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I say 'Challenge' because no one can figure out what the hell she is! When she gets here, I'm thinking about getting that genetic test done on her, because I'm so bloody curious. In the meantime! Maybe you lovely people will have better insight.

This is Bryn. According to the group I adopted her from, she was rescued from a dog fighting operation as a 6 month old, where she had been used as a target or bait dog or something to that effect. She's 5 in December, and about the size of a beagle, maybe a little taller. Her primary breed is Border Collie, (if the looks weren't enough, BOY does she have a BC kinda personality) but we're not sure what else is in that mixing pot.

These are literally ALL the pictures I have of her standing, because she's either bouncing around, running at top speed, chasing things -- or she's flopped down and sunbathing. There's no in-between with her! haha

Happy guessing! Cuz... I just have no idea...

 

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I see the BC , also husky? and perhaps german shep?

Those were my original breed guesses when I got her, but she's TINY so goodness knows!

 

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I definitely believe that. I've always been quite skeptical about her origins, considering all her wounds were pretty cosmetic when I got her. I'm quite sure they tell EVERYBODY the exact same thing, for exactly that reason. The sympathy vote works so well with people. It was a big problem for her in particular, because I overheard the lady telling this family the story. This was a family with three SMALL kids, the oldest maybe eight years old. Bryn was a pretty dog, even battered and vomited on. But she was extremely fearful and those kids clearly had no idea how to react around a dog. They were yelling, pointing, pulling on ears, and just generally a nightmare. You KNOW she would have been back out on the street in a week. So I took her instead xD

I know something bad happened before I got her, because she had scabbed over bite marks on her neck and patches of fur missing. She was also completely and totally fearful of EVERYTHING (would pee every time she heard a horn honk outside), but my guess is she was attacked by a larger dog. I think it was probably a boxer or a dobie, considering she's still quite scared of them. I'd like to work on that with her, but both are pretty rare where we were living. You saw a few in the city, but once we moved to the suburbs there were none of either.

She's definitely a herding dog, and I'm certain it's border collie. She's got that BC drive and fixation, and she LOVES herding little kids (which can be a problem when we go to the beach. Except when the parents laugh. Then it's hilarious) and other dogs at the dog park.

Spitz types aren't very common, BUT in the city I've seen a few people with keeshonds, which would definitely explain the agoti fur (best seen in the first crappy standing pic, from her 'fatty fatty summer camp' days. lol!) and small stature. It's not something I ever considered before.

 

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SueM: Lol! Genetics are a crazy thing! I would love to one day do obedience or something with her, though! We'll have to see if she's got the right stuff! haha. She does look quite border collie-ish; the only thing that throws me off is the fact that her black fur is extremely agouti, which I don't think is present in border collies. If you push the fur aside, the roots are silver, and you can see in the first picture of her sniffing about where some of it shows through (shoulder, neck, hindquarters). But who knows! With shelter dogs, really anything's possible, and you're never gonna know what happened T-T

Harleyboysmom: It's possible, and I did consider sheltie at one point. What made me rule it out is I've never seen a sheltie in the country before. BCs I see every so often, but city, suburbs, or farms, I have yet to see a one. That doesn't mean they're not there of course. The likelihood is low, but not impossible!

Amaryllis: True. She's around 10 kilos at her optimal weight (not her summer-camp-of-biscuits photo up top, but more towards the latter pictures), which I think is 22 pounds, so she's just under standard. That said, I was in England earlier this year and a guy was walking what was obviously a pure BC through the park, and she was almost exactly Bryn's size. I was pleasantly surprised!

Very true. Honestly, I'll never know for sure what happened to her before I got her, which is the price you pay for a shelter dog! But she's all healed up now, and a peppy, bouncy ball of shedding-ness, so I'm happy!