# Most dog looking breed of dog **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239 "2016-01-05T17:59:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/1 "2016-01-05T17:59:40Z")
Dogs come in a large variety of shapes and sizes. If someone mentions a dog without reference to breed what picture comes into your mind? If you were to pick a breed to put a picture next to its entry in the dictionary which would you pick? Which do you think is the ugliest dog or the least dog looking dog? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/2 "2016-01-05T18:01:38Z")
I’m a longtime golden fan/owner, so that is what comes to mind. Otherwise, I generally think of a generic “hound.” I suppose I ought to think of the yellow ur dog. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/3 "2016-01-05T18:03:22Z")
I would pick German Shepard personally… but if you ask 100 different people you’re likely to get a dozen different answers. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/4 "2016-01-05T18:04:37Z")
Golden or lab. Least? One of those little purse dogs, like a Pom. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/5 "2016-01-05T18:05:49Z")
I agree with the other posters, in my adult life I have only had Siberian Huskies, so they are what I think a dog looks like. Otherwise I actually think of generic street dogs. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/6 "2016-01-05T18:06:31Z")
Yellow lab. I don’t know why. I grew up with bulldogs and one basset hound. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/7 "2016-01-05T18:11:42Z")
Let’s go down individual traits: It should have floppy ears, not pointy. That probably rules out about half of all breeds, including the various pariah dogs (Carolina yellow, dingo, etc.). Pointy ears are associated with either cats or wolves. It should be “medium-sized”, since that designation is defined in terms of typical dog sizes. That’d be somewhere around the 40-60 pound range. It should have some sort of coat pattern. When someone’s drawing a picture of a generic dog, the only reason it ever has a uniform coat is if the drawer doesn’t have the skill or patience for a pattern, or if they’re drawing a specific breed. It should not have any feature that’s distinctive of a small number of breeds, like a curly tail or a wrinkly face. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/8 "2016-01-05T18:12:58Z")
I’ve had a bunch of dogs through my life. If I think of a generic dog it would be a Black Lab or German Shepherd. That’s a concept I formed long ago so anyone else’s experiences could be completely different. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/9 "2016-01-05T18:14:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Pointy ears are associated with either cats or wolves. And Vulcans and elves. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/10 "2016-01-05T18:19:10Z")
My mind’s image generic dog is definitely mixed breed. The kind where you really can’t be very sure about any particular breed being involved or not. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/11 "2016-01-05T18:24:35Z")
Which statement is more true? A dog is not a wolf but a wolf is a dog? or a dog is a wolf but a wolf is not a dog? ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/12 "2016-01-05T18:27:05Z")
Tiny French Poodles named Gigi, but that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/13 "2016-01-05T18:34:23Z")
This isn’t really a question that can be answered well. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/14 "2016-01-05T18:38:34Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Which statement is more true? A dog is not a wolf but a wolf is a dog? or a dog is a wolf but a wolf is not a dog? The second one. A dog is an instance of a wolf. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/15 "2016-01-05T18:42:36Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Which statement is more true? A dog is not a wolf but a wolf is a dog? or a dog is a wolf but a wolf is not a dog? Dogs are a particular kind of wolf, so all dogs are wolves and some wolves are dogs, but not all wolves are dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/16 "2016-01-05T18:43:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Let’s go down individual traits: > > It should have floppy ears, not pointy. That probably rules out about half of all breeds, including the various pariah dogs (Carolina yellow, dingo, etc.). Pointy ears are associated with either cats or wolves. > It should be “medium-sized”, since that designation is defined in terms of typical dog sizes. That’d be somewhere around the 40-60 pound range. > It should have some sort of coat pattern. When someone’s drawing a picture of a generic dog, the only reason it ever has a uniform coat is if the drawer doesn’t have the skill or patience for a pattern, or if they’re drawing a specific breed. > It should not have any feature that’s distinctive of a small number of breeds, like a curly tail or a wrinkly face. I agree with all except your third criterion. A uniform brown or beige works fine for me as a generic dog color. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/17 "2016-01-05T18:52:16Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Which statement is more true? A dog is not a wolf but a wolf is a dog? or a dog is a wolf but a wolf is not a dog? That one is closest to being true. Dogs and wolves are members of the species _Canis lupus_. But a dog is domesticated and a wolf is definitely not. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/18 "2016-01-05T19:01:11Z")
I woulda said Golden Retriever because my first two dogs were goldens, but now I have two mutts and I feel like my girl is “very dog.” She meets all of **Chronos** ’s criteria! [Morgan](http://i.imgur.com/rxvazF2.jpg) [The Dog](http://i.imgur.com/dDmxVeH.jpg) According to DNA tests she is 50% pit bull, 25% yellow lab and 25% “mixed”. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/19 "2016-01-05T19:02:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That one is closest to being true. Dogs and wolves are members of the species _Canis lupus_. But a dog is domesticated and a wolf is definitely not. This is only true if Canis lupus lupus is what is meant by the term “wolf” There are 35+ subspecies of Canis lupus, most of which are called wolves but only one is known to be directly related to dogs. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239/20 "2016-01-05T19:07:47Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > This is only true if Canis lupus lupus is what is meant by the term “wolf” There are 35+ subspecies of Canis lupus, most of which are called wolves but only one is known to be directly related to dogs. The question was which is more true. You can argue the question, but inarguably there are no wolves that are dogs for the commonly understood meanings of those words. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dog-looking-breed-of-dog/742239.md?page=2)