QuestionHi there, I got this dog last weekend from the local SPCA and it was thought to be a sheltie/australian cattle dog mix. I see the sheltie, but not the other. I was wondering if you had any ideas as to what other mix he might be. He's fairly tall, but only 20 lbs. AS you can see, he's quite auburn and relatively short haired. He has a distinctive hop when he's playing with his toys and he pounces on it. He kind of springs on top of it with a short hop and slaps both front paws down on either side of the toy before grabbing it with his mouth. Is this sheltie behavior? Thank you!
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/4413/tchoupvi0.jpg
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/2654/tchuop2nc7.jpg
AnswerHi Sara,
You have a beautiful dog there. Do a google image search for australian cattle dog and look at the pictures. I think you'll agree that your pup currently shows little Sheltie physical characteristics compared to the dkimages of australian cattle dogs in the results.
As for behavior, all herding dogs can show similar characteristics but can express them in moderately different ways. In my house Possum is a nipper and excellent at fetch while Jinx is the paws type more acting like a person using "hands" instead of teeth. Perhaps your pup is more like my Jinx.
Enjoy your pup and thank you for adopting!
'sneezes
Dave
