Breed recognition fail

houlahoops · #1 07-05-2012, 08:37 PM

So I took Bailey for a swim in the river today and there was a woman there with a little Maltese-type dog. The dog is nice and I've seen her around.

Anyway, we got to chatting and Bailey finally decided that he had sufficiently upset the local wildlife and came over to say hello. The lady loved on him for a bit and then (with a big sigh) said, "But *WHY* would you shave down such a good looking Aussie?"

Wat.

Linds · #2 07-05-2012, 08:49 PM

Aussies are the only breed that come in merle. Duh.

That's really funny though, people get so stuck on the color. I get asked (actually, usually told or am listening to them smugly inform their friends what my dog is) all the time if Traveler is a Catahoula. Umm, they are both merle but that's about where any similarities end. I think they are about as opposite of body type as can be.

elegy · #3 07-05-2012, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linds

Aussies are the only breed that come in merle. Duh.

True fact.

houlahoops · #4 07-05-2012, 09:35 PM

Quote:

I get asked (actually, usually told or am listening to them smugly inform their friends what my dog is) all the time if Traveler is a Catahoula.

That is too funny! Spots have to be the only thing they have in common!

People rarely guess Bailey (and in fact I had a hunting buddy that INSISTED he was a blackmouth...there's a reason they call them yella dogs...they don't come with spots!). But this lady was just a riot! She was so sad to see his beautiful Aussie coat ruined!

Shai · #5 07-05-2012, 09:39 PM

lol nice. I can't really talk. Saw a picture of a Schipperke head the other night and thought it was a Mudi. Granted the pic I saw was pretty much just the head and I keep running into a couple adorable Mudis and haven't seen a Schipperke in years buuuuut yeah. Oops.

Anyway...sorry to hear about your poor sad spotty dog's ruined coat :P

Southpaw · #6 07-05-2012, 10:27 PM

Haha! Yeah, people only see color. I still get asked All.The.Time if Juno is a boston terrier. Next time someone asks me that I'm just gonna tell them yes she is, and she was given performance enhancing drugs as a puppy and that's why she's so much bigger than all the other ones.

sillysally · #7 07-05-2012, 10:43 PM

A lot of people who are not really into dogs (at least in this area) have never heard of Catahoulas or koolies. The only dogs they've ever seen in merle are Aussies, so they just associate the color with the breed I suppose.

Jack is frequently misidentified as a Chesapeake Bay retriever. It always baffles me because chocolate labs are pretty common here and chessies just aren't. On one trip to Petsmart we got asked by 3 separate people of he was a chessie.

Linds · #8 07-05-2012, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sillysally

A lot of people who are not really into dogs (at least in this area) have never heard of Catahoulas or koolies.

I don't expect anyone to know what a Koolie is, if they did I might just keel over. But I do expect people not to tell me what my breed is. And everyone around here seems to think they're an expert on 'houlas and therefore my dog since he is one

And I don't think she expected anyone to know that he was a Catahoula but he most certainly doesn't look like an Aussie (or like he has a shaved coat for that matter) so it's kinda amusing how it really does just come down to the merle (Though in my case ton tell me Traveler is the same color as their ACD. Do you get that Houlahoops?) and that body type is just thrown out the window.