Doggy identification help!!!

hi everyone,

recently my mom and I purchased a small, seemingly toy breed dog, named Duchess (shes a girl ). The problem is, that we have had three different people tell that she is three different breeds. Two different vets said two different things; one said she was a shiapoo?, the other stated that she was a shitzu? (sorry about the spelling) and then our dog groomer said that she was a Lasa Apso?. So we are confused. I will post a photo once our scanner works, just wondering if anyone could help me identify her breed or point me in the right direction via a web link.

Heres a general discription: shes very tiny like a toy dog, weighs 7 or 8 lbs, has a black coat with little strands of brown mixed in; under her chin she has a patch of white that dangles down and brown paws, her belly is whitish, her earsare flat laying down against the side of her face, her tail is tiny and stubby like 1-2 inches and generally points opposite to her body, her fur coat consists of "curlyish hair" that our very small in nature (almost shaggy looking). And her bark is more like a yelp.

Here temperment is good. She doesnt bark a lot, only when she wants to play, she can sometimes be very obstinate, she seems to love new people (her whole body wiggles back and foruth when she meets someone new), she seems to like to dig like a terrier (even when theres nothing to dig;that makes us suspect she might be a terrier type breed), she nibbles on herself frequently, is very smart with little training, and loves to play. She even seems to like children, and is usually very active.

Can anyone help us! We are so confused! I will post a photo later on tonite.

Thanks a lot,
Lauran (doggiegirl)

lauran - what did the person tell you who sold you the dog? did you get her from a breeder? a pet store?

Both breeds look very similar

She sounds like a shih tzu mix. If she was a lhasa apso, she would be bigger. Here is a pic of a shih tzu... And a pic of a lhasa apso...

7-8 pounds I would say shihtzu. she could be a mix of multiple things, hard to tell exactly what a mix is even with a picture. where did you get her?

Thanks everyone for the replies and help I really appreciate it!!! Here is a few photos of her, in one of the photos she is wet, but I think this helps to define her hair.

We actually got Duchess from a pet-store, Super Petz, I believe thats what its called. They said she was a shiapoo(?), but were not sure if there right or not.

Anyone have any ideas on my doggies breed?







Thank You Everyone For you Help! I really really apreciate it, and any other comments!

love lots,
lauran

If the images for some reason dont show up; please go here and you can link directly to them:

http://www.geocities.com/doggiegurl29/dd.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/doggiegurl29/duches87.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/doggiegurl29/duchess.jpg

BTW-The above photos are of her, are about 2-3 months, she is 7 months old now.

thanks again,
lauran

Looks like a Shih-Tzu/Poodle mix to me.

shihtzu poodle mix would be my guess from the pictures.

She looks like a shih tzu and a poodle cross. I hope you know that she probably came from a puppy mill.

yea, i think she definately has poodle in her.

she is really cute!

Looks like a mix to me. Cutie . A "shipoo" is just a fancy name for a poodle/shih tzu mix. It's not actually a breed.

cute!! but...may i ask...how much did you pay for her?

She is very cute!

I had no idea that pet stores were selling mixed breeds though.

I agree...shiz tzu/poodle.

If it's mixed with poodle, stores will charge up to 1,000 bucks if they think they can get away with it. There's a petstore in town that is having a "doodle" sale..."anything poodlex is 100 dollars off...financing available!" :thumbsdown:

She's cute, but I hope you didn't pay a lot for her.

Thanks Everyone for your help!

I did some checking on the net, and came to the conclusion that shes a shih tzu/poodle mix or maybe a lahzapoo? I dont know to much about pet stores, but I'm wondering about a comment rottiegirl left, do corporate pet stores get their animals from puppy mills? If so thats terrible, I had no idea.

In regards to cost, she was about 490 dollars give or take a little And this little darling was worth every penny, I love her so much, shes such a fun loving and great tempered doggie.

Thank you guys and gals very much for the help, and wonderful things you said about my little duchess I hope to contribute to this forum, probably more so with me asking questions!

love and peace (its cliche I know),
Lauran

One more thing; other then puppy mills being horrible places, cruel beyond belief and inhumane, is a dog from a puppy liable or more suspectiable to health problems, shorter lifespan, etc.?

concerned:-(,
Lauran

Alot of pups from mills are not healthy, due to the horrible living conditions. But I wouldnt be too worried, your pup should live a normal happy life.

I tend to agree with the vote here she is def. a poodle mix and would say shih tzu in her. She is a cutie

Shes a mix of somthin not sure of what though

Yes, corporate stores do get their dogs from puppy mills. Most ethical and responsible breeders would not allow their dogs, that they work hard to produce, to end up being sold to the first person to walk in with $$. In fact, I know of many breeders who have turned down potential sales because they weren't comfortable sending their puppy to that person. A breeder would have NO say in who bought their dog, and that would affect the lines that the breeder was producing.

Often puppy mill dogs DO have more health concerns, because there is no genetic testing being done. (Also worth noting is that not all puppy mills are dirty nasty abusive homes. Some are very clean, and very tidy... the main thing of a puppy mill is that they are breeding dogs for profit. That is a puppy mill. You do not and will not make money from breeding dogs if you do it correctly. Meaning health testing, and health care, showing and titling your dogs etc etc.) They also will breed a bitch many many times, which is very hard on her body, and can cause lots of problems that way.

You may be lucky enough that your dog is okay, but I would take her to a vet for a check up, just to be sure. Ideally, even when buying from a good breeder, you would do that within 2-3 days of purchase.