[thetoro]

Hello all. Just found this forum and I've been reading it for a few hours now. Great site with alot of knowledgable posters.

I'll try and keep this as short as possible. I adopted Dozer 2 months ago from a rescue (found him on Petfinder). He was listed as a Boxer/Shepard mix (and also as a female). Anyway, when I got to the "rescue" it seemed more like a puppy mill than a rescue and he was OBVIOUSLY male. I adopted him anyway, paid my $200 adoption fee, got his shot records and off we went.

I brought Dozer home on a Friday and on Monday he was at the Vets with Parvo. He survived, barely, and is now a nonstop ball of energy. He's a little too much for most people to handle, but I love dogs who like to play rough.

I took him to the Vet today for another round of immunizations and for an ear infection (he's called the million dollar dog at work because I've spent over $2500 on him in less than 2 months) and he doubled his weight in less than a month. He went from 12.5 pounds to 26 pounds. Yay!

Like I said, the "rescue" where I got him said he was a Boxer/Shepard mix, and the Vet Tech thinks he has AmStaff in him because of the brindle color. Everyone else that sees him thinks he's a Pit. I've looked at a ton of photos and for the life of me I can't offer up a guess to his breeds. BTW the "rescue/puppy mill" had Pits and Beagles.

Sorry for the novel on my first post here.

Now on to the pictures.

Dozer when I first brought him home:

Dozer today:

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Amaryllis]

Boxers come in brindle, too. He could be a shepherd x boxer. He's really cute either way.

 

[cshellenberger]

Actually there are brindle Boxers, so that alone isn't enough to say amstaff. Looking at the little guy, I'd say he could WELL be Boxer/Shepherd and the energy level is about what I'd expect from such a mix. Get him into training and you'll wear him out a lot faster with the mental stimulation and be sure he's getting plenty of physical activity as well. Remember, a tired dog is a good dog!

 

[cshellenberger]

Turbo, sorry, but it may well NOT be Pit Bull (two words thank you) mix. Many of hte boxer traits would be softened by mixing with shepherd and the pup would look much lke this.

 

[Laurelin]

I see little to no pit. My first thought was boxer x hound.

 

[cshellenberger]

thats possible, but with having to deal with pit bulls everyday, if someone brought that one to me, id say it was 90% pit. The only thing on it that dont fit right with the pit is the larger paws thats it. Unless they had a gotti pit there that they used to bread to give it the wide paws.

if he posted a short vid of the dog, just by its stance/how it walks i could tell if it was pit cuz its pretty distinct (kinda how i can tell what engines in a muscle car by how its running/sounds)

I'll bring in a few other VERY Pitt savvy people to look at the pup.

 

[PatchworkRobot]

I see absolutely no pit in this dog.
And, since we're justifying ourselves - I've worked with many, many pits (among other breeds) for years.
I've also worked with quite a few brindle boxers.

What do I see? Boxer, by far. I can also see some shepherd but perhaps there's some hound mixed in.
I would bet much money that this dog has very little to (and more likely) absolutely no pit in him.

 

[Darkmoon]

What a cutie! Glad you have him and glad he survived!

As for breed, I don't see any Amstaff/Pit in him. His head just isn't round enough and his nose is far too long. The Pit Bull gene is normally a more dominate gene so normally when it comes to a Pit mix, you get at least a round head and shorter snout. I do think that for right now Boxer/Shepherd is a pretty good guess. He's still really young yet and with puppies it's very hard to tell what breeds they are.

For example, this is my Pit that is a rescue around the age of 16wks of age. See how round her head is and even at that age, very pit like she is?

Your dog's chest also isn't as wide as hers is even at this age, which is one of the signature signs of a Boxer mix vs a Pit mix.

As he gets older you'll be able to see more in him. Good luck and have fun!

 

[thetoro]

Thanks for the responses. This forum rocks.

To cshellenberger: I plan to enroll him as soon as the Vet says it's OK. He told me that because of the parvo and his lack of immunizations he can't be around other dogs or anywhere other dogs have been.

And to Turbo_Dodge: I've had other people tell me that his tail and jaw line look Pit. I have vids of him on my Ipad but have no idea how to upload them. However, his gait is like a prance, almost like a show dog. His head is up and, well, he prances.

Also, in the pics I posted you can't see his chest. He's really barrell chested and also really leggy.

Again, thanks for the responses.

 

[Willowy]

I see Boxer. Also something like Shepherd, but not quite. . .maybe Malinois? His stop isn't very pronounced. That would account for his activity level too.

 

[melaka]

I get so tired of people saying brindle automatically equals Pit.

Not an expert but I also see mainly Boxer.

 

[thetoro]

What a cutie! Glad you have him and glad he survived!

As for breed, I don't see any Amstaff/Pit in him. His head just isn't round enough and his nose is far too long. The Pit Bull gene is normally a more dominate gene so normally when it comes to a Pit mix, you get at least a round head and shorter snout. I do think that for right now Boxer/Shepherd is a pretty good guess. He's still really young yet and with puppies it's very hard to tell what breeds they are.

For example, this is my Pit that is a rescue around the age of 16wks of age. See how round her head is and even at that age, very pit like she is?

Your dog's chest also isn't as wide as hers is even at this age, which is one of the signature signs of a Boxer mix vs a Pit mix.

As he gets older you'll be able to see more in him. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks! That's a beautiful pup you have.

Yeah, your pup is alot thicker and squatter (is that a word?) than Dozer is.

I've had dogs all my life but guessing a mutt's breed is not my forte.

 

[marsha=whitie]

My brindle boxer/lab mix is often times called a Pit Bull. It drives me bonkers that people automatically label any brindle dog as a Pit mix. -_-

I don't see any Pit Bull in this puppy. Definitely a boxer mix.

 

[Darkmoon]

A brindle boxer puppy. There is another breed mixed in, but this photo should at least let you see what we see

 

[Darkmoon]

this is quite interesting/entertaining. i got a couple purebred pits, and by yur guys' standards, its not a pit at all.

I'm not quite sure why you have to debate with everyone over if the dog's a Pit or not.

and congratulations, you have a Pit Bull, I own two and had a Boxer/lab mix in the past as well. The OP doesn't have a Pit, not even close. Not sure why that seems to bother you so much.

 

[dagwall]

I'm not quite sure why you have to debate with everyone over if the dog's a Pit or not.

and congratulations, you have a Pit Bull, I own two and had a Boxer/lab mix in the past as well. The OP doesn't have a Pit, not even close. Not sure why that seems to bother you so much.

Probably because from the few posts I've noticed from them so far they are firmly in the brindle = pit club. I'm sure they'd tell me my boy just HAS to be a pit mix too because he's brindle, never mind the lack of most pit features.

 

[thetoro]

A brindle boxer puppy. There is another breed mixed in, but this photo should at least let you see what we see

I do see a strong resemblence in the head, eyes, ears, and color. He just doesn't have the jowls. Although, Dozer's one ear is exactly like the pic of King.

This is really a great community you guys have here.

And I really don't care if Dozer is a pit, a boxer, or a poodle. He's now part of my family. I was just seeking informed opinions since everyone threw different breeds at me since I brought him home.

Seriously, you guys/gals are awesome.

Off topic, but I just refilled my rabbits water dish and he bit the heck out my finger.

 

[HollowHeaven]

I see the boxer in him.
Boxers have a kinda... way to them, when they sit, the way they turn their heads when they're paying attention to you. I can't say much to what he's mixed with but I see the boxer in there. I'll stand firm on that.

 

[RCloud]

That's definitely not a Pit Bull, nor does it look to have any in it. I see a Boxer mix. You can see it in the shape of it's face and eyes.

 

[Max and Me]

1 more vote for Boxer/ GSD. I can see some of both breeds in him.