back in a very similar way and still curls around in a wheel shape.

    I really appreciate everyone's insight and opinions - what do you think?
  • I'm thinking Australian shepherd, maybe catahoula, maybe some border collie.
  • @JessicaRabbit - I forgot about Catahoulas! I don't see a lot of them, but I guess they can be brindled and get pretty big too! That's what's throwing me off the most - his body shape and the brindle. I've been wracking my brain thinking about what large dog like that has brindle.
  • Crispy- Thanks for posting the "mystery dog" quiz.
    Border Collie (short coat with ticking). White Shepherd (fur/size) ? Hound (Markings, ears, and head shape)
  • Well he's a handsome feller, whatever he is! I love the mystery mutts.
    Looks more like a herding/hound/cur mix to me, possibly heeler or Aussie, with a Catahoula or similar type of large cur, or a hound of some sort.
    Then again, I'm not very good at making breed mix guesses.
  • Yeah, I didn't see any Akita either, and was thinking the tail could come from an Anatolian.
  • I'm going to take over this thread (my own thread!) and just make it Ringo-centric. I LOVE this dog (biggest foster fail, me). He's super sweet and sensitive, but absolutely embodies "the heart of a lion". He's currently incredibly rude and clingy when it comes to getting attention (he just tried plopping his entire body on my lap and wriggling around until I gave him attention), but that could be a product of his history of abandonment. We're working on that, though.

    He's kind of blockheaded and stubborn, but simultaneously soft and velcro. It's the strangest combination of character. And boy--his bark. His bark could scare a person out of his skin. He's got this really LOUD, deep, aggressive bark. I've only heard it once when he was in the yard and he got into a quick scrap with another dog, but he told the other dog RIGHT off. The whole yard was quiet after that, it was crazy--especially since the only other noises I've heard out of him are whines like "uggghhh, I want to doooo somethinnnnggg".

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    I keep reminding myself I don't want or need another large breed dog. It's really, really hard sometimes. :(
  • waw...he is a cutie!
  • Interesting looking dog!
    Definitely not seeing Akita in there. He looks far too lithe. I could see a bit of Catahoula though...
    And that is one prominent rear dewclaw!
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