Even though I am a pigeon keeper, my first post on the forum will be about my dog, Cherokee. He is a Labernard, which is a cross between a St. Bernard and a Labrador.

He was born on Christmas Day, 2007 and when we brought him home, I had visions of him being a big, slow moving dog that would be very laid back. Instead, he is a big dog that is able to move unlike any big dog I have ever had the privilege of being around. He moves like a big cat and the other day, my daughter, Randi, had him on top of his dog house. He was just sitting there, letting her rub his ears. He will be seven months old July 25 and he probably weighs in between 60-70 pounds already.

He is very exasperating at times. He will lay in the yard and watch my birds, when they are out of the loft and for the most part, he pays them no mind. However, when I am in the yard with him and the birds are coming and going through the trap door, he can't seem to resist jumping at them as they come and go. He isn't trying to hurt them, but they don't particularly care for the idea. I think he is just trying to get my attention because I pay so much attention to the birds. You can see some pictures at the link below.

http://myviewmytake.wordpress.com/Cherokee/

Hi DynaBMan,

Your Cherokee is a beautiful animal. Never knew about this breed of dog, but they are always mixing them up and creating new breeds. He's gorgeous though, and sounds like he's gonna be HUGE when he's full grown!

Thanks for sharing the pics of him...still browsing through your site and pigeon pics, but you have some nice pigeons too.

Well, as far as I can remember, this is the first time I've seen Cherokee.........been to your web site.......maybe I saw "Cherokee" and thought it was about Indians or something......................anyway, he is beautiful and I love that strip of fur going the "wrong" way...........

Lovebirds wrote:Well, as far as I can remember, this is the first time I've seen Cherokee.........been to your web site.......maybe I saw "Cherokee" and thought it was about Indians or something......................anyway, he is beautiful and I love that strip of fur going the "wrong" way...........

Yes, that strip of fur gives him character, I believe. He certainly has more personality than just about any dog I have ever had. No telling how big he will be, but I do hope he slows down a bit when he matures. As I said, for a big dog, he can move like a cat.

He's just the cutest thing....what an adorable face!

I hate to tell you tho, he's probably going to be HUGE! LOL Those are two very large breeds that are in his make up. I'm sure he'll be a gentle and loving giant tho....

Thanks for sharing...

Linda

Lin H wrote:He's just the cutest thing....what an adorable face!

I hate to tell you tho, he's probably going to be HUGE! LOL Those are two very large breeds that are in his make up. I'm sure he'll be a gentle and loving giant tho....

Thanks for sharing...

Linda

I actually hope he does get Huge. I was able to see a full brother of his when we picked him up. He was about a year old and he was smaller than a St. Bernard, but bigger than a Lab. He was also standoffish, not aggressive, but very watchful of me and my family. I am not sure how Cherokee will be when he matures, but the other day, our electric company came and installed a new meter in our back yard. Tammy (my wife) didn't know anyone was around until she came outside and found the man from the electric company having a conversation with Cherokee. It seems they got along very well. (Cherokee has a weakness for having his ears scratched.) I hope he isn't quite as friendly when he grows up. I would like him to at least bark and let us know one of his friends is coming over. LOL!

I thought I would share some newer pictures of Cherokee. These were taken just a few days ago and as you can see, he is getting quite large.

A very beautiful dog ! 8) That strip of fur on his back sure sets him off !

hambone

Oh wow, yes, he is getting big!

He's really very handsome....thanks for sharing.

Linda

hambone wrote:A very beautiful dog ! 8) That strip of fur on his back sure sets him off !

hambone

Funny thing about that strip of fur. All of his litter mates that were short haired had the same strip of reverse fur. My wife says it gives him character.

Hi Larry,

Cherokee is a FINE look Labernard indeed, very nice photos and thanks for posting them.

Great looking dog! I love big dogs.

Are you certain about his breed? If all of his littermates had that strip of fur, they could be part Rhodesian Ridgeback (that's the only breed that I know of that has the 'ridge' so commonly in a litter). Google image 'Rhodesian Ridgeback.' Big beautiful dogs. They have similar coloring as well. Either way, it certainly does give him character. He's a handsome boy.

I have a labernard as well.. Ganawknee (naw nee) she is 4 years old now, and she has similar markings, and the strip of hair on the back is basically the same.. it is far thicker than the rest of the hair and stands up funny like that... I found this post while looking through the google image search for lab/st. bernard mixes.. and when I saw Cherokee.. with that strip of fur on his back I had to post...


Jamie