Who's asking: Various neighbors and complete strangers, at least once a day
Dizzy has a black head with white spots and a white body with black spots, and many people assume that any black-and-white spotted dog must be a Dalmatian. Because he was a five-month-old stray when I adopted him, I don't actually know what he is, but my California vet's best guess was a mix of pointer and Lab. Dizzy has a Lab head and build, with pointer markings.
So when people ask me this question, I say, "No, he's pointer and Lab." Four times out of five, the person asking the question will say, "Huh. He looks like a Dalmatian."
This annoys me way more than it should, but Dizzy doesn't look anything like a Dalmatian. Dalmatians are smaller and more slightly-built, topping out at about 70 pounds. (Dizzy's fighting weight is about 80 pounds.) The Dalmatian breed standard calls for "round and well-defined spots, the more distinct the better." Dizzy's spots look like he knocked a can of black paint off a ladder.
Because I am a moron and my external hard drive isn't working, I can't post a photo of Dizzy today, but you can see one here. You can see some very cute pictures of Dalmatians here. Not the same type of dog at all.
No iPod Shuffle mix this morning, because I'm listening to The Who's new album, Endless Wire, an early birthday present from my friend Gary. Thanks, Gary... and thanks, Pete. You both rule.
3 comments:
Looks sort of rotweiller-ish in the head. Cute dog.
Maybe in that photo, but in real life his nose is long and his head is not as flat or wide as a Rottweiler's.
Some people say they see pit bull in him, because he is very broad of chest -- but this is because his back legs are smaller and weaker than normal, due to a puppyhood injury. He needs to have both hips replaced (this winter, I'm hoping and planning), and maybe his back end will bulk up after that.
I defintely see lab/pointer. And cute dog btw! Actually, quite a few of the labs my parents had in the past were broad-chested dogs because it helped them swim, so it might not be pit at all.
I actually assisted a vet in a german shepherd hip surgery once, one of the most interesting things I've ever done. She told me she'd had football players who job shadowed her pass out on the floor from stuff like that, I just laughed, it was really informative.
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