Guess the Breed!

Think you know dog breeds?

Sure, you know the difference between a Norwich Terrier and a Norfolk Terrier (or not*), and you understand that a French Bulldog is not just a funny-colored Boston Terrier, but how about the less common breeds?

Now, I’m not one to throw stones, because this learned dog trainer gets stumped by breeds all the time. It’s just that there are so many types of dogs out there, with new ones being introduced all the time. (“Puggle” or “Morkie”, anyone?) I have a breed book from the UK and it lists dogs that sound 100% made-up. A few of the notable ones:

· Caucasian Shepherd Dog · Transylvanian Hound · Hollandse Smoushond · Czechoslovakian Wolfdog · Reindeer Herder · Billy (love that one – maybe I’ll develop a new breed and call it “Frank”)

Occasionally I’ll get a call from a potential client and they’ll ask me, “Have you ever worked with Smooth Coat Bavarian Pheasant Retriever before?”

Um, is that even a real breed?

I always tell the “Have you ever worked with X” clients that I’m at the mercy of region – I train what people in our area own, and around here the Labrador reigns supreme, followed closely by mixed breed dogs. Happily, I do get to work with some less-common breeds every now and then … I’ve trained a few Polish Lowland Sheepdogs, a Jindo or two, and one perfect-in-every-way Clumber Spaniel.

And now I can add these guys to the list. Do you know what they are?

They were 6 months old at the time of these photos, they’re very easy to train, and they have an unfortunate legacy … ladies and gentlemen, start the guessing.

* A quick way to tell the difference: Norwich Terriers have ears that point up like a witch hat, Norfolk Terriers have folded-down ears.