# So what kind of dog did I rescue?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-kind-of-dog-did-i-rescue/642113>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 26, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-kind-of-dog-did-i-rescue/642113 "2012-11-26T00:25:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-kind-of-dog-did-i-rescue/642113/21 "2012-11-27T03:52:03Z")

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You have adopted the best kind of dog: The kind of dog that you adopt, and who becomes your best friend for many wonderful years. 🙂

If you’re really curious, there are places you can send your dog’s genetic material off to for testing. The first two google hits for “[dog genetic testing](https://www.google.com/search?q=dog+genetic+testing&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a)” are such services.

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**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-kind-of-dog-did-i-rescue/642113/22 "2012-11-27T04:11:55Z")

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Shitzu! Ok, probably not, but looks maybe great-great gramps might have been, just due to the hair and the color and the tail. I know they’re not on that list of curly-tailed dogs, but they definitely curl on a shitzu.

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**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-kind-of-dog-did-i-rescue/642113/23 "2012-11-27T04:20:10Z")

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That’s a cute kind of dog. Just a cute, nice mutt. I think she’s more than two or three which is why it’s hard for people to agree. My first inclinations are terrier like a wheaton, husky, plus something else like some kind of shepherd.

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**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-kind-of-dog-did-i-rescue/642113/24 "2012-11-27T07:21:11Z")

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> [@phouka](#):
>
> If that tail is genuinely curly and not just waggariffic, then you’ve got a telltale (sorry) trait. Curly tails only occur in a small handful of dog breeds.

Well, not necessarily, actually. A lot of people are used to seeing certain dog breeds with docked tails (a lot of Terriers, for example), but when they’re left natural (such as could be expected for a mixed-breed puppy), a lot of breeds’ tails are sometimes quite curly. Check out this [Irish Terrier](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hUwnDnsrV9U/TH4Aa9j5B8I/AAAAAAAAACI/Nvbh8QItV64/s1600/294.JPG), or [this Schnauzer](http://wanhanpurolan.com/media/uutisia2010/taruerkkari09.jpg), or [this one](http://doctorsorderkennel.com/Masavaasa.JPG), or [this Poodle](http://www.avanssi.net/utu/utu18kk.jpg). Or [this Ibizan Hound](http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr73/kaapo-ibbe/kaapo/liikett1.jpg), for that matter, even though the breed standard calls for a less curly tail.

Compare [this](http://www.breederretriever.com/photopost/data/556/medium/basenji.jpg) to the curl of the tail you see in the OP’s picture and I think some sort of Terrier influence is a lot more likely than Basenji or Akita.

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