Dog Information

What dog breeds have your dogs been mistaken for?

Forget breeds, my dog was once mistaken for a horse. A bunch of kids ran over to him (annoying!) going "Look at the horse!" But this is coming from a country where something like 25% of kids think milk is made in bottles. If we're talking about dog breeds, someone once asked if was half whippet. Never seen anything that looks less like a whippet - he's an SBT mix!

Public Comments

1. Someone though my pure bred Jack russell terrier was mixed when he is just the ugly runt the litter
2. Never had this problem. My Golden looks like a Golden and my Lab looked like a lab. I did used to have a Norwegian Elkhound that people thought was a wolf. We always got calls that there was a wolf in our yard. Silly people.
3. My dog (a very tall Greyhound) is often laughingly referred to as a "horse", and I'm frequently telling people he's not a Whippet, so I know what you mean. The funniest one I've had though was when someone asked whether my Welsh Corgi was a "Schnitzel von Crumm" dog - the dacshound from the Hairy Maclary books! He's only about 4 times the size and ten times as much hair!
4. my dog is shitzu and been mistaken for a lapzu apzu i don't know how to spell it i did my best
5. Someone thought my Australian Shepherd was a Collie...
6. I went to a GROOMER with my 10 wk old pom and the people there didn't know what he was. They asked if he was a "long haired Pap" needless to say, we switched groomers.
7. My puppy is a havanese pomeranian mix, and when ever anyone see;s her they think she's a dachshund. She looks like one though*
8. I have a Chocolate Labrador. He has a huge head with jowels. Block head. He is not your 'everyday' looking Labrador. Mako is almost 11 years old and came from one of the top 20 Labrador Retrievers in this country: Remedy Labradors. His father was European and his mother American. I have had people not only ask if he is a Mastiff but have QUESTIONED me on 'do I really know he is full Labrador?!!!' Slap their faces.....uh huh.
9. Fortunately for me, PWCs are pretty unique! However, I do have another story. I was carrying around my favorite bag, one with corgis drawn on it. Someone asked me if they were chihuahuas... HA! I laughed at that for days.
10. Thought my purebred Min Pin was a Chihuahua!! LOL
11. hairy ones
12. I have a Shetland Sheepdog and I guess not a lot of people have heard of them so they think he's either a) a miniature Collie (I heard teacup once too, YUCK), b) a Collie puppy, or c) Lassie.
13. I have not had that problem, but my girlfriend actually had a t-shirt made for her Minpin that said "No, I am NOT a freakin' Chihuahua!"
14. i have a pure bred shi tzu and he has never been mistaken for any other breed, but has been mistaken for a girl a lot! like every new person i see when im walking him asks what "her" name is! he doesnt even look like a girl! he has short hair and i havnt met any female shi tzus yet but the stereotypical thing is for them to have really long hair and bows and stuff.
15. Australian Shepherd, Golden Retriever, and mutts of all kinds. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3555/3672520570_d49580d515.jpg
16. We have a purebred Pembroke Corgi, but he is what they call a "fluffy" meaning he is a long haired. This disqualifies him from the show ring, but he is still a purebred, both his parents are champions in conformation. We are asked all the time if he is a miniature collie or a mix of something. And if we say he is a Corgi, people are like "What?", like it's a rare breed.
17. my 11 week old puppy (cocker spaniel) they thought he was a Setter My Lab. mix they thought he was a Pit bull mixed with a beagle? my aunts Papillon, They thought he was a Pomeranian GIRL
18. I've had my Texas Blue Lacy mistaken for a Doberman, a Rottie, and even a German Shepherd! (she only weighs 40 pounds, haha) Most of my other dogs are mixes and have been mistaken for all sorts
19. I'm always asked if my dogs are Dalmatians or if they are purebred. I'm left thinking sarcastically "Well what do you think??" I mean what other breed could they possibly look like? My family's Sheltie was mistaken as a fox more times then I can remember. ADD: Sarah, I can totally sympathise with you there!
20. My weims get mistaken for labs great danes grey hounds- don't ask me I don't get it a hound vizslas Pointers GSPs I think I have even got pit bull terrier once. My bulldogs never get mistaken they look like bulldogs, well I do have people asking me what kind of bulldog but thats about it.
21. I have a 4 pound long coated chihuahua. People constantly ask me if shes a papillon and then they ask if shes going to ever have puppies, then they write down their number and give it to me!! shes 13! with grey hair!!! She often gets mistaken for a pomeranian also.. I also have another dog, a complete 100 percent terrier mix. People mistake her for schnauzer, jack russel, chihuahua, and any other small breed. I honestly dont know what happened with her. All her siblings had short hair. Sombody else had her before me, and they were mean to her. SO the person who gave him the dog took her back and gave her to me. Now shes my baby <3
22. My dog, a Lhasa Apso/Terrier mix almost always gets mistaken for a Shih Tzu. I've also gotten Pure Lhasa, Papillon, and even a Coton De Tulear. I think I even got Havanese one time. One guy said after the Westminster Kennel Dog Show, "Hey, I saw your dog on T.V. last night!" There was one person who thought he was a "Cockapoo", and I think even a "Peekapoo". Blech. Kind of unrelated, but two or three people have asked me if he was a service dog. Umm, yeah, a 16 1/2 lb mongrel can be a mobility assistance dog, I'd love to see him try to carry my suit case around.
23. Border collie! Makes me so angry. Not because they call him a BC that's fine, I tell them about Aussies and say they're similar.. But they say he's a BC AFTER I tell them.. no he's an Australian Shepherd, they refuse to acknowledge there's a breed called Australian Shepherd! Also, people have thought he has Husky, rough collie, Malamute. He's a purebred Australian Shepherd people! http://www.flickr.com/photos/eemilie-/3986763552/ Does he really look like a Husky?? LOL
24. When I was a kid we went on vacation to Mt. Rushmore with our German Sheppard. Some tourists thought he was a wolf.
25. Someone thought our Berner was a Newfoundland "with white bits". Erm... No....
26. I have a gorgeous Rough Collie female. I CONSTANTLY am asked if she is a "Miniature Collie" or a "Sheltie" My Collie is 22 1/2" tall near the top of the height standard for the breed, so not small by any means. People seem genuinely astounded when I tell them she is a Rough Collie. They think she is small, because they are used to Lassie ,who is always played by a Clydesdale sized Collie and a small child. Also because many farm type Collies they might have grown up with were large as well. I get this a lot when we are at hospitals doing therapy work, and when I take her into stores. Then there is my Too Tall Pomeranian. People mostly get it right but they always phrase it as a question "Is that a Pomeranian?" Sometimes there is a follow up and they say oh I or my friend has a "teacup Pom" at which point my head explodes and I explain to them that mine is too big, and that there is no such thing as a teacup Pom......they are normally 3-7 pound dogs.
27. my purebred english yellow lab is constantly being mistaken for a pit bull!
28. Jacob is commonly mistaken for a Labrador cross, but when I look at him objectively , try as I might I just cannot see it!! I try to smile when I hear for feels like the hundredth time "why don't you put a saddle on your dog?"... well to be fair he is indeed tall & muscular for his breed :)
29. Some people think my dog is purebred poodle. He's actually half beagle. And then a lot of people have no clue what he is, but not any strange guesses so far. Whenever people ask, I'm always tempted to say "What do you think?" just because I want to see them guess :]
30. I get asked a lot if my Cane Corso/ Pit mix is a Perro de Presa Canario.
31. Many people mistake my two greyhounds for great danes since they are on the larger end of the greyhound standard... I also have a beagle/black lab/husky mix that people swear is a mix of a rottie and dachshund.... She might have a majority of large breeds in her, but she is short, long and has rottie markings (from the beagle)... She is a whole 25 pounds, and is about 10-12 inches at the shoulder (dont ask me how, we just claim she got the short end of the deal), yet her litter mates are all lab/husky sized, none under 60pounds i believe... And my last mutt people always think is a straight sheltie, but he is a mix of golden retriever and sheltie
32. Not my Lab, but when I walk my neighbors Newfie, I got horse, bear, Great Pyrenees, Wolfdog(ugh), St. Bernard, and all sorts of other things. And just not to mention the "look at that big dog" every time I walk bye. Lyndsey is a gorgeous girl, a stunning head turner, lol.
33. Its funny, because I own Wirehair Dachshunds and people frequently ask me if they are Schnauzer/ Dachshund mixes. Yet, when I had my mixbreed, who was a beagle/lab mix, I was often asked if she was a Minature Lab!
34. Not everyone knows what a Gordon Setter is, and I have had some memorable ones. Once I was out training my girl Holly, and this stoned guy comes up and says in very slow, slurred words.. "Is that one of those Afghanistan dogs?" Another time I was on a road trip with Holly and her daughter Abbie. This was long enough ago that gas station attendants actually pumped gas for you. I was at a gas station somewhere in Tennessee, and the attendant is pumping gas, staring at my girls in the back seat, who were staring back at him. In a VERY slow southern accent, he says... "Y'know... I ain't never seen no long-haired Dobermans before." I almost lost it! Another one was when someone said my dog was the biggest Cocker Spaniel they had ever seen! I think the most touching mistaken identity was when I was doing therapy dog visits to nursing homes with my boy Corey. This was right after Westminster that year, and a Gordon Setter had come very, very close to winning Best in Show. This sweet little old woman saw Corey and she squealed, "It's the dog from TV!" She was CONVINCED that Corey was the Gordon from Westminster. I tried to tell her he wasn't the same dog, just the same breed, but she was having none of that. She went on and on how wonderful it was that he had taken time out of his show schedule to come visit them, stroking him so gently, tears in her eyes. I finally gave up and let her think that 'Kirby" had come to visit.
35. I have a dachshund and she has been mistaken for many breeds but the funniest one was we have been asked if she is a dingo. I mean come on... A 17.9 pound chocolate dapple dachshund looks nothing like a dingo. Worst thing it was an adult (teacher at a school) and not a child. We do shows with exotic animals and I know you asked about dogs but these are funny so I thought I would share... We had a high school kid ask us if the skunk was a penguin. I get there both black and white...but come on. On more times than I can count people have thought the kangaroo was a deer or a rabbit. Just last week some one asked us if the fox was a chinchilla People constantly thought the ground hog was a really big hamster. I mean I know not everyone is an animal expert but some things are common sense and sadly more than half the time it's the teachers.
36. This is understandable I guess, but my sheltie is always referred to as a collie. But years ago, a girl that I worked with looked at the picture of my little pom that was on my desk and said "Is that your cat?" I could not stop laughing long enough to answer her so I just shook my head "yes"
37. Most people get my breeds right but this one preson took the cake when they thought my longhaired purebred Dachshund was a miniature Golden Retriever!!!
38. Mine dog is a Australian shepard airedale terror(lol terrier) and people have thought he was a "baby" irish wolfhound, cause he is scruffy and has a beard. Only 1 lady ever guessed his mix right...she had worked at a dog pound for like 20 yrs.
39. My GRs have always been mistaken for Labradors & my Dalmatian has been mistaken to be a Great Dane once. Wow! Amazing. The difference in size & looks are so obvious...
40. Yeah, the first day we got my Aussie girl someone thought that she was a Burnese Mountain Dog, which is understandable since she is a black tri. She has also been mistaken for a Border Collie more then once. My Pom was once mistaken for a pekingese....but it was by a total cat person who knew nothing about dog breeds...
41. My pomeranian staffy mix got mistaken as a labrador by my friend.
42. Let's see, my Toy Fox Terrier has been mistaken for a: - Chihuahua ( to the point where I too got her a shirt that says "I am NOT a Chihuahua!") -Jack Russell Terrier -Rat Terrier (they're so similar this one's pretty understandable) -Miniature Pinscher -Italian Greyhound -Smooth Fox Terrier And my personal favorite: one day I was walking her at the park, and this lady rode by on her bike and said "Oh! What a cool looking Whippet!" I probably get Chihuahua and Rat Terrier the most though. Although she is off type for a TFT with her undocked tail and the fact she's so oversized, she still has TFT features, TFT coloring, TFT body structure, etc. I think I've only had 1, maybe 2 people correctly guess her breed. I think that's cause most people have no clue what a TFT is though...
43. BSL = Bullsh*t Legislation, I wish I had a a whippet.
44. My Beagle x Cocker Spaniel always gets mistaken for a black Labrador. She looks nothing like one in my opinion.
45. I have an APBT mix that someone thought was a chihuahua - an adult thought this, mind you. (She's the brown one in my avatar). Also a 4 or 5 year old girl kept yelling "horsie! horsie!" about my doberman, but probably to her that's what he looked like!
46. My Douge de Bordeaux is always mistaken for a Bull mastiff, American Bull dog, Pitty. I think im just going to print out, All Douge De Bordeaux cards and carry them inside my purse so when someone approaches me about " What kind of Dog is that " Ill just pull out one of those cards and hand it to them.
47. only dog breed my dogs have been mistaken for a labradors, they are all golden retrievers. http://s526.photobucket.com/albums/cc348/dragonfire_018/?action=view&current=100_2469.jpg i mean what lab has a coat that long.
48. my dog was mistaken for the real thing poodle
49. My dogs are always being mistaken as either Cocker Spaniels or beagles. Sometimes even puppy Bernese Mountain Dogs or Brittany puppies. I have 6 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
50. My dog is often confused for a golden retriever - WHAT??? - or a "blonde husky". Not sure what that means, by the way. Kids run and point, saying it's a "lion" because of the long, ruffled mane. The worse was when I took my dog to a dog park and a *dog owner* asked me, rather suprised: - Oh, is that a "husk-golden"? Look, this is my miniature australian shepherd! This was really what he said (can't remember the "husk-golden" real name, though). Needless to say, I fell on the floor laughing! *EDIT*: He looks nothing like any of these! Here is his pic: http://s605.photobucket.com/albums/tt134/illfollowthesun/Merry%20Pup/?action=view&current=3900642563_9e2cc7c53d.jpg