You are lucky that those lovely eyes have picked you out at the identify my dog shelter. You fill out the paperwork and take him home. His forms say he’s a mixed breed; but you’re wondering what breeds his parents were?
Here are some excellent tips to help you find out what breed your dog is and give you the skills to recognise most dogs walking down the street.
While you will need an actual DNA test to accurately identify your dog’s heritage and breed, these handy tips will help you identify most dogs by sight.
There were hundreds of dog breeds before the growing number of designer breeds were added to that list. Unless you work with dogs on a regular basis, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what breed you are looking at.
Fortunately, when we look closely there are a few key things that give us information:
– Head.
– Ears.
– Coat.
– Colour.
– Tail.
A dog’s head is a useful clue, as there are three main classifications of skull types for dogs:
1) Dolicocephalic: These are long-nosed or long-headed breeds, such as the Afghan Hound or COllie.
2) Brachycephalic: These are those muzzled breeds with a flat face, such as the Shih Tzu, Pug, Boxer or French Bulldog.
3) Mesocephalic: These are those types in the middle like the Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd or Dalmatian.
As we continue to look at their head, we can tell a lot about their ears. Some dogs have pointed, erect ears, like the West-Highland White Terrier or the German Shepherd.
Others have floppy ears like the Beagle or the Dachshund. Hounds tend to have long ears, as they help to catch scents to follow.
Working, protective breeds tend to have erect ears, as they would keep them safe (they would hear threats sooner). Historical swimmers have laid back ears to prevent water from seeping into their ears.
Their coat can be seen below. Working breeds, which would be out in the elements tend to have a double coat of fur. The soft undercoat would keep them warm and the rough hairs of the protective coat would protect them from rain and/or snow.
Double-coated breeds include the German Shepherd, Alaskan Malamute and Labrador. Terrier breeds have a wavy coat.
A wavy coat consists of a thick undercoat to keep them warm and a rough outer coat that traps dirt and water; keeping them clean.
The curly poodle coat made them more buoyant and because it is only one coat, they are not heavy to swim in. The smooth coats found on the Greyhound contributed to their speed and ease of movement through the air.
Regarding colour, this is the most difficult element to use when identifying the breed of identify my dog. Although you can also tell a lot about a dog by its colouring, you can find bi- or tri-coloured dogs such as the Cocker Spaniel, the Dalmatian; some breeds are merle or spotted.
The Merle gene causes colour patches and you may find strange eye colours or different skin pigmentations. In most of these cases you will find a spotted Dachshund.
Likewise, you should look at the tail, is it straight, short, rubbed, do they even have a tail? Working hunters often have their tails docked to prevent injury like Terries or Spaniels.
Also, it is not only their appearance that will give them away but also their behaviour.
Even though you may not be able to identify the characteristics specifically, you may have an idea that they belong to a certain type of dog:
– Sporting dogs are active and alert; these include Labradors, water dogs and retrievers.
– Dogs that are full of stamina are for example the Beagle, Basenji and Coonhound.
– Toy breeds are small in size but big in personality. They include the Affenpinscher, Havanese and Maltese.
– Herding breeds are intelligent and trainable, but may have a tendency to herd small children. These include the Belgian Malinois, Border Collie and Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
While it is relatively easy to spot a purebred identify my dog, it can be more difficult if we try to identify the mix in our crossbred dog.
By observing their appearance, the shape and size of their head, their ears, their coat type and style, it is possible to identify possible breeds. Not only that, they may behave similarly to certain breeds.
Although, the only way to know for sure what breed of dog you have is to do a DNA test; that is if their breed is included in the dataset, of course.
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