Who decides these "breeds"...

[Riven]

I randomly look through pet finder just because, but seriously who says oh this must be a " Chihuahua x Irish wolf hound"

I saw one saying it was and IWH cross.. and it was about 3" taller than a dachshund! Do people not know that IWH are HUGE?!

I look at breeds that are less often seen usually or that I have personal interest in, such as IWH, Komondork, and of course chins, and usually most of the dogs ( minus chins of course, lol ) listed under these look, act, or aren't even the right SIZE ( or close to it ) to be that breed. I saw was clearly looked like a lab pit cross labeled as a komondor, chow, lab cross... it had very short black fur with white on it's chest and was stacked... I saw no chow and certainly no komondor in it.

I understand that some of these places are volunteers and what not, but even so, it concerns me that people would know so little about breeds. I understand mixed breeds can be difficult to pin point, and I understand you don't have to know a lot about breeds to love dogs, but seriously, doesn't anyone there have a clue?! Knowing the breed can be a huge clue in helping to find the right home for the right pet!

 

[arf2184]

I know a lot of places try not to label dogs as pit bulls...thats what came to mind on the lab komondor cross. But yeah, I've seen so many dogs on petfinder, craigslist, and in the shelters that don't look like the breeds they've got them listed as.

Then again, sometimes you know what the parents are and the dog does not look it. Most people who know dogs guess that my Matty has flat-coated retriever in her...she doesn't, but she really looks like a flat coat in the shape of her head, her frame, and to some extent her fur. Acutally, her mom was a rottweiler/german shephard and dad was lab/rhodesian ridgeback/golden retriever. No clue where she got her curly tail. Her fur is a bit wacky...longer than lab or rott fur, wavy in spots, sticks straight up in other spots.

 

[Riven]

I don't know, Kom's are not well known and not thought of as a big gentle breed, they are to their families, but they can be aggressive that is their job, they don't switch families good and are dogs that need someone who knows what they are getting into and they are much larger than this particular dog as well.

What's wrong with saying we have no idea what it is, or it's probably a lab mix, but we're not sure.

I understand that especially if you get a big amount of breeds in there you can get odd stuff, and sometimes they don't necessarily look like their parents, but it's extremely unlikely you're going to breed a std poodle x giant schnauzer with a German Shepard x mastiff and get something that is about 20 lbs with super short fur and is long like a wiener dog... ( that might be an extreme example but it was for illustrative purposes )

 

[alli713]

Yeah, I often wonder this too.

When I got Lila, they said she was a lab springer spaniel mix, and I thought oh, well then she'll be a bit shorter of a dog. Maybe she'll stay a bit smaller than a lab.

Well, as she grew up she kept getting taller and taller and taller. There's no way she's a springer spaniel mix. I think they were just guessing with that one. But now I really think she's an Irish setter mix, and I guess if you really don't know the difference in dogs you could think that an Irish setter and springer spaniel kind of look the same? (the shelter apparently were supposed to know what the parents were, the puppies weren't just found as strays)

 

[Brea]

I know around here they try to avoid the pit label. People just seem to shy away from them. I know shelter dogs are hard to pin point a breed, but really some are very obvious. Not every dog with a blue spot on its tounge is a chow cross, and not every little dog is a chihuahua mix. If they know the breed thats great but if not, i think they could try to put a little more effort into identifying the breed better. It does make a big difference the home it should go to.

 

[lauralynne]

I don't know, but if I didn't have allergies, I'd get an IWH! They're just too awesome!

 

[Bethany2386]

Around here you never see pitbull. It's called American something Terrier... I can't remember exactly, but I have an American Pit. She is the most loving and sweet animal... Of course she thinks that she is my lap dog. She weighs over half of what I weigh! But I don't mind, she's my baby!

But you are right, I look at some of the "breeds" that people say and there is just no way. And I don't understand why people breed together weird mixes anyhow...

 

[ChilliPepper]

Last night I groomed a maltese chihuahua mix that was bigger than the maltese mama- who I also groomed. It looked like a chinese crested mix.

 

[Bethany2386]

Has anyone heard of breeding a male great dane with a female pit? I want to know if that would even be safe for the pit? I keep seeing them mixed but I don't understand how...

 

[aznmexaggie]

Perhaps the parents are a female great dane and a male pit?

At the shelter in my town, almost any type of large-breed dog gets labeled as "shepherd mix" unless it is obviously a pit. Anything small is normally "chihuahua mix".

 

[Bethany2386]

I don't know. I just couldn't see a pit giving birth to great dane babies! Those are some HUGE dogs... I don't know how the male could um... well have babies with a great dane... They are much bigger.

 

[Spoof]

A couple at the U had a corgi x golden cross, corgi male, golden dam, her mom didn't think they could reproduce due to size differences. Of course with dogs, just about anything is possible. )

They had two brothers, both looked like goldens but one had the body shape, size and height of a Corgi, it was hilarious.

 

[arf2184]

When I was volunteering at one of the shelters, there was a basset dane mix...now that was an interesting looking dog.

 

[Lmbswimmer]

There is a basset hound/shepard mix running around our town. It is hysterical looking. It is the size of a basset hound - even the stumpy little legs, but it has the fur, tail and markings of a shepard.

 

[Ash]

I have a basset/lab and she's goofy looking and I've seen a basset/weim mix. Dogs are pretty amazing when they want to uh... get busy lol.

I think they should have something for dogs like they do for cats. "DSH" or "DLH" for ones that are just a mish mosh, y'know?

 

[Riven]

Around here everything is a "terrier mix"...