Having a mutt is fun...

[crysania4]

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but almost every time I post pictures of Dahlia, someone comes along and says "she looks just like..." and lists of some dog or a mix of dogs. So far, Dahlia appears to be a mix of:

1. Border collie
2. Australian shepherd
3. Belgian sheepdog
4. Black German shepherd
5. Black lab
6. Flat coated retriever
7. Golden retriever
8. Chow

I think those are all the dogs listed (so far!). Pics of the various dogs behind the cut, in case you don't know what some of them look like.

Border collies:







Here's an all-black BC:





Australian Shepherds:








Here's an all-black Aussie:





Belgian sheepdogs (always all black, ears always pricked):









Black German shepherds:








Black labs:








Flat-coated Retrievers:








Golden retrievers:









Chows (I think it's pretty clear there is NO CHOW in Dahlia -- people just say this because of her tongue):








So the point of all this? Who knows. I just thought it was amusing.

Comments

[angely78.livejournal.com]

I still lean mostly toward an FCR because of that pretty coat.

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

But the body type and head shape are all wrong for a flat coat. Plus she doesn't have a flat coat...lol It's all wavy and crazy. For a time I was leaning toward that but she just doesn't resemble one, especially that head shape.

I think she looks most like a Belgian sheepdog, except the ears.

But...who knows, right? I wish the DNA tests were accurate because I really do wonder what she is! lol

[angely78.livejournal.com]

ah well, as long as she's awesome. Which she is. :-)

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

Yep! She is. I just had the black GSD thrown at me this morning (for the first time) so I thought it would be fun to make a post on all the things she's been called.

[angely78.livejournal.com]

Dahlia the mysterious Mixed Bag Dog.

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

Indeed. We've been calling her a North American Butter Retriever. She is an EXPERT at retrieving butter. lol

[angely78.livejournal.com]

wow, it's like my American Sheep Cat. Who herds people.

[bibliovixen.livejournal.com]

It's a wonder she's not confused about what she is =) But she's a beauty!

The only thing my little guy had to put up with, when he had a long coat, was people saying, "Oh, she's so pretty!" I'd say thank you, but point out that my afghan hound was male and named Solomon =)

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

I bet people with little toy poodles get that all the time. lol A lot of people call Dahlia a she, which she is, but I'm guessing it's because of her long coat.

I'd imagine a lot of people who own female bulldogs get them called "he" all the time! LOL

I'm sure Dahlia has no clue what she is. I'm one of those weirdos who is dying to know. Not like it matters, but I'd love to know what she really is.

[alleykitten.livejournal.com]

I feel ya... Emma's always getting, "He's so adorable! Is he a pure yorkie?"

Emma is neither a yorkie nor a "he." ;)

[jeannekins.livejournal.com]

i get that ALL the time with my terv. people can't get it through their heads that he's a male. of course, dog people know that males have the longer heavier coat...

[magnoliafly.livejournal.com]

Have you done a DNA test?

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

Nope. But I've heard those things are pretty unreliable. I'm figuring it would come up with something like chihuahua. lol

[magnoliafly.livejournal.com]

Really? I haven't heard that.

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

Really? I thought people had said they weren't really that accurate, that they tested their purebred XYZ and it came up with something totally random.

But either way, I can't quite justify the $100+ for them at this point. Maybe someday!

[magnoliafly.livejournal.com]

We've had some clients do it on their mixed breeds and got some surprising results (things you wouldn't guess just looking at the dog) but made sense behaviorally.

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

That's cool. Someday maybe I'll do it. Birthday or Christmas present or something. I'd love to know what the hell is in her that makes her so mellow. Every breed people mention she looks like is high energy and she doesn't appear to be high energy at all. lol

[alleykitten.livejournal.com]

I don't see anything below #4 in her.

How's she been, lately, with aggression? She's such a serene looking dog... it's hard to believe she'd ever be in a dog scuffle.

[crysania4.livejournal.com]

I don't see that much retriever in her either. Once in awhile I do, but I mostly see herding dogs.

She's doing just fine. No aggression with other dogs. We've met several - some we knew, some we didn't, some who were a bit rude and in her face, and nothing went wrong. It leads me to believe that maybe Krieger went after her (typical teenager, really! lol) and she defended herself. She's very serene, very placid, but she'll defend herself if need be. She's not a scaredy-dog when it comes to that!

[scribblekitty.livejournal.com]

She's always looked like a BCxBlack Lab to me, but I reckon behaviour is more telling than looks with many dogs.

[red-voodoo.livejournal.com]

I was just going to post the same thing, BC/Lab mix...:)

[red-voodoo.livejournal.com]

Awww, Collies!