Entlebucher Sennenhund

[phillo]

I rescued Jack, a dog that I (and the vets I took him to) assumed to be a shephard/husky mix. Today at the beach I met a woman with a dog that looked just like Jack and her dog was an Entlebucher Mountain dog.

So this woman thinks Jack is an Entlebucher, any opinions? Anyone know anything about these dogs? Jack is the black dog in the pictures.

 

[Laurelin]

Entlebuchers are very very rare over here in the US (assuming you're in the US) Tricolor happens in a lot of breeds and I could see him being any of those. For some reason I really want to say border collie and hound of some sort (beagle?)... How big is he?

 

[JessLough]

Laur as soon as I saw him I thought BC/Beagle too

 

[phillo]

I thought he was a beagle mix too, maybe some pit bull. This mountain dog I saw today looked so similar to Jack I was getting the two dogs mixed up. So when I got home of course I looked up the dog and most of them look extremely similar to Jack, to my roommate and me anyway. What's interesting is many people have asked if he's a Bernese even though he's too small.

I gave the woman my number and asked her if I could photograph the dogs together. She seemed pretty hardcore in terms of knowledge of the breed, a German woman. I'm too curious now not to get him tested. Oh also the way he behaves almost exactly matches the description of the dog.

 

[corgipower]

I would suggest not testing him -- if you mean DNA testing. The Entlebucher is highly unlikely to be a possible answer on their list of known breeds, which will make the results exceedingly less accurate than they would have otherwise been (which would be highly inaccurate). You'd probably be told he was a toy poodle/chow mix. opcorn:

I wouldn't say beagle, but I could see him having one of the bigger hounds in there maybe. Or maybe he is an Entlebucher.

 

[mom2dogs]

I really doubt he is one. On the club's website there are only four breeders (one being in Alaska) mentioned, making me believe the numbers are drastically low and thus breeders keep a track of where their dogs are, meaning it would be hard for one to fall through the cracks and into rescue (but I suppose not impossible). Someone can come along and correct if wrong. In the end, you'll make the decision to call him whatever you feel he is.

As someone who is familiar with Stabyhouns (a rare breed here in the states), I see TONS of mixes, mostly of BCs/BC mixes, who look similar (there's an owner on this board, I want to say the dog's name is Psyche, that could be mistaken for a Stabij overseas in Holland where they are more common. . . here? No way).

But whatever he is, he looks adorable.

 

[colliewog]

Maybe Greater Swiss Mountain Dog mix? They're gaining popularity, at least around here, enough that I've seen more pets out than in the past ....

 

[Laurelin]

To me he doesn't look that big assuming the dog next to him is about bichon size which is what it looks like to me.

 

[phillo]

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't get Jack at a traditional rescue I found him in the Ozarks, very rural Missouri, while on a road trip with some friends. He was a total mess and didn't look like he'd make it much longer so I decided to take him home to Boston.

Are there any methods to determine the breed of the dog if DNA testing wouldn't work? Having looked at a lot of pictures and video of the Entlebucher my feeling is Jack is somehow related to the line. He doesn't seem quite as muscular, his legs seem a little too long and I think he only has a single coat but besides that he matches the entlebucher really closely. The markings are exactly the same, the chest is the same, the tale is curled up, the shape of the face and the rest of the body are the same. The size is the same, Jack is 9 mos old and about 40/45 lbs. Really he looks like an entlebucher/appenzeller mix to me.

Also his behavior, like his markings, exactly match the descriptions given on the AKC website. He is the most intelligent dog I've interacted with, stubborn, independent but can't deal with being alone. He is amazing with kids and other dogs and has a really giant bark for a mid size dog. If he's not exercised/socialized he turns into a monster. He likes to leap and is really fast.

I'm going to upload some video of him and I'll post it here.

 

[mom2dogs]

Why not get in touch with the breed club and get their opinion?

 

[Fran101]

I say Bernese mix.especially with a breed as rare as the entlebucher...
Ive seen people come into the shelter with dog breed books and find the rarest of breeds to call their mix breed dogs. sure, the similarities might be there.. but the chance of the dog being a purebred are slim to none. Not just because these dogs are EXTREMELY rare but because those who breed those rare dogs keep a close eye on the homes they give pups to and are very selective on who they give puppies to. so the chances of one of their dogs ending up in a rescue/shelter... are slim to none. especially since owners of these dogs usually give the dog back to the breeder in the event they can't keep them

 

[phillo]

I never thought Jack was a purebred anything and I''ve always referred to him as a mutt. It wasn't until I went to the beach yesterday and met the German lady who said with fierce conviction 'he is NOT mix, he is ENTLEBUCHER' that maybe he might be Entlebucher...and I thought she might be onto something because he did look EXACTLY like her purebred Entlebucher. Before yesterday, however, I'd never heard of an Entlebucher and I realize now that it is HIGHLY unlikely that he is an Entlebucher but he looks like a Sennenhund mix.

Here's a video of Jack and my roommate's Dachshund/Beagle mix.

 

[BostonBanker]

I've never met an Entlebucher in person, but I've known quite a few Appenzellers, and I don't see that in him at all. The color is there, but as others said - it's a pretty common color to have pop up. I'd go with BC/Beagle as well. It's always fun to speculate, but as others said, I don't think it's all that likely given the breed numbers. I'd even doubt a mix. But he's yours - call him whatever you like! He's certainly adorable!

 

[phillo]

It is fun to speculate; if/when I get a doggie dna test I'll post the results to this thread. I do think Jack is some kind of working dog mix because of the level of intelligence, I can see BC being in there. Jack also looked quite similar to a purebred English shephard dog I met at the dog park.

 

[Dekka]

There is no DNA test that is even remotely accurate for common breeds, let alone rare ones. Our guesses are probably more accurate, and better yet, free.

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/t69209/

 

[phillo]

i guess i'll have to be content with the mystery though i thought dna tests were fairly accurate for known breeds.

 

[JennSLK]

I seen a add for a dna test they proudly stated they had the 60 most popular breeds on file. So even if he was a pure bred they probably wouldnt get it right anyways

 

[lmannix]

My adopted dog Coda was supposed to be a border collie /hound mix and today at an agility fun run I had a couple of folks tell me they thought she might be an entlebucher. I looked online and have to say I agree...and she has most all of the personality traits that are listed. I had her dna tested and it came back traces of Cavelier King Charles spaniel, golden retriever, and English coonhound...the only one that fits in my mind. Sure wish I could find out what she really is. The only physical trait that doesn't fit for the Entlebucher is that she does have some ticking on her nose and lower front legs. I'd like to post a picture of her but can't figure out how so I posted her pic in my profile.

 

[BostonBanker]

Coda is adorable! What an expression!

She definitely looks way more hound to me than anything else.

 

[Crowsfeet]

Really, its rare, sure, but I don't see that its impossible. Even with four breeders in the states, one of those pet-home pups could* have had an oops litter, and perhaps the breeder was never notified becausee of the irresponsibility of the situation. The reality of the situation is that you'll likely never know, and that you could very well call him whatever you want. Its all speculation.

Mom2Dogs had a pretty good suggestion with contacting the breed club if you think you're that curious.