Help with breed ID?

[geoffh4]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if you could help me with some breed ID questions I have.

First off, when adopting an "All American mix " (thats what we call them here ) is it even worth it to try and pinpoint what might be in the dog?

When dogs are mixed, do they retain any characteristics from the combining breeds?

Heres a picture to help out the questions. She looks very much like a lab in the picture, but when she faces you, she looks a little squarer. I only recognized it in one picture of her that I saw on petfinder (its no longer there) and once we started playing outside more. When she gets more active, she looks a little less lab like. When you look at her face on, her ears open forward, unlike a labs, so Im thinking she's got something else in her. She's also got a white blaze on her chest. I was concerned that she might have one of the "bully" breeds in her (boxer/pittbull), so I specifically asked the shelter what the original vet ID of her was. In an email, they told me the following

"I do not believe has any pitt mix in her. Her siblings (who have
been adopted) look more like pointers or hounds so we are guessing the whole
litter is pointer/hound/lab mix."

The reason I am concerned is that the community we live in has restrictions on "bully" breeds, and I don't want to create a problem for her/us in the future if it can be avoided.

I dont know if restrictions apply to "mixes," but you don't want to get caught unprepared. If it helps, here are some stats on her:
-About 5 months old
-About 22-25 pounds
-Female
-Friendly toward people
-Very submissive toward other dogs
-Slightly tenative around cats (shows almost no interest)

[geoffh4]

Another picture to help...

[geoffh4]

No ideas?

[mummummum]

Personally I love bullies and can't see anything in her profile which would give her that trait. Do you have a face-forward picture of her ? She is very cute by the way.

As we also suffer under the tyranny of idiotic legislation, I can however, appreciate your logistical concern about having a pitty-mix. I would ensure that you get something in writing from your Vet that confirms she is a Lab cross, retain a copy of the email you have from the shelter should a problem ever arise and register her as a LabX when you purchase your dog licence from your municipality.

[geoffh4]

Thanks for the opinion!
I will try to get a face forward shot of her. Because of her dark complexion, its tough to get any sort of perspective, and I think that might be why she looks a little more like some of the bully breeds from that angle

Its strange, because the breed specific stuff in its relation to mixes is so subjective. If a definitive breed can't be identified positively, then its up to the accuser or regulation to decide whether it "thinks" it is a pittie/boxer/rotty mix or not.

[geoffh4]

I dont have her forward picture yet, but here are her littermates. First is the male, second is female. They both have slightly dirty white patches, with more grey hair mixed with the white.

[ancientgirl]

I have no idea what they might be, but what cute dogs!

[happycats]

She looks like she could be a hound/lad or boxer/lab, or maybe even a BC/lab?

She sure is a cutie though!

[mummummum]

Uh-oh ~ some serious melt-your-heart cuteness there ! I don't see any bully myself though.

[clm]

Too cute whatever mix!

Cindy

[geoffh4]

Ok I found 1 face forward shot. Unfortunately, this is about 3 weeks old, but hopefully it'll be helpful at least a little

[Mamma Bear]

She's the most adorable puppy!

[~michelle~]

i dont see any bully in her..... shes adorable.
keep the email from the shelter though. from my experience shelters are pretty cautious if they think its a bully mix.

[rainbow]

I see lab/boxer or lab/hound and she is definitely adorable.

[gtexan]

Heres one more picture of her. In this one, shes a little dirtier and she has her ears all perked up. She looks so much different from the front than from the side, and her ears move so much its like a different dog when she's being "attentive"

What do you think?

The 2nd one is just because I think its too cute not to post

[mummummum]

maybe...but why do you have two different identities ?

[ancientgirl]

OMG what an absolutely adorable face!!!

[gtexan]

Originally Posted by mummummum

maybe...but why do you have two different identities ?

I was sort of worried that I had developed a few....less than happy acquaintences with my other name, so I created a new one to use. I was worried people would jump to conclusions if they remembered me from my last post. I had a dog with some aggressions issues that I acted way too quickly on, and then while asking for advice, received some quick to judge answers and gave some equally quick to judge rebuttles. I felt bad about it.

I want to do everything correctly, so Im trying to be really careful that I dont put myself into a situation where someone out of my control will be making decisions for me (area regulations).

Its just so hard to id mix animals, I want to make sure to get your approval. I dont want a neighbor seeing something and mistaking the breed. And with all the Mike Vick stuff going around, people are blaming/ID'ing this breed incorrectly ALL the time now. On a news show this morning, there was a segment on pittbulls, and I SWEAR one of them was a mastiff. It must have weighed over 120 pounds.

Anyway, this is a computer I dont normally check, and so I must have forgotten the switch.

[rainbow]

Originally Posted by gtexan

I was sort of worried that I had developed a few....less than happy acquaintences with my other name, so I created a new one to use.

So why are you still posting with your first user name?

[geoffh4]

OOps, sorry. Quick post last night. I had just forgotten about the cookies that left me auto logged onto this computer with that other id.

I really just wanted a chance to start over, and didn't wnat you guys not to like me!

Anyway, I am taking her to the vet today to see what they will list as her breed. I really hope it goes well
This all seems so arbitrary, when her personality seems to be what they should be looking at...

When I asked why the regulations, I was told that certain breeds are likely to "turn" on their owners, cohabiting pets, or neighbors/strangers. Is this true? It seems that this couldn't be happening at a worse time, as the Mike Vick dog fighting ring has everyone thinking that every dog is a pitbull...


PS: Any other tenative IDs? So far I've gotten lab, hound, boxer, a few "nos" to bully and one maybe

[geoffh4]

I think id problem should be fixed, I pm'd the mod

[happycats]

I'm confused, are you "geoffh4" or "gtexan" or are these both the same person?
If both of these are one person then why are you asking yourself questions on this thread? http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=42642

I think it's great, that you are coming on here asking advise, but I'm confused.

[geoffh4]

Both are the same person.
that other thread was the same problem as here
I started with one title, went to a different comp, and answered with a different id. I realized i had made the mistake, so edited it to something sort of random.

Like I said, first screen name was a mess up
i started a new one, forgot to shut down the old one, have since pm'd the mod, so hopefully the situation is fixed!

Sorry if anyone is confused, but I'd really love any help

PS: If anyone is still worried about the potential for screen name hacking or something, feel free to pm me and I'll pm you back from both or something

[Kristin7]

Something about her forehead reminds me of a Pit, but she is a puppy, so may change a lot while she grows. She also looks she has lab and/or hound in her. Mixed breed dogs can have characteristics of their breeds of origin, but it is hard to say what those traits will be from each. Really, that is best determined by interacting with the dog over time. All the things you say about her sound good if you are looking for a non-aggressive animal. She sounds very sweet and is cute on top of that! I'm sure she'll make a great pet.

[geoffh4]

Took her to the vet today, and the consensus was...undecided. Of course

2 said she was definately hound/lab with some pointer. They said her legs were too skinny, and that her face/head looked like a lab+hound

The other said pitt/lab. She said her ears looked pit when perked up

I guess its too tough to say! They all agreed she was cute tho

Any more opinions from people who have had pitt mixes or hound mixes would be great.