CHAT Introducing the newest member of our team!

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meandk0610

Veteran Member
76BFEAAB-B256-4562-B836-810D201BCB73.jpeg
Moo, following a naming convention we’ve been doing since the early 2000s.

Part border collie, possibly part Great Pyrenees, possibly part Caucasian shepherd, possibly part GSD. He just turned 4 months old and is about 36 lbs. He stands about 3” shorter than our 8yo 70-lb GSD/border collie mix. And his feet are already bigger than hers.
 
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meandk0610

Veteran Member
Macgyver said:
Cute.
Maybe some Australian shepherd? That eyeliner is a clue.
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Possibly. He was born following a large hoarding rescue in Louisa, VA. They know the mom was a white border collie-looking dog and that other dogs there were described as “Great Pyrenee/shepherd types.” Some of the rescues look mostly Pyr, some look mostly GSD, a couple look Anatolian. Moo’s coloring and fluff look very much like a Caucasian shepherd, but there were originally 72 dogs, so interbreeding had been going on for a while. None of the rescues had records of what the owner’s foundation stock was (elderly; looked like everything had just spiraled out of control for him).

We‘re thinking of getting a DNA/health test done because Anatolian shepherd’s can be sensitive to anesthesia, Great Pyrenees can develop a neurological problem, and then there’s the relatively common MDR1 gene variant that makes some dogs more susceptible to problems with ivermectin (is this the same as the anesthesia issue?). Has anyone used the Embark Vet tests? If so, how Accurate did you think the results were? I read that they work with Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine.
 
Macgyver

Macgyver

Has No Life - Lives on TB
meandk0610 said:
Possibly. He was born following a large hoarding rescue in Louisa, VA. They know the mom was a white border collie-looking dog and that other dogs there were described as “Great Pyrenee/shepherd types.” Some of the rescues look mostly Pyr, some look mostly GSD, a couple look Anatolian. Moo’s coloring and fluff look very much like a Caucasian shepherd, but there were originally 72 dogs, so interbreeding had been going on for a while. None of the rescues had records of what the owner’s foundation stock was (elderly; looked like everything had just spiraled out of control for him).

We‘re thinking of getting a DNA/health test done because Anatolian shepherd’s can be sensitive to anesthesia, Great Pyrenees can develop a neurological problem, and then there’s the relatively common MDR1 gene variant that makes some dogs more susceptible to problems with ivermectin (is this the same as the anesthesia issue?). Has anyone used the Embark Vet tests? If so, how Accurate did you think the results were? I read that they work with Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine.
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Yes, we used the embark full test on our dog. It seems well done.
And Cornell is a well known vet school so I'm putting more faith in it than others.

The only health problem (not really) it that my dog is a carrier (doesn't have it) for Von Willebrand's disease.
That most likely came from her doberman half. It's common in dobies.
 
M

meandk0610

Veteran Member
Pebbles said:
What beautiful pup!!! It will be interesting to see his temperament with the border collie and pyrenees breeding.
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So far, he has been extremely chill. I had a border collie/Bernese mountain dog mix that I adopted at almost 6 months old about 25 years ago. I had to take her outside on a 30’ horse lunge line to let her run in circles. Definite BC personality on that one! Moo has been much more sedate, watches everything, is nervous/reserved and barks when he first sees something strange — cried and barked when he met our other dog, barked at the first of our cats that he saw (he likes cats), barked at the goats who tried to sniff noses with him (they’re used to our other dog), barked at the noises the guinea pigs made eating lettuce, barked at me sneezing. :eye: But he gets over it pretty quickly.

I’m thinking more the guardian temperament. :sldr:
 
Seeker22

Seeker22

Has No Life - Lives on TB
ReneeT said:
He's gorgeous! Maybe Pyr and Aussie - Give him a few months and you WILL be going where HE wants you to :lol: Enjoy your new baby!
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Pinch collar or some use Gentle Leader. Start him early.
That fur looks like fog on a Fall morning. If his personality is a match for his coat and handsome face, I'd say you won the dog lottery. Congrats!

th
 
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meandk0610

Veteran Member
dstraito said:
Looks like my Great Pyr/Anatolian

She is seven months now
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How big is your baby?

He was born the day after the mom was taken into a rescue so they know she at least looked like a white border collie and weighed 45 lb after the babies were born. None of the dogs were purebred any more but she may have been more BC. Many pictures from other dogs rescued there look almost like pure Great Pyr, but there’s definitely some kind of darker shepherd genes mixed in.
 
dstraito

dstraito

TB Fanatic
meandk0610 said:
How big is your baby?

He was born the day after the mom was taken into a rescue so they know she at least looked like a white border collie and weighed 45 lb after the babies were born. None of the dogs were purebred any more but she may have been more BC. Many pictures from other dogs rescued there look almost like pure Great Pyr, but there’s definitely some kind of darker shepherd genes mixed in.
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Mine is about fifty lbs now. we thought she was going to be bigger.
 
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