Is your dog typey?

I guess this is only purebred specific (unless you have a breed standard written for your mix, which would be absolutely fabulous) but is your dog easily identifiable as a member of it's breed? Are there certain qualities you think of that make up a breed? I'm not talking "this is a show dog, so yes" or "this is a field dog, so no."

More like... ESS typically have rounded/triangular shaped ears (although in a show groom, you'd never know). Buzz has big, thick, round Welsh Springer ears. Or ESS are usually in the 40-50 pound range, but Bailey frequently hangs out below 40#.

ETA: the other significant factor in Bailey being under 40# is that she's taller than most other bitches (at the top of the height standard at 19.75"). Most 40# bitches are around 17-18" generally speaking.

Looks wise, I think so. I mean... Summer flunked out of the show ring but I've had show handlers tell me if I fixed her coat and straightened it she'd be finishable.

Mia is also show-bred and looks-wise definitely looks it. Mia is typier looking than Summer in my opinion.

They both look like papillons vs chihuahuas, poms, etc. Both are within standard for size (7.5-8 lbs). So I'd say yes.

They have very contrasting temperaments but neither is abnormal per say. Summer is more correct temperamentally for the breed.

Haha, I definitely thought of your two when I created this. There is nothing else I'd think of them as! Even if they look different from each other.

Buzz totally has Welshie ears - I love them!


Watson is pretty typey. He has a very nice head for the breed and it's not thick and chubby or snipey. It has the right planes between the muzzle and top of head. His only problem is that his eyes are too round, which is typical of his lines. His head is distinctly Welsh and wouldn't be mistaken for a different spaniel.

He's a little tall, as most males are 17-19" and he's about 20", but that's not a hard and fast rule in the breed (and I've seen other males at least as tall as him)

His coat is great. Not too much of it, and naturally straight and flat.

He's definitely more elegant than many. Most Welsh are sort of round looking, and he is still very thin with a long elegant neck. It's funny because his breeder totally didn't see that coming and she's been in the breed a long time. It's good and bad I think - I wish he had more substance and was more spaniel-y (it might come more with age - he has been slooow to fill out), but then I see some dogs who take that to the extreme and look short and stocky with no neck and I wouldn't want that either.

Temperamentally he's pretty good. The standard says they can be reserved with strangers, which he's not generally, but I've heard that was added to the American standard only because there were so many timid dogs here. The British standard just says "kindly temperament" and nothing about being reserved. Spaniels should be friendly and merry as a general rule, and he absolutely fits that.

I don't think so. She's recognizable as an Aussie, but beyond that her face is snipey and she's generally more lithe and much finer boned than most.

Thoughts?

I think Nard is the best of all 5 looks-wise as far as breed goes. Despite being a shrimp and the smallest of the five.

DSC_1625 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

He got fabulous ears.

DSC_0193 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

I can't find a groomed photo but his coat type is fantastic too. Not as thick as Mia's or Beaus and straight naturally.

DSC_0251 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

I think Beau is the least typey which is amusing since he's the only champion. though as a younger dog, he was gorgeous.

DSC_0308 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

chazsignew by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

I wish more aussies looked like her.

I agree.

And I think she's pretty typey, but I don't know much about Aussies. Certainly more so than the ones who look like BCs without a tail. She is clearly all Aussie.

Cohen's structure is one of many reasons why she is my favourite Aussie.

Both Ivan and Phoebe are easily identified by their coloring alone. To me Ivan is very close to the way a dalmatian should be. He is not huge, nor does he look big. He is only 50 pounds(he tends to take after his grandma Cat) and quite streamlined. Nothing bulky about him. Which to me is what they should be. I've seen some dals whos heads are so broad and well pitbull looking. Usually those dogs also have bodies that follow. And I look at those big bulky looking dogs and I think how on earth would they beable to trot for miles and hours next to a horse.
On the flip side Ivan is borderline bitchy in the head. That is his biggest fault.
Phoebe is a bit young to tell still on how she is going to mature. I suspect though she is going to mature to almost the same size as Ivan. But as long as she matures into a feminine bitch, I will be ok with that.

My/Lauren's agility instructor has an aussie (with a tail, to complicate breed ID further) who looks like a BC. If I didn't know her, and didn't know specific things I was looking for, I'd say she's a BC. I am not saying this because I dislike the dog (on the contrary), but just because I see it too.

Heidi is easily recognized as a Cocker Spaniel, in the sense that if someone saw her for the first time, they would immediately go "Cocker Spaniel". There's no other "possible breeds". Same with Missy...she's definitely all Rottweiler.

That being said...there are things about both of them that definitely don't match the ideal breed standard. So I would consider them "typey" when compared with "all the other Cocker Spaniels" (or Rottweilers) but I would not consider them "typey" when compared with "well-bred, show/working stock". Does that make sense?

ETA: And Jack is just a floofy unrecognizeable mess lol.

Jack needs his own cool breed, complete with having one eye in the standard!

Yeah, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, especially from working line type dogs where appearance isn't the big thing, but you do lose typiness when they look too "generic herding dog".

I could have sworn I had a fairly well stacked shot of Cobain, but I can't for the life of me find it.
So we'll go with this horribly washed out side shot.


He's not "typical" in terms of non-BC people recognizing him as such, but I think a lot of that has to to do with his colouring. Since it's not as common people either tend to think Golden mixed with BC, or Aussie with a tail. I've also heard that he's "too small" to be a Border Collie, but at 21.5" and the standard calling for a dog that's 18-22" I think he's just fine?

I don't know a heck of a lot about judging to a standard and the exact terminology. But I think he's relatively close to "correct"
Maybe not typical in terms of colour...but still acceptable.

All three of my dogs are generally recognizable as ESS by the general public. However, when I would take Buzz & Bailey out together, people would occasionally ask me what kind of mix Buzz is. Buzz heavily resembles his (truly) English ancestors.

This is what I think of as "ideal" ESS ears. Bailey and Gabby both have these.

Buzz
I chose no. But I love his type more. He's a definite mix of English dogs and American dogs. However, if you look at foreign dogs (especially this kennel, he fits right in).

Bailey
Yes. She is definitely an ESS. Even if she's too tall, and too light, and her temperament is incorrect.

Gabby
I chose other for Gabby. She's changed SO MUCH as she's grown hair/lost weight/gained a personality. Right now I'd say "maybe." But I have a feeling she'll really look like a springer someday.

I don't have any good recent stacked pictures of Watson, but here's one in motion that shows his nice head and neck, and beautiful side gait. He carries his tail too high and it's set a little low.


Here is his show photo from ~10 months. You can see how skinny and elegant he was here, not in a good way, and more so than many of his peers at the same age. His breeder laughed at him when she saw this picture :lol-sign:

Matisse I think one can tell he's a toy Poodle if that is what is meant by "typy."

(I just had to put this picture in. I'm still reeling with excitement. lol)

Maurice

I think Maurice too, looks like a toy Poodle. Conformationally, both Poodles are good examples of the breed. My novice scissoring job doesn't do him justice though.

Jose` is suppose to be a Chihuahua but he's like 10 lbs, plus he just doesn't quite look all Chihuahua. But he's cute.

Chulita isn't an example of perfection but I think one can tell she's a Chihuahua

To the standard, absolutely. No collie heads here.

To the public opinion, they're not fat so not always easily recognizable as shelties. I'm pretty sure this is why they are mistaken for border collies... because they're slender.

I got border collie so many times with Trey. Never understood it. He was 18 lbs and sable.