Where do people come up with this you-know-what?

[Miakoda]

I find it pathetically amusing to see what people label dogs in rescues and shelters.

For instance, this is a "Mastiff mix":

This is an "American Bulldog/Mastiff mix":

This is a "Fila Brasileiro":

This is a "Belgian Malinois/Anatolian Shepherd mix":

This is an "English Bulldog mix":

This is an "English Bulldog":

This is a "Rottweiler/Husky mix":

This is a "Rottweiler mix":

This is a "Rottweiler":

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

I'd buy the last one. LOL

Honestly I agree but most rescues and shelters are run by volunteers who are less concerned with dognerdiness and more concerned with finding homes.

 

[Taqroy]

This is an "English Bulldog mix":

This is an "English Bulldog":

[/IMG]

LOLFOREVER

*obligatory lower case*

 

[Miakoda]

I know some really do try. And I understand that there is a steady stream of dogs coming in that need to be processed as efficiently as possible. But still. It's like they write all the dog breeds on scraps of paper, toss them into a ginormous bowl, and just pull out one or two to label the next dog that comes in. I also think, that for some, it's fun to try and come up with the rarest breed and/or breed combo and label a dog as such. And then there's the blatant mislabeling because some feel it would help get the dog adopted/adopted faster (you can label a Coyote as a Cairn Terrier/Shepherd mix all day long, but it's still a Coyote).

 

[Miakoda]

LOLFOREVER

*obligatory lower case*

Exactly. LOL

I have never met someone who didn't know what an English Bulldog looked like, and yet the people that labeled those dogs.....well, I cringe to think about it.

 

[Assamiea]

This is an "American Bulldog/Mastiff mix":

^^^ If this dog were at the Toronto Humane Society (located in Ontario where we have BSL), they would have labelled it as a "Bulldog Mix" or "Mastiff Mix" if the dog was on the larger side. Anything at the THS that remotely resembles a bully breed (as long as the dog was not grandfathered when the BSL was introduced) is deemed a bulldog mix.

When I was looking at rescue dogs I found that for a number of dogs you could make out one breed pretty clearly, whatever else was in there was pretty much a mystery. Instead of just leaving the dog as a Shepherd mix or whatever the more prominent breed was, the dog would end up as a Prominent Breed/[insert any breed because we need two breeds to have a mix] mix.

On a side note: a lady who I knew from another message board was interviewing a guy who wanted to adopt one of her fosters. He asked her what her track record was on labeling fosters with the correct mixes. Like the dogs parents were supposed to just walk into the place and be like "Yup that's one of our puppies, I'm a Chow and his mother is an Akita. You got that one right!"

 

[-bogart-]

I here ya Mia , I refuse to work with a local rescue after they labelled a Pit mix as a French Bulldog, and i emailed and asked and was replied to in an aggresive and deeming manner , like I do not know exactly what type of pits are coming out of the byb's around here , and she then said i would not be able to adopt from them because clearly I dont knwo what i am talking about.

 

[Sweet72947]

Well, the "mastiff mix" at the top looks like he could be part swiss mountain dog, and swissies are a large breed, and typically random large breeds are tagged "mastiff mixes".

 

[Fran101]

I know a lot of places mislabel APBT as other things.. ESPECIALLY the shelter in Miami. Which is understandable.. Pitts are banned so at least it gives them SOME chance of adoption.

but yea, those are a little erm..odd lol the sheer AMOUNT of lab mixes in this world truly is astounding lol lab mix is basically the blanket term for "we have no idea" haha

 

[Kilter]

I had a foster that they said was a rottie mix. She had an aussie textured coat, natural bobbed tail, aussie head and a gsd body and markings. But no tail and black and tan meant rottie. I suggested they change it as she came from the reserve and the natural bob tail doesn't happen in rotties...

 

[joce]

Could be they had the mom or the owner did and they know the breed.

We had a adopters vet say we were scamming her saying the puppy she adopted was not purebred Aussie(what would we have gotten out of that anyway). She laughed but really? He did look like he could have passed for it and good old ckc would have given papers but he was birthed in my cousins garage out of a dobe mom.

So depending on where the genes fell who knows. I know that pup was an Aussie dobe mix but this vet was willing to bet his liscense it wasn't.

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

I've seen some crazy looking known mixes, it's a weird game genetics can play.

 

[Maxy24]

I also think, that for some, it's fun to try and come up with the rarest breed and/or breed combo and label a dog as such

Yup. This dog is at the shelter I used to volunteer at

She is labelled an Ibizan hound mix. I mean I get it, the color scheme, she's skinny and has big pointy ears, but really? I've never seen an Ibizan in my entire life, what are the chances this dog has any in her?


And this was a Lab/Spaniel mix

I guess you could call him a lab mix if you wanted, why not, but SPANIEL? Must have been the spots or something. I LOVED that dog.

 

[Kaydee]

Utterly ridiculous, anyone can see the last one is obviously a Siamese Ragdoll...

 

[Taqroy]

I dunno those spots look very heeler-ish to me. I wanna smoosh him, whatever he is.

Edit for clarity - he's definitely a *something* mix. I'm just guessing that he has at least some heeler as both Mu and Tipper and millions of heelers have those leg spots.

 

[*blackrose]

How about this Ibizan Hound/Chihuahua mix? ROFL

I can see Chihuahua...but really? Ibizan? Would that even physically be possible?

 

[Paige]

I would think it'd be better to label them breeds people actually know and they are more likley to be so they get matched up better? We only have Labs, German Shepards, Pit Bulls and Rotis it seems in our shelters with like... maybe one small dog thrown in the mix. No one gets labeled anything too crazy because the variety isn't really there.

 

[crazedACD]

I think some places try to label the pitties as something else so they are more likely to be adopted. Is it right? I don't know...this gets into the breed vs. individual debate.

 

[Romy]

I think some places try to label the pitties as something else so they are more likely to be adopted. Is it right? I don't know...this gets into the breed vs. individual debate.

The best argument I've heard against it is that there are so many cities, landlords, and insurers who practice BSL that if someone adopts a dog thinking it's not a pit and then can't find anywhere to rent, etc. the dog is a lot more likely to be given up again.

ETA: This dog is listed on petfinder as a deerhound mix... because that's what the DNA test came up with. *facepalm* :rofl1: Yet more evidence they don't work.

 

[StillandSilent]

(you can label a Coyote as a Cairn Terrier/Shepherd mix all day long, but it's still a Coyote).

Do you work near the shelter Gambit came from? Because he was labled as an Aussie mix. Yes, they knew full well he was a coy.

Some of the breed guesses are just rediculous, but on the other hand...

Would you believe his mother was a registered basset hound? I saw her with my own eyes, and every one of the 10 puppies looked exactly like Argon.