Have yr dogs been mistaken for another breed?

I'm currently in town with one of mine and someone was telling their friend that my boy was a GSD!!

Get the normal Newf or Saint but this one is way off the mark!! :-D

If anyone recognises mine, I'm surprised LOL. I tend to get GSD, GSD cross with the Malinois and Chihuahuas with the Papillons.

I have a Dalmatian, didn't you know ? :-p or a very large Springer, which isn't too bad. At least that's similar.

We get it all the time, then when we explain the breed we get 'A WHAT?'

Just part of our normal life with an unusual breed.

Yes, always GSD or Wolf/Gsd cross, thing is I do not expect anyone to know and I am surprised if they come up with a spitz any spitz,  not necessarily the right one it is usually an Akita, the fact that mine weigh about 24kg and stand 20" does not seem to matter they have thick coat and prick ears so they are a GSD or Akita.

I always get people saying aaaaaaaaaaaw what cute little pit puppies, Just makes me :-) I love pitbulls and I guess they kinda look like babies lol

> I have a Dalmatian, didn't you know

That is way off the mark, lol... Understand the spaniel thing, but a Dallie?

I can understand when its similar to, but when its something that is so obscure and nothing like the actual breed in any way shape or form, other than for my breed and a GSD, they are both big dogs, lol..

Can see them going home now and saying, thats it we're getting a GSD, boy they'd be disappointed if they turned up at a breeders expecting my boy look a like.. :-D

ETA: An elderly lady did come up to me while I was on the phone to ask if he was a Bernese, then to add that her daughter has one :-)

In the last 3 months, at 2 different open shows, I was asked if my dog was a Kooikerhondje :-D

I'm used to getting collie cross, spaniel cross, retriever cross, but not something that's even more rare than mine! I have Tollers (and they're the right size and minimally marked so look nothing like Kooikerhondjen :-) )

The majority of people seem to think my Dobermann is a Rottweiler or Great Dane cross (had this one quite a few times!).

Usually GSD cross, but also quite popular are Saint, Newf, Bernese, Pyrenean, and Akita!!  It makes me laugh how confident people are when they say it too!!

Just for my own amusement I did tell a few people they were Peruvian Teddy Bear dogs...................who knew I was going to bump into one of these people a week later after they'd Googled it and found nothing!??! :P

My GSP,,, dallie x, spaniel x, lab x, collie x!! makes me cross!!

It does depend where we are though. In country areas he is usually recognised as a "fine speciman" of his breed ;-)

> Peruvian Teddy Bear dogs

SO forgot about that one, must lock that into my brain and use it next time ;-)

I have Japanese spitz and at Richmond a guy asked me if I was looking for the shar pei ring much to everyone arounds amusement, what a plonker.

Never mind people not knowing what they are but I get a bit cross when after you have told them they continue like you have it wrong and your dog is a GSD cross no matter what you think poor misguided soul.

My Mals are generally Huskies, wolves, Akitas and I once heard an Elkhound????

My favourite story was a woman walking towards me with her family and a gorgeous Akita puppy on a lead. As she got close she proudly announced to her family "that's what he's going to look like when he grows up!". As I passed them, I replied "Madam, if that puppy grows up to look like this I'd ask for my money back" and carried on walking...

my FCR is often called a long haired labrador ?? a Lab x and the good old Black -golden retriever. I do forgive people some of it though as she has forgotten to grow her coat lol

My gsd is often mistaken for a belgian because he is solid black long hair however the best I had was a neighbour who when he was a pup ask if he was a rotti !!

I have a Kelpie, who is blue with very pale eyes, he gets called all sorts, usually some sort of GSD cross but more than once ive been asked if he is a husky cross

Thankfully you cant mistake my Irish Setters for anything else :)

I've never had anyone recognise mine so I'm used to people guessing. I love to talk dogs so I'm happy to explain.

My favourites are the people who ask what I've got, look blankly at the answer and then say oh yes I used to have one of those. Or who insist on telling me they used to have an old English sheepdog/afghan/schnauzer like mine and won't accept that I have a completely different breed.

i always get asked if my flat coat is a black, red setter ...................mmm answered your own question there i think

>i always get asked if my flat coat is a black, red setter ...................mmm answered your own question there i think

I used to walk a black flat coat who was called that on a regular basis !!  I walked a liver one too who was often mistaken for a red setter but that was kind of understandable.

GUILTY  I know my own group pretty well (gundog group) but I get a bit confused with some in the other groups I've never really bothered to learn!

However, the ones I really struggle with are the small ish white ish, usually clipped (by Hatchet & Shave), rescue jobs.  Several I've discovered are ex breeding bitches - but breed of what? - and even when I'm told and I come home to check my books, they look nothing like they are supposed to...

I like owning a breed that few people recognise but it's a bit odd when you tell them, to hear "Oh no I don't think so"  Ermm !!!!!

Oh lord yes, even the Cavaliers everyone calls them King Charles because they don't know it's a different breed. And my poor American cocker has been everything from a King Charles through cocker crosses right up to a Clumber!!

Try having a longhaired Weimaraner!

Let us see some of the thoughts I have received over the years:

Peter Purves once asked what my weim was crossed with (another weim)
lurchers
diluted flat coat retriever
very very old red setter
setter x weim

the list is almost endless, and does not include the cynical looks not to mention downright statements by people saying such a thing did not exist¬

It can make walks very interesting and obviously very educational for many............. :)

> Have yr dogs been mistaken for another breed?

Dobes are often mistaken for Rotties.

Goldies mistaken for Labs.

And Sussex Spaniel is usually "a what?".

But it's so nice when people do know - I've deeply impressed people by identifying Gordons, Fields and Norfolks. And I am always so pleased when anyone does get poor old George right!

> Sussex Spaniel

Oh lucky you.

If ours are mistaken for another breed, it's a Beagle or Dachshund I just can't see it, but I hate, hate, hate 'Oh a sausage dog!'

>I am always so pleased when anyone does get poor old George right!

Im the same with my Kelpie, but with him, when someone recognises what he is its usually because they have an interest in the breed.

Have to agree when someone gets the Gordon right its lovely - my favorite is "is it a Welsh Setter?"

I've been told my Bedlingtons (in show clip) are ...

Lurcher crosses - they cross them with whippets to get a Bedlington   I asked how they existed at all then?

Poodles, just cut different.   This one was ADAMANT!  there is NO such thing as a Bedlington, they are all poodles with a funny hair cut!   Clearly I've been 'had'  :-D  And I was TOLD every time we met too :(

English Bull Terrier   that one was very adamant too curiously.  I asked why mine had curly coats and they had NO answer LOL

usually I get "what on earth is that? "  which I don't mind as at least they are kind enough to listen to the answer :)

And if the person actually knows what they are - I feel like giving them a lollipop :-D  Usually if the person recognises my breed it's at  least half and hour while they reminisce about one they used to have/grew up with/knew :-D :-D   But that's lovely as it just shows they loved their dogs so much :)

Had the usual with the Flatties, hairy labs, black goldens, black setters and more recently a very proud Dad told his son 'these dogs are Afghan Hounds'!!!!
People who once came to pet them were very proud to tell me they knew what they were.....flat footed retrievers!!!!!

I have a lab x collie x something very fast :)

He is very lean and looks mostly like a very slender lab. I'm often asked "what's wrong with your dog, he's so thin!"
I had one man accuse me of under feeding him and another tell me I shouldn't be allowed to keep dogs if I'm not going to look after them properly :(

So my dog gets mistakenly identified as the world's most spoilt neglected Labrador :)

I'd have printed out the KC breed standard to show her if it was someone I met multiple times!

>Poodles, just cut different.   This one was ADAMANT!  there is NO such thing as a Bedlington, they are all poodles with a funny hair cut!   Clearly I've been 'had'    And I was TOLD every time we met too

Labradoodles and Bedlingtons are the most common ones that I get.

Just got back in from a walk, a lady asked to stroke my labradoodle :(  I said no but you can stroke my soft coated wheaten terrier, I was then accused of making the name up!

And if the person actually knows what they are - I feel like giving them a lollipop :-D  Usually if the person recognises my breed it's at  least half and hour while they reminisce about one they used to have/grew up with/knew :-D :-D   But that's lovely as it just shows they loved their dogs so much

Hehe i always think gold star when guessed right, as with my breed its always is that a samoyed or is it a pom and they always look as if ive offened them if i tell them no its a japanese spitz :D

We've got a 12 week old GR pup here at the moment and i've lost count of the amount of times someone has said "Oh look, there's an Andrex puppy", and "what a lovely Labrador puppy". Even when she comes out with my adult dogs (both good coats and looking nothing like Labs) we seem to be asked almost daily "what breed are they?".

I even took the pup into Pets at Home at the weekend for a little trip out, and someone who worked there actually thought she was Lab... and then asked me what breed she was then! I explained that she was a Golden Retriever and that was why her coat was fluffy! He still looked confused as if he couldn't believe that she wasn't a Labrador!!

Perhaps it's just people's ignorance, but I thought it was pretty obvious the differences between Labs and Retrievers... even a Retriever with no coat doesn't look like a Lab...

So I can imagine those of you with rarer breeds get some funny comments...

We've had our DDB for just over 2 months now, and we've had everything including; a shar pei, a chocolate lab, a boxer. i think only 3 people have guess his breed right and more than likely its beacyse they have one or know someone with one :)

> He still looked confused as if he couldn't believe that she wasn't a Labrador!!

You wonder then what people think a Goldie does look like to them then? One of the most common breeds aside from the Lab, that is a serious oh dear on their part...

When we had our first Bernese ( a very large and beautifully marked boy) I once overheard a boy say to his dad "look at that enormous collie dad!"   miffed is an under-statement :-D

When we got Teasel last year I was asked if she was a Jack Russell :-( grr - nothing against them but I don't think JR's are in quite the same price range as a PBGV somehow :-) :-)

No one ever knew what Dakko was but as there were only about 30 in the country when we had him I couldn't really complain - he was usually mistaken for a Chow Chow even though he had a pink tongue, was much smaller and much finer faced :-)

Now that there are more Finnish Lapphunds about he would probably be mistaken for one of those instead - he was a Swedish Lapphund.

I don't really mind if people get it wrong because my breeds are all quite unusual but I do object to them arguing with me about what they are ;-)

I felt a right muppet myself when I mistook someone's Tervuren for a Malinois at ringcraft - I was mortified but the dog did have a short coat so...

Next time I saw her she was just back from a show and definitely looked like a terv :-)

Just this summer I mistook my new neighbour's shaved Golden Retriever for a Lab, at a distance.  Oh no, I was told, unlike my own Lab his dog was a Retriever.   Umm, what?

I did ask a lady in our first obedience class what her little black dog was.  She looked at me in amazement and said he was a Pug.  Well,  I didn't know they came in solid black and I was thinking some kind of mini French Bulldog.  You'd think his name would have given me a clue.  Percy.  Duh.

Try owning a Kooikerhondje then!  Depending on the area I'm in I either inform the person asking about the breed, or in an area I just dont trust I reply with 'oh, shes just a cross breed!'
Its OK these days, but showing a bitch I had in the 90's/early naughties I used to get filthy looks from people as I walked through the show ground, followed by loud statements of unentered dogs aren't allowed in the show ground.  Sigh!

Its OK these days, but showing a bitch I had in the 90's/early naughties I used to get filthy looks from people as I walked through the show ground, followed by loud statements of unentered dogs aren't allowed in the show ground.  Sigh!

I've had that with Malinois at Crufts in the past, but found once it stopped being one we brought but became 2, 3 or 4, all looking much the same, the penny dropped for people.

No one ever knew what Dakko was but as there were only about 30 in the country when we had him I couldn't really complain

That reminds me of a funny story. I was working as a vet nurse at a single vet practice in Sweden. The vet had a Lapphund herself. One day she got a phonecall from somebody who only spoke English, and for whatever reason (I only heard one end of the conversation, obviously) she needed to tell the person on the phone about her Lapphund. Not knowing what they were called in English she made a direct translation, Lapphund to Lappdog, so told the person on the phone she had a Lap Dog! Always had visions of the person imagining a Chihuahua. :)

When I had a Manchester Terrier, people either thought he was a Whippet or a Dobermann puppy.

When I owned a Pembroke Corgi years ago, my neighbour's daughter (then aged 3-4) thought she was a a Gunea Pig the first time she saw her !

To be fair though most of us know some breeds of dogs because we are interested in them :-) I am familiar with many breeds of horses but a lot of people on here wouldn't know the difference between them and some probably would only know that it was a horse :-)

My Golden Retriever has been called a labrador and my terrier has been called a JRT  - he's a crossbreed and if anything looks as though he has some Border Terrier in him but Joe Public are probably more familiar with the term JRT than Border and many don't know that there are more than one type of terrier.

Oh I've dropped some clangers myself in the past. In my very early days at ringcraft I think I put the seal of enmity between me and the lady with the black mini schnauzer by asking if he was a Scotty! And my Dad embarrassed me heartily at a show as a lady with a harlequin Great Dane walked past, by saying 'gosh, what a big Dalmatian'! I bet the owners of the dog I groomed last week get a lot of mistakes - she's a Lagotto!!

>I did ask a lady in our first obedience class what her little black dog was.  She looked at me in amazement and said he was a Pug.  Well,  I didn't know they came in solid black and I was thinking some kind of mini French Bulldog.  You'd think his name would have given me a clue.  Percy.  Duh.

With my Vizsla i have had  Weimaraner, or Ridgeback

The best one was Dogue de bordeux lol :)

labs, i have had when my boy was younger GSP.

> my FCR is often called a long haired labrador ?? a Lab x and the good old Black -golden retriever. I do forgive people some of it though as she has forgotten to grow her coat lol

Yes exactly the same as my flatcoats get called, even my boys who have heaps of coat. However as everyone knows I have only ever had black flatcoats when I am out with my new liver colour pup, people stop me and ask me what breed is it? They usually say, "Oh you have a new breed, what is it?" They are most surpised when I say Alice is a flatcoat.

Our Munsters have been called many thinks in the past, but were mistaken by two children at the weekend as Dalmations!  We have the usual what was the spaniel crossed with, or what type of Setter is it!

I'm not sure whether it is better when someone knows the breed.  We were on holiday in Cornwall during the summer with the dogs, and took the children and dogs to see the St Agnes carnival.  We found a nice quiet area on the outskirts of the village by a park so that we could take the dogs out of the way if they didn't like it.  The dogs seemed to enjoy all of the attention that they recieved until a giant playing card came running in our direction shouting "oh, it's a Toller"! as we also have a Toller. 

We had a very quick chat, but I think Tilly isn't very keen on cards now!

Yes my Papillons are always mistaken for chihauhaus