People Confused About Their Breed

Can you elaborate on the genetic problems for white GSD? I know all about the dobes, (not yellow ones though, that's a new one) but I am unaware of genetic issues in white gsd.

And so as not to jack this thread further, I will make another thread

I want a Boarder Collie. I assume this is a dog that lives with you and pays rent? Extra income is always welcome here.

I'd like one too. I wonder if he does dishes or cleans up after himself... it does say he can talk.

I think I ended up with the wrong kind of collie. All of this time I should've went with a boarder rather than a border.

My aunt has a brittany spaniel/poodle mix that she insists on telling people is a portugese water dog. She knows it's not, but I think that she's embarrassed about being sucked into the designer mix thing and is going about it the wrong way, lol.

Oh yes, I've come across a few people that insist my dog is a dalmation mix. I know he has spots. They're only on his skin. That's what happens with a white boxer with little hair, he looks like he has grey spots! :rofl1:

White boxers aren't allowed in the conformation ring (everything else is fair game), presumably because the white is commonly associated with hearing loss and other health problems. Honestly I don't know the genetic basis behind it. In trying to decide what breed of dog to get next, I mentioned to a coworker that I thought I had settled on a poodle...and she said "Unless...you can find a WHITE boxer!" *heavy sigh* I don't have a white boxer because I think they're cool or rare. I have one because he needed a home, and I needed a dog I would not pay a breeder for a white boxer. That being said, I got lucky and he's had no health problems to speak of, and no hearing loss. Even though people ask ALL THE FREAKING TIME.

My dog gets called an American Bulldog a lot. Which I can see, but he's really not stocky enough. Or her gets called a pitbull...even when I correct them and tell them he's a boxer, they insist he's mixed with pit, and I shouldn't be ashamed of it. I wouldn't be ashamed to have a pit, I'd be proud of having a well-mannered one, and I'd tell people that it was a pit, I wouldn't hide it However I have made sure to somply with all the city ordinances regarding pits because I have seen some of the dogs animal control calls "pitbulls" and it's pathetic.

Or people think he's a chihuahua (wtf? 57 pound chihuahua, really?).

I have seen someone call their Boston a "mini boxer," and I ran into someone who was convinced their gorgeous standard poodle was mixed, and only had a small amount of poodle in it (wtf, it was so obvious this dog was at least mostly poodle, probably purebred...just a little fat).

Vets, from what I have seen, really know squat about dog breeds. The one I work for is convinced he has a pet coyote mix. I say she's a fat Siberian. Meh.

I've seen someone come in with a merle dachshund and tell us they're disappointed it's not purebred...apparently dachshunds can't be merle

Recently we had someone come in with a Viszla convinced it was a dingo.

Because I work front desk at a vet office, we get sometimes people saying really, really odd mixes on the paperwork - then I see the dog, and I'm wondering, okay, where's the such and such mix, because that CLEARLY has none of such and such breed in it. If that makes sense.

The other day there was a unmistakable pit that came in. He called it a purebred boxer. Part of me doesn't blame him.

And, we've had a longhaired chi come in as a "papillon". And... I'm seen plenty of brittanys labeled as springers, and springers labeled as brittanys. I have even seen an AMERICAN cocker spaniel, listed as an ENGLISH cocker spaniel.

Most times people "KNOW" what their dog is and would be offended if you suggest it is anything else.. but every now and then I get that rare person that I comment how cute it is, and they even ask ME if their breed guess might be right.

We also can't rule out the fact that sometimes mixes come out looking NOTHING like either dog that went into it. One of my clients has a Leonberger/GWHP mix. The dog looks like an overgrown black lab. She is about 100 pounds, so sure she has the Leonberger size, but she is solid black, with short lab hair. The only reason she knows the mix is because it was a litter bred by her friend in Germany (not sure if it was on purpose, accidental, doesn't matter) and she brought a puppy home with her after a visit. So both of the parents ARE known, but she looks nothing like either. So THAT can happen. As far as that first RARE BC . . . suuuuuuuuuuure . . .

Oh oh oh! forgot the best part. After having my dog for a year and a half, my mom reads an article about american bulldogs in a dog magazine...and says my dog MUST be a bulldog. Because he's playful, loves kids, and drools. Uh....yeah. And he doesn't drool. And he looks and acts like a boxer xD Which is why I had one hell of a time getting him to retrieve, for him paws are for everything!

People always think that Teagan is a Scottish Terrier or mix between the Scottie and the Westie. I find it rather annoying ha ha

The GSD breed founder did not care for white, and though it was said "no good dog is a bad color," white got shuffled off the acceptance list.

White in GSDs have NO HEALTH PROBLEMS. I don't think the liver and blue shepherds have issues either, but they are DQ'd from showing only because of lacking black leather due to the dilutions.

MandyPug: Sorry, but I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVE the brindle pug!! Want want want!

Laurelin: That is one gorgeous "chiweenie." What do you suppose that mix is? Almost looks like saluki is an influence, or at least something that looks like saluki.

Saw a really cute dog the other day that belongs to a neighbor. I commented that he had a beautiful pug mix, because it looked for all the world like a tallish pug/beagle (but a very nicely proportioned one), and he said it was a French bulldog.............. uhhhh huh..... yeah..... okay have a nice day!!! Oh yeah and all black German shepherds are labs with funky ears, all sable German shepherds are jackals or wolves, and anything that is uncropped or undocked when it should be is a mix.

well the wowies are ALL pomeranians or pappillions because the folks of ct are dead set that there is no such thing as the long haired chihuahua...
Ruby is a poodle
and jasper "has mange" *shakes head*, or is a hyena or wild/painted dog pup...
or a RARE hairless deerheaded chihuahua *blink blink*

are they affected by color dilution alopecia the way that blue dobes are? i've only known one blue shepherd and his skin was awful, but he was a byb special (free 11 years ago because nobody wanted the defective gray puppy... now he'd be twice the price because of being "rare" and "more specialer")

There was a foster litter a couple years ago we had from a mom who was a dobe. Dad was supposedly an australian shepherd and since three of the pups looked like purebred australian shepherds I'd bet he was.

But what got me was one of the adopters called later saying her vet said we were lying about mom being a dobe because they were pure aussies She'd seen mom and beleived us but the vet was convinced our rescue was trying to scam people. I am not sure how since most people don't want a dobe mix!!!

My friend from works daughter and sister just got some sheltie bichon mixes. I guess every one of the pups was a white ball of fluff and they all look like pure bichons at almost five months old.


I have met people who swear there dog is a purbred lab that looks like a golden or a golden that looks like a lab. Or the poor guy with the weim that told me it was a grey dobe.

And don't forget:
if it's black, it's a Lab mix
has spots or ticking it's a Dal mix
is black & tan it's a Dobe or Rott mix
has a curled tail it's a Husky mix

Some one in the development behind us has a Chi/Dachshund mix. It's really a cute little thing and sweet as anything.

A couple of "pet peeves" I have about Labs is "white" Labs, and people who think Labs are supposed to be 90+ pounds. I've gotten to the point that when someon "brags" to me about how big their Lab is, I'm tell them how Caleb is on the small side for a male Lab, but is within the standard. Then there's the whole English/American thing. After hearing from these PC parents at work going on about how they're English Lab is so huge, and is Caleb an English Lab, I came to the conclusion my answer from now on is going to be, "Well, I've traced his pedigree back to the Sandylands kennel in England, so I guess that makes him an English Lab."

Elegy, from what I can gather, some have skin problems and some don't. GSDs aren't exactly the healthiest dogs around, especially with skin, so my armchair enthusiast guess would be that the color doesn't have a very large bearing, it's the genetics, environment, and diet that have the most weight. It would be an interesting study.

This thread is hilarious. I wonder what my Ibizan Hound will be called when we go out in public?

A weird looking Greyhound maybe?

I'll take your mini dalmation and raise you a miniature goldendoodle I saw a post on Craigslist a while ago looking for one.

Thanks, I just spit my cream soda all over my laptop!

That is correct that the liver and blues don't have health problems with exception of the normal GSD issues. They are only diluted colors.