# Dog Experts, What Breed is my Dog?



## DjPrototype (Jan 28, 2010)

Good Day;

I just joined this forum in order to gain knowledge of my small puppy which I recieved recently. I've had a dog before but it was when I was very young and it was grown at the time of my earliest memory.

I have bought books and read articles about puppy and dogs in general; I was given this dog by a friend of my older brother which couldn't afford to take care of him. I recieved him and at the time of 2 months, he was small and skinny. He's a tad bit grown and these pictures are recent (January 25th, 2010)

We have tried to guess the breed and I came to the conclusion of him being a Labrador mixed with a pitbull. He has the face of a labrador yet his tiger stripe coat is something that I have heard from people are exclusive to the pitbull breed. He has a very strong grip with his teeth (I noticed because of friendly little fights we have had with his chew toy). Anyone care to enlighten me?



























According to Florida law, I cannot give him a vaccine nor license him until he's 4 months old. I'm waiting until February 10th. He's a 3 month old male and he does not have blue eyes, it was a settting in my camera called Soft Flash that I used to take pictures. I named him Achilles if anyone was wondering


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## DjPrototype (Jan 28, 2010)

Here are some more pictures


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## Deron_dog (Feb 21, 2009)

I'd say yeah Lab/Pitt or Lab/Boxer but I definitly see Lab in there.


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## jcd (Nov 20, 2007)

I would guess mostly pit. They are similar looking to lab pups at that age in the face epecially. I wouldn't be surprised if he were all pitty but its to early yet to say. He will change alot in the coming months and then you will know( Maybe!)


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## StarfishSaving (Nov 7, 2008)

I'd guess lab/pit as well, maybe something else thrown in. Those ears look very lab to me. I think he's going to be a GORGEOUS dog when he's grown


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## DjPrototype (Jan 28, 2010)

Deron, Jcd and Starfish;

Thank you very much for the input. He's definitely a healthy dog and it's nice to have a companion. I came to the conclusion that it might be Lab/Boxer. I recently went to a vet and she concluded the same. It's great too because my area of Miami-Dade doesn't allow Pitbulls.

Here are some recent pictures if anyone wants to chime in


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## DjPrototype (Jan 28, 2010)




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## jcd (Nov 20, 2007)

I still say pittie. I don't seee boxer at all. The brindle can come from pittie or boxer of course but he has pittie characteristics more than lab or boxer IMO. But i would call him whatever you need to to keep him. He is adorable!!!


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## jcd (Nov 20, 2007)

icemannn said:


> I have heard from people are exclusive to the pitbull dogs.
> All the best my frends


What?...............


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## StarfishSaving (Nov 7, 2008)

jcd said:


> What?...............


Ignore that. 

I don't see boxer either and still think pit is way more likely/prominent there, but if it means keeping him safe I'd say do what you've got to do. And do your best to make sure he never, ever ends up in a shelter because no matter what your vet calls him and no matter if he really is a boxer mix, if he gets to a shelter and they want to call him a pit bull, he's at their mercy


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## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

I say pittie too and I'm not partial to pitties, I own a beagle. Unfortunately when he gets older he's still going to be brindle and look like a pit bull so if you they don't allow pits you might want to consider moving or rehoming him since that's much better than what would happen otherwise. If he was a boxer mix he'd have a shorter muzzle but instead he has a Pit Bull face. There was a woman in Miami Dade that got her AKC reg. Lab taken away by AC because they thought he was a Pit Bull, of course she got him back later. A lot of brindle/blocky dogs are mistaken for Pits.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

i actually dont see much in the way of pit bull. his fur is too long, he lacks the characteristic forehead wrinkles, the ears are too big amongst other things.

this is a retriever x plott hound puppy.


which...living in florida isnt unlikely even though plotts are a rare breed. florida has a number of boar hunters who use crosses like this.


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## StarfishSaving (Nov 7, 2008)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> i actually dont see much in the way of pit bull. his fur is too long, he lacks the characteristic forehead wrinkles, the ears are too big amongst other things.
> 
> this is a retriever x plott hound puppy.
> 
> ...


You say his fur is too long to be a pit bull/retriever mix, but then suggest that he might be a plott/retriever mix, but plott hounds don't have "fuzzy" fur either... but his coat seems consistent with that of a lab to me. So do the ears (very much so, IMO.) Since he's not a purebred, he is not likely to have every trait of one breed or another.

Do you know for sure that dog is a plott mix? He doesn't resemble one very well and when I found him on Google (easy with a "plott hound lab mix" search) it says he is a shelter puppy... so it's possible his lineage is just as unknown as Achilles'. Sorry, I'm not trying to be argumentative, just rational.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

i know my pits. i dont think thats a pit bull. was just offering another possibility. of course theres no way to be certain.


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## SupaSweet777 (Aug 22, 2009)

I know my pits too but when you mix in another breed you never know what breed it is going to favor. Labs don't have short hair like pits so there is a good chance his longer hair can come from the lab side. Labs have larger ears and don't have wrinkley foreheads. So there is still a very good chance he is lab/pit mix which considering the large amount of pits out there I don't doubt it at all.


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

> According to Florida law, I cannot give him a vaccine nor license him until he's 4 months old. I'm waiting until February 10th.


Um... I am very unaware of that law you might want to recheck that because I'm pretty darn sure you are incorrect on that. Maybe the License him but not for vaccinations. He should have 2 sets of shots already (never had a puppy so Not sure when they are all given, but I know at least 2). 

The "Tiger stripes" as you call them are actually called Brindle markings, and No it is not just found in Pit Bulls. Many many different breeds come in brindle markings.

I have to agree with Zim, not so sure about the Pit Bull in him. He is missing the wrinkled forehead that Pit Bulls have (and I've yet to see a mix that didn't have the cute wrinkled forehead). Labs have many of the same physical traits as Pit Bulls do. Very round heads, strong jaw lines... Badly bred Labs are mistaken for Pit Bulls quite often, and many Lab mixes are mistaken for Pit Bulls when there isn't Pit Bull in them at all. 

As for Boxer, no... He doesn't have the jowls. Id go for Pit over Boxer if I had to go for one or the other. 

Lab yes, what else I say it's still too early to tell. Wait another 2 months or so and you'll be able to guess even more.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

i do. he doesnt look lab to me either. and as far as knowing pits..im not really a casual pit person. not by a long shot. he's too young to say with utter certainty that he is not pit but i doubt it. the body is wrong, the head is wrong, the stop is wrong, the proportions are wrong, the coat is wrong, the ears shape is fine but the size is wrong. there's no furrow in the head..i could go on..

and you do know there is brindle in labs...its a mismark but it does happen.

course he could be pit. im not dismissing the possibility. i just dont see it.


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## jcd (Nov 20, 2007)

I see tons of pit mixes that look exactly like this dog. When a pit is mixed i find that alot of typical characteristics aren't present as they nwould be in a purebred. Labs do take on a very similar look at that age for sure but there is always just nsomething different between the 2. I say no boxer, most likely some pit and or lab mix.

Here is another pit mix that i am sure can also be argued differently but there are 100's just like this one that are pit mixes and don't have the standard pit charateristics.


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## Robrowe (Jan 25, 2010)

I think time will give you a better perspective as to what breed/breeds he has in him. In the mean time he is a cute puppy, take care of him and get him to the vet and vaccinated. The Florida law does not state you have to wait until they are 4 months of age. Instead it reads that all dogs and cats older than 4 months must be vaccinated against rabies and licensed. They should already have their distemper, parvo etc shots administered with the first set beginning at 6 weeks of age. Most vets will recommend the rabies vaccine with the last set of puppy shots at 4 months.


Excerpt from broward county ordinance below.

Rabies Vaccination for Cats and Dogs: Section 4-10 

ALL cats and dogs four months and older must be vaccinated against rabies every year by a licensed veterinarian (or every three years if a three-year rabies vaccination was given). The law provides exceptions when:

The cat or dog has been vaccinated against rabies within the past 12 months by a licensed veterinarian

A licensed veterinarian certifies in writing that a vaccination would be harmful to the pet’s health. If so, the pet must be vaccinated against rabies as soon as its health permits.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

JCD the second dog you posted DOES have pit characteristics. the OP's dog has none. course he's a puppy. the op should come back with pics of him when he's older.

eta:

just wanted to note that i am looking at bone structure. there are certain pit traits that from everything ive seen tend to dominate when you have pit mixes. traits like shoulder set, skull shape, set of the neck etc.


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## SupaSweet777 (Aug 22, 2009)

Those pics don't look too far off from my poorly bred pit I had.


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## jcd (Nov 20, 2007)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> JCD the second dog you posted DOES have pit characteristics. the OP's dog has none. course he's a puppy. the op should come back with pics of him when he's older.
> 
> eta:
> 
> just wanted to note that i am looking at bone structure. there are certain pit traits that from everything ive seen tend to dominate when you have pit mixes. traits like shoulder set, skull shape, set of the neck etc.


You may be correct Zim. I just am guessing of course from my experience looking at thousands of pictures when i got Bello because i went through and still go through the same questioning about Bello so i have become kind of an obsessed picture lookerater. if thats a word! LOL. anyway i stick with my guess of pit/lab or pit. I guess time will tell us!! Can't wait!!


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

ive been studying the APBT with the goal of becoming a breeder for the past few years. i *have to* know all the minute tiny details in order to be a good breeder lol.


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## pugmom (Sep 10, 2008)

I have to agree...just based on the cute pictures and the area of the op....pit/lab seem very likely..though I think it its possible nether the dam/sire was full bread anything which could account for confusion...we could be talking a mix of a mix

something about the top of the skull and the eye set reminds me very much of my girl Isis as a puppy


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

If your area bans pits and pit mixes then HE IS NOT A PIT MIX!!! Got it?
He could easily be a lab/plott hound mix and when you are asked what breed he is when you register him, if you say "mix" than fill out what both halves of the mix could be, don't let anyone fill in the blanks on a "lab mix" with "pit"

Honestly though, I don't see pit. Other than brindle which, as has been stated above, other dogs have.

Oh, and get him his puppy shots!


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