[Zora-owner]

I posted initially in the new-member intro forum about my dobe pup Zora whom I adopted from MSPCA in Boston. She had a broken leg at only 12 weeks give/take when she was surrendered...guessing her DOB is around 5-15...she could be slightly younger/older though not quite certain, but her papers say she was 12 weeks when she was initially taken in so judging by that she'll be 7 months on 12-15. ANYHOW, I was concerned about her size/weight...I feel her frame/height seems about normal for her age but she weighed under 40 lbs when I took her in and now she's about 45-46 lbs. I give her 1.75 cups of a blend of science diet lg. puppy and blue buffalo "wild" lg puppy, twice daily. Every couple days I may give her an "in-between" meal of 1/2 a cup of food as well to help her put on some weight. I know it isn't good to overdue it...but she gets plenty of exercise, probably 4 miles of walking minimum daily along w/ 20-45 mins of running full out playing fetch. I have a vet appt. 12-19 to give her a once over since she's never been while in my care (have had her for 6 weeks). You can see in the pics she looks healthy and happy...check out the pic entitled "skinny" taken on 11-18 vs. "pic3" taken 12-8 - you can see that she has filled out some, is less "ribby" and her waist is not overly tapered as much. I do see noticeable muscle development in her hind quarters and chest area. Also, I'm a size 9 shoe...to me her paws look pretty big for her size/age so that's why I'm concerned about her weight she has the frame to be a lanky/tallish dog.

Also - MSPCA does mouth swab for DNA to check breed on "purebreads" - she comes up doberman, and for the life of me she doesn't look like anything else, but her colors are off - she certainly has more tan in the face/chest/legs than most other dobies, which I don't mind because it makes her look "nicer" - but curious if anyone has seen a dobe w/ her coloring before??

Thanks for any replies!

 

[KCFilley]

Hi,

Welcome to DT. Her body is built very much like a Dobe. I see something else in her face but not sure what. Whatever is there, she is a very very pretty girl and is meant to be your best bud.

If she is doing well on her current food, there is probably no reason to change. I might give her s bit more because it sounds like she's very active at 4+ miles per day. With that much exercise I would think she could handle more. If she starts getting too hefty you could back off or watch it carefully as you up her food.

Also, why is Science Diet in the picture at all?

My 4 1/2 month old get 3 1/2 to 4 cups of Orijen per day plus about 1/3 cup Greek yogurt plus treats. Taylor is very active but I doubt she runs 4 miles per day.

 

[TxDobieLady]

She is so cute it looks like some shepherd or some kelpie in her

 

[Zora-owner]

She is so cute it looks like some shepherd or some kelpie in her

dna test said doberman, but yeah the excessive brown face is a lil weird...maybe some rust genes in her/??

see this pic - looks all dobe minus the face...even the stance is very much dobe, she has that "boxed" look.

BTW - I've been giving her science diet just as transition to the blue food so she doesn't get diarrhea - she was only eating science diet before

 

[Zora-owner]

other pics

 

[mmctaq]

She's a nice looking pup, but I don't put much stock in the DNA breed identification tests and I doubt she is a purebred Doberman... it is not only her face, chest and legs, but tan on the ears where it shouldn't be, at all.

Did the shelter have any rationale for her condition when you got her? She had been in their care for long enough that she should NOT have been so thin! Was she ill? Too stressed to eat?

I suspect that you are underfeeding some. I am not a big fan of package directions, but on all Science Diet the directions would call for about five cups a day and on all Wilderness the directions would call for about four cups a day... if you are at half-and-half, you would seem to be underfeeding by about one cup. If you factor in the large amount of exercise, her requirement could be even more. I would hustle on the switch to Wilderness... it doesn't take weeks and weeks to switch foods unless there is some sort of additional factor in play, and Science Diet is really pretty crappy food.

 

[TxDobieLady]

No offense to OP and thanks for saving her . but maybe is just a very bad bred doberman and didnt look like one so she ended up in a shelter. i however just think she is darling

 

[Jhagman]

I think she is fascinating! That heart shape around her face, very striking. I've had 2 "from the pound" rescues and it took a lot of sleuthing before we could figure out what they were. (We only wanted to know for info about temperament.) Both: fabulous dogs, and I'm sure you're on your way to a great dog.

I agree with others here that more food is good, esp. with her exercise.

And since my 2 year old dobe came to me with a slight fracture line at the growth plate on his leg, he was limping badly and overweight. Heavy exercise for him and he's like a new dog. And I suspect that his awful breeder would've thought of euthanizing him because he wasn't selling.

So you are on the right track. My 2 year old, Dex the Red, is a healthy gorgeous boy now.

Can't wait to see how your pup develops. (My 5 month old dobe, Khaleesi, weighs 47 lbs, gained 10 lbs in past month.)

 

[Zora-owner]

No offense to OP and thanks for saving her . but maybe is just a very bad bred doberman and didnt look like one so she ended up in a shelter. i however just think she is darling

I think it is more along the lines of this than not being doberman...I mean really when you see her in person other than the streaky coloring the shape, the face, the snout, the teeth, the eyes etc. I just don't know how it could be any other type of dog IMO. Also, the reason I suspect this is the original owners who surrendered her basically said they got her @ discount to begin w/ from the breeder, hence why they didn't have $$ to fix her leg in the first place. I could probably find out the actual breeder if I needed to from the MSPCA - all I remember from the info. was that it was in upstate NY.

I didn't want to increase her food all of a sudden and she did get diarrhea once or twice when I added more of the blue wilderness food, at this point she could probably just take that though.

Personally...I kind of like her having the more brown face as it makes her look "softer" and people are less hesitant around her because of it, you also see more of the expressions lol!

We're moving in a short time to a larger house and will probably be adding a 2nd dog to the mix...another doberman or possibly a rhodesian, want to get Zora squared away first though

 

[tater28115]

She does look a little ribby in some pictures, I think you may need to up her food some to get her to gill out a little more!

She looks like a B/T Coonhound that has been cropped and docked. It appears she has some tan at the outside/front of her rear legs and on the back of her ears as well. If you look through some pics of Black & Tan coonhounds on google, you can see similar facial markings as your girl. Either way she is a cute girl and hope to see pictures of her growing up on here!

 

[Zora-owner]

She does look a little ribby in some pictures, I think you may need to up her food some to get her to gill out a little more!

She looks like a B/T Coonhound that has been cropped and docked. It appears she has some tan at the outside/front of her rear legs and on the back of her ears as well. If you look through some pics of Black & Tan coonhounds on google, you can see similar facial markings as your girl. Either way she is a cute girl and hope to see pictures of her growing up on here!

Vet said he thought a rust/b&T dobie mix - runt potential, maybe stunted growth due to lack of feeding early on. I did look at the coonhound...but ahh, they're much flappier and burlier than she is and don't actually have the coloring she has - typically they have less tan. Zora's MUCH leaner and taut than any coonhound picture I've seen. (see pic attached) DNA test said doberman...I don't know what to do I have another vet appt. 12-19 otherwise she seems healthy, I guess if I am to believe her growth was stunted than I have small dobie which I'm fine w/ as long as she is healthy and its not something where she is absorbing all her nutrition.

 

[Dobejazz]

IDR has gotten in "purebred" dobes that are overmarked as your girl is. I don't think it's impossible that she is purebred just poorly bred. In my personal opinion poorly bred rescues are the best

My Toula is 5 years old and 50 #'s so I wouldn't worry about her weight to much either at this point she just may end up being petite like Toula.

Toula is on the left - Pete with the bandana is 80#'s on the right

 

[Whiskey]

I think she's just adorable. I would up her food intake by a bit as others suggested. I always feed based on how my dogs look not the package directions. That is just a guideline. Some dogs do well on 1 cup a day and others need 4, etc. Good luck with her!

 

[Darkevs]

i have seen a couple of 'purebred' dobies with similar markings on DT. I think 1 was actually registerable with the AKC.

i believe there is a GSD somewhere in the pedigree.

weight.............at 7 months they are usually growing like weeds!

even another 1/4 cup a day for a bit then a little more..........until you see a 'good'weight for her......on her.

she is a sweetie!

Hugz to Zora!

 

[Q734]

Just wanted to say I c/p'd the pic of you two together in paint to rotate and think she's a pretty girl, whatever she is. As long as her spine's not visible I'd not worry too much, she'll fill out in her own good time w/good groceries, and a last rib or two on a dobe is supposed to be slightly visible.

Our girl was quite light for awhile under a year old too.

Say maybe you hit the jackpot and she'll live forever and well for you.

 

[Zora-owner]

IDR has gotten in "purebred" dobes that are overmarked as your girl is. I don't think it's impossible that she is purebred just poorly bred. In my personal opinion poorly bred rescues are the best

My Toula is 5 years old and 50 #'s so I wouldn't worry about her weight to much either at this point she just may end up being petite like Toula.

Toula is on the left - Pete with the bandana is 80#'s on the right

This makes me feel much better - I think you may have hit the nail on the head. I'll wait for her next vet visit (competent private vet not mspca) to make sure but maybe she's just petite...although like I said her "height" is "normal" - though your girl seems that way too. Light is good for "big" dog she should live a long time if healthy.