When we’re walking down the street with Thing 2 and Thing 1, people frequently ask us “what kinds of dogs are they?” They figure that since the dogs look so similar, they must be of common ancestry. They’re not, as far as we know, but we’ve never been able to quite figure out what they are.
We think Thing 1 is a border terrier/ yellow lab mix. He is somewhat stocky and has a labbish disposition towards getting chunky, but has a terrier face, coat, and attitude. He’s quite smart and friendly, though not always obedient.
With Thing 2, we’re not sure. We got Thing 2 in large part because of her similarity to Thing 1, and they get along wonderfully. However, her coat is softer to the touch than his, and she carries her tail up in a “C” rather than down. She had a hound-like yowl when we first got her, but over the ensuing 6-7 weeks, her brother has taught her to speak his language, so her barks are becoming shorter and more punctuated. She also can jump, as in “over a 32” gate while standing on the stairs."
Anyway, we put the question to the Board - what kinds of dogs do we have?
(This is more for fun - as pound mutts, their parentage will always be a mystery.)
I’ve read where, if dogs are allowed to breed indiscriminately, you end up with a sort of Ur-dog that’s yellowish-brown, medium height with short coats and medium tails that often, but not always, curl. Many feral dogs look like this. Some zoologists theorize that this basic dog styles is what the earliest dogs looked like before humans started mucking about and trying to make dogs look like something. Just thinking aloud, really. Actually, they remind me physically of Carolina dogs.
Anyway, I think Tino & Willow both have terrior-ish faces. Too short and narrow for hunting dogs with broad soft mouths. Collie-Shepherd mixes can give you that style ear, but so can some terriors. Willow looks very slight compared to Tino. I’d vote Collie-Shepherd, maybe Sheltie (mini collie) with a good helping of lab/gold retrevier. Border collie is sort of unlikely, since that’s still a rare breed and even more rare for one to be a stray. Collies, Shelties & German Shepherds & labs are all common and likely to turn up in most midsize strays.
We certainly think so. Except on those mornings when they come to us to say “We’re up! Play with us! Feed us!” and we are forced, once again, to explain the concept of “Saturday” and “Sunday.”
Wow, Nithotep, I don’t know where you are that border collies are kind of rare. Around here, every other stray, it seems, has some border. Of course, they are the working dog of choice here, and everybody has one or three.
That said, however, I don’t really see a lot of border in Thing 2. They’re pretty dominant in throwing their color and white patterns. They do often have a sharp muzzle like hers, but so do terriers, as someone else mentioned.
One of the dogs in our office has that same coloring and coat as your Thing 1. We hadn’t hazarded a guess as to the other side of her parentage, but her shape, ears, and attitude all point to part lab.
I have a yellow lab and Thing 1 definitely looks like him, so I’d say there’s probably lab there somewhere. As far as Thing 2, I really have no idea. Sorry not much help there.
And folks who are saying Thing1 doesn’t look like a border collie mix, you misread - jeevmon said border terrier. But border terriers are pretty small, so maybe one of the larger terrier breeds. I can’t really tell from the pic how big the puppers is.
Now I have the “God Loves a Terrier” song from Best in Show in my head. Aaaaaaaaaarggggh!
Well I opened this thread for a coupla reasons. We have this dog, Imelda(named for her white shoes) who was supposed to be a Jack Russell. Meldie is no more a Jack Russell than I am. She looks like a cross between a pit bull and a dachschund. Maybe, MAYBE a terrier and a dachschund, but she’s got a really long body, and incredibly strong short legs. There is no fat on this dog’s body, ever.
But I’m really responding because of Nora. Nora is the deerhound-wolfhound. She was supposed to be a wolfhound. Her parents were wolfhounds. As a wolfhound, she’s ulgy, pinheaded, sway-backed, etc. But she makes a fabulous, beautiful deerhound. who thinks she’s a terrier.
Which brings me to the point of this post. Thing 2 ridiculously looks like she has wolfhound in her. I know, it doesn’t make any sense. Please ignore me.
-Lil
percy2–I just looked up wolfhound and I think you may be on to something! She’s definitely got the face for it. Since she is smaller than a normal wolfhound, maybe she is that plus border terrier. This would explain Willow’s longer face, the fur and the howl; the terrier would explain the size and why she looks so much like Tino (who, by the way, is pretty pissed that his dad called him ‘fat’ for everyone to see).
Unless the dog is over 30" at the shoulder (about level with your kitchen table top), the odds of its having more than 10% IW in its pedigree are two: slim and none. Height is a trait that tends to perpetuate in the mixed-breed progeny of large and giant breeds. So if someone shows you a cute little dog that is black and tan and says it’s a shepherd mix, take that statement with about a pound of salt … even if it’s a vet saying it (they don’t study dog breeds in vet school; they’re much too busy learning how to treat their health problems). I could start listing breeds which have “shepherd-type” coat color/markings, but you’d be bored silly by the fourth or fifth breed.
I’d certainly go for one of the hairy terrier breeds being prominently featured in the ancestry of both dogs. They have heads which are very reminiscent of many terrier breeds, and they both look like smallish dogs, i.e., under 40 pounds (written before a last look back at the website, which says they’re both between 26-50 pounds). If you’d like to see what different terrier breeds look like, go to http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/terriers.cfm
I’m of the opinion that you’ll do much better just enjoying your dogs than worrying about their pedigrees. And that advice is from a purebred dog fanatic. Think of it this way: If we all liked the same things, the world would be a very boring place.
Think of it this way: If we all liked the same things, the world would be a very boring place.