Friday, December 5, 2008

Featured Rescue - Kobe Swims ... GSD or Kelpie?!


Ok, so I couldn't resist. I thought I'd find and list a nice looking GSD (German Shepherd Dog) today, but when I was looking, I stumbled over this guy. I thought "why not?"


He's listed as a rottweiler GSD mix ... Now, I don't know about you guys, but I really think he looks like an Australian Kelpie!

Here's the link for his petfinder profile:



Most of the time, rescues need to use their best judgement when looking at the dogs that come in. They have to guess at the breeds and if the people working/volunteering for the rescue are not familiar with the breed, then they will guess at what they know.


Now, for everyone's enjoyment, I have pictured two pics of black and tan Australian Kelpies from some of the sites I found online. I mentioned in one of my comments that a friend of mine has a Kelpie that she bought from a breeder to herd and work. (He's currently learning to work Sheep) He looks identical to the above guy - floppy ears and all! She was rather disappointed that his ears turned out floppy and don't stand up pointy as is normal.


Hopefully whoever adopts Kobe Swims is able to deal with his energy properly ... I could just see what happens when someone who wants the character/temperament of the Rotti/GSD and ends up with a Kelpie!! Yikes - that's a recipe for disaster. (Keep in mind I really like Kelpies but they are definitely more active than a GSD or a Rotti!) Hey ... maybe I'm wrong? Maybe he really is a GSD / Rotti mix ... you'd never know unless you ran one of those DNA tests on him.

FYI, there are currently 7,721 GSD dogs listed on Petfinder. There are 183 Australian Kelpies listed.

If I were looking to adopt a Kelpie, personally I would look under multiple breeds ... you never know where you'll find one!

4 comments:

RedDeerSeeker said...

Definately a Kelpie.

GoLightly said...

There are a lot of kelpies wrongly called mixes, I do believe. I own two, and people will have great fun trying to guess what they are.
GSD/Rottie/Doberman? Nobody ever remembers, either, when I tell them. If I run into the person again, they'll go through the same thing. They look like a mutt. I love that!
My Rusty dog was a cattle-dog/kelpie mix, I think.

Kelpies Rule. But I do NOT want them to become a popular breed.
Their appearance has always been varied, as they are bred to work, not "look". Pointy ears are not the "standard". The Kelpie does not have an actual "look" standard, AKAIK. They are workers, oh yes!!

Best dogs on the planet!
But not for the average dog owner.
Kelpies are waaaay too smart to be badly trained, or ignored.

GoLightly said...

On the ears, Flip's are "perfect", Blaze puppy has one floppy ear. I think that's even cuter. Blaze puppy's ears are about 5.5 inches long!
My Rusty had one flopper, she's trying to hold it up for the picture.

I don't like the wind-swept look as much.
Our old GSD looked windswept for some time, they straightened as he grew into them, at about the time I met him, at 3 years old.
That Kobe dogs ears (in the ad) could very well straighten up.

DogsDeserveFreedom said...

You're right - pointy ears are not standard. Not sure why my friend was so adamant that he have pointy ears? I will have to ask her ! :)

I've always liked the windswept look. To each his/her own, eh?