I want to thank everyone for their comments and guesses as to the breed of my dog, Alan. Many of you were on the right track: According the the Canine Heritage breed identification, there were no clear primary breeds (neither parent was a purebred) but they did identify Greyhound as a secondary breed.
Now here's a head scratcher -- the only other breed they identified "in the mix" was English Coonhound!
Clearly he is a true mutt, and it goes to show what gorgeous and fantastic pets mixed breeds are. I tend to agree with some of of you who considered Great Dane, Rottweiler and/or Doberman in there somewhere.
I particularly like the idea of him being a "Great Bordobie" as someone suggested ("the ears of a border collie, body of a dobie and his head just screams great dane"). Perhaps more like a Great Greyeiler? I'm not sure about the rest ... but he is definitely great!
Previous entries:
What's That Mutt: HALF of Alan looks like a Doberman ...
Living with a deaf dog: An update on Alan
Staff Happy Tail: A friend for Sophie
Previous What's That Mutt entries:
Is that some Schnauzer I see?
Results: Surprise! Bingo is no Schnauzer
Guess the 'mix' in this pit mix
Results: Pit mix Bodie's results are in!
Guess the breeds in my dog's family tree
Results: The results are in!
What's That Mutt: HALF of Alan looks like a Doberman ...
Living with a deaf dog: An update on Alan
Staff Happy Tail: A friend for Sophie
Previous What's That Mutt entries:
Is that some Schnauzer I see?
Results: Surprise! Bingo is no Schnauzer
Guess the 'mix' in this pit mix
Results: Pit mix Bodie's results are in!
Guess the breeds in my dog's family tree
Results: The results are in!
HI Jared! So glad to hear that Alan is doing well. I'm the behavior consultant that did Alan's evaluation prior to your adoption of him. While he was both deaf and profound food guarder, I did think he was workable in an adult home. Thank you so much for giving him the life he deserves! Please contact me to give me a "personal update" on how he is doing! All the best to you and Alan.
Mira Leibstein, CPDT
Wow! I had the advantage of seeing Alan in person while he was at our rescue and I would have guessed that he was Rottweiler / Greyhound / Shepherd and something accounting for his white markings. It never crossed my mind that his ancestory included a hound although now, looking at the dogs identified as "English Coonhounds", I can see some resemblance in the head. I'm not at all surprized that his ancestory is somewhat murky though. Alan is a true NYC mutt - I call them NYC Specials.
It's good to hear that he's thriving and that his strong personality has been guided to develop in constructive, companionable ways. Who wants a dog that's not a little bit of a challenge? He's one lucky dog.
Well I got the great dane, rottweiler, greyhound, and doberman right. I never guessed he could be part coonhound. I thought he might be a mix of a shepard. But you never know.
Please read the comment I just sent in response to Emily's blog about the survey results. I suggest a simple, FEASIBLE WAY to IMPROVE the RESCUE SYSTEM nationally, modeled on the "rate the sellers" system used by Amazon and Ebay. We just adopted a wonderful dog thru Collie Rescue of the MidAtlantic, which we found via Pet Finders. I am a huge fan and advocate of going thru a rescue group, but I did experience some of the frustruations many commenters mentioned. Potential adopters should be able to avoid non-responsive groups and groups that have wacky adoption critieria (-- and there certainly should be a way to identify those people who only pose as breed rescue groups to obtain pets they can "sell" !). Additionally, perhaps those rescue groups/volunteers that function well can also identify and reach out to help other well-intentioned local rescue groups that need some help -- especially on the administration/inquiry response end of things! Your survey results reveal there are major issues that need to be addressed by rescue organizations if more pets are to find their forever homes. (Perhaps as "good corporate citizens" Amazon or Ebay will donate their resources to Pet Finders to establish this on-line system.) Good luck and good work, PetFinders!!!!
I can see how there might be coonhound in him, but I don't see any greyhound. I wonder how accurate those DNA tests really are...