What does you dog get mistaken for?

[Annabell]

So today I was out walking Fable, and someone came up to me and commented on what a beautiful blue heeler I have. Now Fable is definitely a heeler, but she is in no way, shape, or form, blue. This is not the first time that people have mistaken her for a blue heeler, but what I want to know is how they don't know the difference between a blue dog and a red dog. (My favorite is when I tell them she is a red heeler and they ask what the difference between the two breeds is. Same breed, different color).

Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys what people often mistake your dogs for. Fable most often gets called a coyote or dingo, but people also sometimes think that she is a German Shepherd. I just find it interesting that so many people don't know what a lot of very common breeds of dogs are (granted I have been immersed in the dog world for so long I can't remember back to the time when I didn't know better, but still).

Oh and here is a picture just to prove that Fable is NOT a blue heeler:

Walk by fablethecattledog, on Flickr

 

[Linds]

Laughing about the "Blue Heeler" thing. I find it funny they got the dog part right but missed on the basic color part. Wonder if they just thought it was part of the name and it was "Blue Heeler" and that blue wasn't talking about the color but rather just the breed.

Mine get called Cattle dogs or Catahoula's most often. Which I think is funny since I think most people with those breeds don't get the correct guess happening very often.

Greyhound has happened quite a few times and Aussie sometimes but mostly people just make "aaahhhhing" sounds like they know what they are without ever saying what that is.

 

[pinkspore]

Somebody asked me the other day if Ulysses was a dingo.

Saw a really gorgeous blue heeler on the trailer, overheard the person at the other end of the leash inform their party "See, that's what they're supposed to look like, the purebred ones,
" while pointing at Uly. Right. Sure. This is normal. Now find me another dog that looks like this.

Brisbane is a fairly obvious heeler mix, the other half is often declared to be a sheltie by people with shelties, a border collie by people with border collies, and an aussie by people with aussies.

One time a guy with a preschooler pointed to Ru and asked his kid what kind of dog he was. The kid immediately piped "A prairie dog!"

 

[Tortilla]

Paris gets miniature border collie always.

We have no idea what Seamus is, but a lot of people offer guesses. Most often we get Pomeranian mix, Sheltie mix, and Papillon mix, which could be possible.

 

[Annabell]

Laughing about the "Blue Heeler" thing. I find it funny they got the dog part right but missed on the basic color part. Wonder if they just thought it was part of the name and it was "Blue Heeler" and that blue wasn't talking about the color but rather just the breed.

I didn't even think that they thought blue heeler might be the breed name. I guess it's possible since the blues seem to be more common than the reds.

get called Cattle dogs or Catahoula's most often. Which I think is funny since I think most people with those breeds don't get the correct guess happening very often.

Greyhound has happened quite a few times and Aussie sometimes but mostly people just make "aaahhhhing" sounds like they know what they are without ever saying what that is.

I guess I could see people calling them cattle dogs and catahoulas since the coloring is *kind of* similar. But I'm sure they get called greyhounds because people have never seen dogs that are an appropriate weight

 

[Red.Apricot]

The last couple days she's been a coyote or a wolf to people for some reason.

Usually she's a GSD mix (which makes sense) or husky (which I don't get).

 

[PlottMom]

They're always lab mixes. No matter where I go.

"Lab aaaaand..?" "No lab. None. At all."

"Oh, YOU'VE got some lab in you!" "No. She doesn't."


ETA: SO MANY PEOPLE call Daisy a beagle She is small. She is in no way beagley.

 

[Ozfozz]

Cobain (Border Collie)
- Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. I had a lady a few years back insist that she "knows a toller when she sees one" sorry lady.
- Golden retriever mix - doesn't help that he's usually carrying around a stick
- "Border Collie aaanndd," or "definitely some collie in that one somewhere!"

Rigby (Suspected Kelpie mix)
- German Shepherd puppy. I always love the "she's gonna be a big one! Just look at those ears!" comments. On a bad day I responded with "Really? She's been 28lbs for the past 2 years I had no idea she wasn't done growing!"
- German shepherd husky mix puppy
- Basenji mix (why?)

Oz (Beagle)
- Jack Russell mix - because he's a 13" beagle and has *gasps* a waistline
- Beagle/Basset

Ruby (Suspected JRT/Border Collie or Rat Terrier mix)
- Jack Russell
- Basenji mix (apparently there's some rogue basenjis going around impregnating everything)
- Rigby's littermate. The 2 of them together usually gets the "Omg look at the puppies!!! They must be a handful!"

 

[Snark]

Mostly Riley gets mistaken for a girl... otherwise, catahoula, mountain cur, or pit bull (because he's brindle). I have no idea what he is, so I usually just tell them he's a found-on-the-side-of-the-road dog.

Murph is usually called what he is - a GSD mix and people don't believe that he and Mick are brothers.

 

[LostAndConfused]

Lab, Weim, and/or Dobe

Sane

In this outfit, he has gotten mistaken for a service dog / seeing eye dog

But usually people think he's a border collie. Black + white + fuzzy = BC

 

[Laurelin]

The papillons are often chihuahuas or pomeranians. Sometimes cavaliers. Once they were chinchillas. And once sugar gliders.

paps by summerpapillons, on Flickr

Hank... I tried for a long time to really just not commit to a breed guess for him and just tell people he was a stray so I don't really know. I get a LOT of questions about what he is and people seem to assume he's some sort of purebred.

But non-commital doesn't seem to satisfy people so then we end up with people insisting he's something or another. Usually it is either heeler (or often, is that a mini?), or rat terrier or jack russel terrier. We do get dalmatian every now and then and basenji every now and then. At dog events I've been stopped a few times with 'Now, you'll have to forgive me but what kind of terrier is that breed again?'

Cattle dog people insist he's a cattle dog mix. I have gotten in trouble in front of a couple cattle dog breeders by saying that I didn't know what he was. 'Oh it is CLEAR he is part cattle dog' Regular people tell me he's colored like one. I've been told his face is incredibly rat terrier or jack russel. 'He has jack russel ears' happened recently lol. When he gets concerned he has little forehead wrinkles that have made him look like a basenji. And spots = dalmatian.

I don't know. I think cattle/rat is probably the closest I'll get to knowing. He's the same height as some known cattle dogs (there's some teeny ones here) but much lighter. I've had a few people insist he's 100% rat but he's just so much bigger and thicker coat and bigger boned than most. Most common guess is cattle dog/some kind of terrier. Temperament seems to fit that mix too so I've started answering that that is what he is and no one questions it now.

DSC_1466 by summerpapillons, on Flickr

DSC_1347 by summerpapillons, on Flickr

 

[sassafras]

I used to get Dogo for Squash a lot, which at least was reasonable. These days he's either a pit bill (kinda big, people) or a lab.

Maisy is a rottweiler because black and tan.

Pip... people usually guess pit bull and/or whatever breed they happen to have.

 

[Elrohwen]

Brittany or English springer spaniel, which both make perfect sense. Lots of people just say "springer spaniel", but mean English. I do think it's a little funny when people say they had an ESS just like him, in the exact same color, which isn't possible.

I've also gotten beagle more than once which I don't see at all except that he's spotted and has floppy ears.

 

[Picklepaige]

Finn gets called an Akita all. the. time. I think every single breed guess I've gotten for him has been Akita mix. Which is funny, because he was labled an Akita mix at the shelter I got him from. And he was an owner surrender, so maybe who ever owned him knows for certain that he is part Akita? Or it was just a guess on the owner's part.

I just...don't see it. His goofy, love everyone, never met a stranger, not DA/SSA in the slightest personality doesn't fit either.

 

[Sekah]

I get Aussie/Aussie mix/Border Collie/cattle dog in about equal parts. She's smaller than most Aussies which I think confuses people. The people who guess cattle dog are likely just confusing the breed names and don't actually think she looks like an ACD.

 

[Toller_08]

Journey gets mini Aussie all the time. Even the vet receptionist put that on her file. She is little compared to most of the others we see at shows, but she's not that little. I think people think Aussies are large dogs. Other people guess her to be an Aussie but wonder where her grey splotches went or tell me about a "blue muriel" they knew. A crazy number of people think she's a Berner and ask about her tail and size. Then there are the people who don't guess her breed but talk about a "good farm dog" they knew or had and say she's just like them. Sometimes I get ACD but like Jess said, I think that's just people confusing the name. Occasionally I'll get Border Collie or "Collie aaaaand what else?".

Dance is usually, ironically, an Aussie haha. Or a Golden mix, doodle or Border Collie mix. Or a "dock troller". Lots of people do know what she is now though and think they need one. Makes me sad lol. I miss the days that Tollers weren't known.

Ripley is usually a Doberman but the wrong colour. Or a chocolate Lab. Or a GSD. Or a pitbull. Mostly people recognize him though and I just get comments that he's beautiful, regal, too small or a weird colour.

 

[AllieMackie]

Finn gets:

Aussie Mix
Bernese Mountain Dog mix (they're the only black tri dogs, dontchaknow)
Border Collie Mix

Generally, people who guess border collie on first go are people who own border collies or other herding breeds. He gets Aussie mix the most, tri Aussies are pretty common around here but border collies are usually black and white.

 

[Laurelin]

Oh and you confuse people if you say cattle dog and not heeler around here.

'Well we think he's a terrier and cattle dog mix.'
'I dunno. Looks more like a blue heeler to me.'

I didn't even think that they thought blue heeler might be the breed name. I guess it's possible since the blues seem to be more common than the reds.

At least around here and in Texas people seem to think the breed name is blue heeler. The only time I hear the breed called cattle dogs is at agility stuff. And even then it's half and half.

 

[k9krazee]

Laughing about the "Blue Heeler" thing. I find it funny they got the dog part right but missed on the basic color part. Wonder if they just thought it was part of the name and it was "Blue Heeler" and that blue wasn't talking about the color but rather just the breed.

Mine get called Cattle dogs or Catahoula's most often. Which I think is funny since I think most people with those breeds don't get the correct guess happening very often.

Greyhound has happened quite a few times and Aussie sometimes but mostly people just make "aaahhhhing" sounds like they know what they are without ever saying what that is.

Random Man: "Hey we're telling everyone about this youtube video! *points at Koolies* There's a dog named Skidboot who looks just like your dogs!"

Hahaha...okay.

 

[Fran101]

I get Aussie/Aussie mix/Border Collie/cattle dog in about equal parts. The people who guess cattle dog are likely just confusing the breed names and don't actually think she looks like an ACD.

This. I really think the cattle dog thing is just the name switch.

Number one guess is cattle dog, coming up second Border Collie followed closely by Miniature Australian Shepherd which is beginning to grind my gears because...
A) They insist on then asking if he is a standard/regular aussie. Nope, he's an aussie point blank. No regular/standard size variations, and aren't the Mini American shepherds now??
B) He is 50 pounds :rofl1: how big do you think aussies are? lol

Husky mix is also a hit.

He has gotten dalmatian from a few small children lol which is fine. He has a pattern? sort of spotty? I think when you're 4 that's close enough.