New Baby - Phoenix - Aussie X Pit Bull (possibly) Mix

Pawtential Unleashed

Experienced Member
Hi guys,
Things have been hectic around here for a while but hopefully we are all settled in now. I will update in another thread how everyone else is doing and who has been adopted, but for now I want you to meet the newest member of the Pawtential Pack...

PHOENIX!

Phoenix came to me at 3 weeks old after her mother was hit by a car. She is a sweet little girl who is growing in leaps and bounds. Her mother looked like a Pointer/Hound something mix but of the 8 pups there were 2 blue merle pups, 2 red merles and 2 had naturally bobbed tails so there must be Aussie in there somewhere? She was a stray that had wandered onto this ladies property a while back and she is pretty sure she mated with the neighborhood pittie...no idea for sure but here she is!







She came home wanting to be a big girl - no bottle for her...5 nipples and 2 bottle types later we tried a low dish and she was lapping straight away. She has been a fantastic pup so far.


She sleeps through the night, puts herself to bed in her crate on her own, will whine to go out if in the crate and is learning to go to the door otherwise, is becoming a bit of a social butterfly and gets along well with all the other dogs here.



She turned 7 weeks last Sunday and has been coming to work with me since I brought her home. She is already picking up things from watching the other dogs and we have started training things like Sit, Look, Easy (biting too hard), Leave It (chewing on something inappropriate), Pup/Pup (come here), and tomorrow we start on an introduction to uneven surfaces with the wobble board and baby teeter.

She is doing great with the pups in my classes like Watson here:



She even tolerates Mom being silly and dressing her up like a reindeer:


She has been so reliable with letting me know she needs to go out I have been letting her sleep with me if she wants (some nights she does, some nights she chooses her crate)...she likes to sleep very close to me if possible right now which I kinda hope never changes:



At her weigh in on Sunday she weighed 9.6lbs at 7 weeks, so a little bigger than the J's at that age. She is developing the most gorgeous green eyes and she has a very cute bully bow to her backend...I can't wait to watch her grow!

 

MaryK

Honored Member
I'm in LOVE!!!!!!!!!!:love::love: Phoenix is just the cutest little puppy. So sad about her beginnings though. Not sure which photo I love the most, they're all so darned gorgeous, maybe the one with her sleeping next to you but then curled up with another doggy, oh she's just gorgeous!
 

jackienmutts

Honored Member
Congrats on your new baby!! She's beautiful, precious, and all the things babies should be!! I agree with Mary, too bad about her beginning, but it sounds like she's just making the most of her life, and is already proving to be an amazing little pack member!! And Lisa, your pictures are, as usual, breathtaking!! :love: Couldn't decide which was my fav, they're all just beautiful.

Just looked at all the photos again (for about the 5th time) - and I LOVE those two little pink paws!!!!! :love:
 

Dlilly

Honored Member
She soo cute!! Congrats on the new puppy!! I agree with jackienmutts, all of the pictures are beautiful, I can't decide on a favorite. I can't wait to see more pictures as she grows!
 

sara

Moderator
Staff member
Awe what a cutie!!! We missed you!

Well, if mommy wasn't merle, than daddy would have had to be. One parent must be merle, in order for the merle gene to be passed on. It is a dominant trait.

If mommy looked like a hound/pointer-ish mix, could she have been a Catahoula? if so, she could very well have been bred to another 'houla and those pups purebred. 'houla's are generally shorthaired, and they are commonly merle, though usually don't have a naturally bobbed tail, so your guess of Aussie is likely right :)
 

Pawtential Unleashed

Experienced Member
So I got her old owner to send me some pics of the litter and she only had one not so great one of mom but you'll see what I mean...







One blue merle and one chocolate had bobbed tails?

I never would have thought they came from that Mom...
 

sara

Moderator
Staff member
You're so right! Mom looks totally like a pointer-ish hound LOL So daddy would have to have been a merle, and likely an aussie or aussie x, as the bob tail comes from very few places (and I think you would know if the pups were mixed with corgi! LOL)
 

Pawtential Unleashed

Experienced Member
I thought Catahoula too but if that is Mom then either she has Cata somewhere in the houndy mix part or Dad was a Pit/Cata/Aussie something. Or there is more than one dad? The chocolate and white and black and whites with the merle made me think Border as well but definitely Mom's genes were not very predominant in the looks department.

Several of the pups were fluffy, one with the bobtail had wavy hair and was obviously going to be a long coated one, and some were more smooth coated like Phoenix?

Genetics huh?
 

Dogster

Honored Member
I'm so late to this thread....how could I not have seen this before???

Congrats on the new addition, Pawtential!!!! She is waay too adorable!!!!:love::love: I'm in love with her:love: So many new puppies here at DTA!!! All these puppies....now I want one!!:p
We missed you around here! Glad you're back!!:)
 

sara

Moderator
Staff member
well, longhair is recessive to shorthair, so with several fluffy pups, it's very likely that daddy was a longhair, or both parents have to carry for longhair, I would seriously hazard a guess that daddy was a longhair, bobtailed, merle, either purebred Aussie or a mix. It's not likely daddy was the neighbour's pitbull :)

Genetics is alot of fun! I've learned a TON by having double merles, and Dachshunds! The colour and coat combinations are endlessly fascinating!
 

MaryK

Honored Member
Is it possible the momma was able to get impregnated by two dogs?
Yes that is possible Southerngirl. With Zeus and Tiger Lily there were two 'dads', one a blue heeler and the other 'suspect' was a kelpie/cattle dog, which is why Tiger Lily looked nothing like her bro Zeus.
 
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