Any ideas what my puppy is mixed with? - Page 1

I recently adopted a new puppy. He is an australian shepherd mix and is 7 months old. He weighs 53 pounds and is very shy. He will not let anyone approach him or go anywhere except for my son and I. We live with my parents and have had him since thanksgiving and still won't go near my parents. Not sure if this is a trait of this breed or dog in general as this is my first pet. I was just looking for some ideas from people on what he could be mixed with and how big he may get? And if not able to tell in the photo his eyes are brown. 

The shyness could be more of a socialization issue than genetics.  You did not specify the age; I suspect this is more of an older puppy.  There are some key times in a dog's 1st year for optimal socialization; first one being before the puppy is weaned and the second one being between 8 - 16 weeks.  Being a rescue, the puppy likely had limited human interaction or the interaction might not have been the kindest.

All that said, work very hard on socialization and exposure to absolutely everything you can imagine.  Once you have all the shots out of the way, take him every where with you.

Start the exposure to sounds; music is a good way to start (be careful of ears) then work your way over to pots and pans knocking, loud cars, loud sounds.  Do this slowly and at the dog's pace. 

Do not reward or discipline for shy behavior; ignore and redirect.  Even telling the dog "it is ok" when reacting shyly is not good.

Have your parents present high value treats.  Once the dog figures out that good things come from them, he will accept them more.

There is so much more to go into.  Start with above and see where you are at in 2 - 4 weeks.  Post how things are going and what is not working; we can give more advise from there.

Also, a good obedience class will help.

Oh, sorry.  Some times my thought are in pieces.

Good looking puppy.  Have fun.  Australian shepherds are fun energetic dogs.

We have tried having my parents feed him treats and everything. He will not go near them but he will stay at a distance and watch. If he hears them move he will follow to see where and what they are doing but will not go near them. With my son and I he does great he licks and shows us love and plays and even puts up with my three yr old being mean to him. He just sits through my son tugging on him and laying on him but has zero interest in anybody else.I have been taking him eveywhere I go and he does great in my car and noices but just not other people. He is 7 months old. Do you have any idea on what he could be mixed with? 

He could have some bernese mountain dog in him.
But the most alarming thing while reading your post was this "even puts up with my three yr old being mean to him. He just sits though my son jumping on him, pulling his tail and hitting him." Bust that child's butt and keep him away from the dog until he has been taught appropriate behaviour with animals.. which obviously he has no clue how to act with a dog.. that IMO is directly the parents fault.
I would be very careful  and NEVER leave them alone in a room together.. It wouldnt be the first time that a dog was euthanized for biting a child only to find the child did something to the dog.. ie shoved a pencil in the dogs ear etc.

He looks like a very mixed dog. He is beautiful. You should definetly see a trainer or go to a club of some sort.

And the way your kid is treating the dog is not ok in my opinion. 

He looks a bit like an English Shepherd, which is not the same as an Aussie shepherd, German shepherd or Border collie.
And i very much agree with the other! If the child is abusing the animal in any way and gets bit, it's you, the parents fault!
Smack that kid on the ass for being mean or he will bear the scars of a dog attack for life sooner or later.
Your new pup need to go to basic dog training classes. Fine someone in your area and best of luck.
Fry

I agree with keeping my son and him apart. I have been doing that and every time he is mean to him he gets timeout or spanking but I'm trying to teach him how to treat him as he has never been around animals. We have been told he looks similar to a bernese but I figured he would be larger

Australian Shepherd and she looks to be a lover........

Funny a couple of people have suggested this is Aussie mixed
with Bernese Mountain Dog - I saw Berner as soon as I looked
at the photos, too.  If the pup is that big at 7 months, whatever
is mixed in there probably was sizeable.

Sspear, a couple of months from late November to now isn't
very long for a shelter dog to adjust to new surroundings;
you may need a little patience.  With the parents giving food
treats thing - do they look directly at the dog, or walk towards
him with the food ?  If so you could try a switch to having them
ignore the dog, but throw bits of food gently down on the floor
near him whenever he moves in their direction slightly or walks
a course past them.  Takes the pressure out of it a bit &  tells
him they are a source of goodies without them wanting any thing
from him.   Agree with the others DO NOT LET YOUR KID beat
up on the dog.  Best of luck, personally I think you've taken on quite
a hard row to hoe - couldn't you just have gone for a smaller younger
puppy of a less active breeds mix, considering your lack of dog
owning experience ?


@'Fry:  do you have some more information on this "English Shepherd"
breed pls ?   We don't seem to have it here in England.   LOL