I think I'm on the verge of adopting my first dog! She's a little lab
mix. Here she is:

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=2304026

Shelter rep just called (after over a week wait - I thought they had
forgotten!) and everything went well. She gave me a list of dogs to
choose from, and this is the one I am leaning towards. The shelter just
needs to do a home and vet check to firm everything up (shouldn't be a
problem...).

What d'ya think? The picture is very small, but she looks like a Lab or
Lab cross. To my untrained eye, she looks like a pure lab, but what do
I know (I hope she isn't, actually). Could the white on the chest mean
Lab x Dal or Lab x BC or Lab x Aussie?

Hopefully I'll get some better pictures soon. We are adopting her sight
unseen (she's fostering in VA, coming to NH).

asdf wrote in
a.net:

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=2304026
What d'ya think? The picture is very small, but she looks like a Lab or
Lab cross. To my untrained eye, she looks like a pure lab, but what do
I know (I hope she isn't, actually). Could the white on the chest mean
Lab x Dal or Lab x BC or Lab x Aussie?

The pic is too small and the pup too young for "guess my breed" game.
Purebred Labs can have sometimes even that much white, although they are
normally solid, but the pup looks kind of small for a purebred so it is
probably a cross. It can be any of the crosses you mention, and it could be
Lab x Spaniel, Lab x Beagle or Lab x Russell just as well. Or there doesn't
have to be any Lab at all.

Liisa

From: asdf

I think I'm on the verge of adopting my first dog! She's a little lab
mix. Here she is:

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=2304026
We are adopting her sight
unseen (she's fostering in VA, coming to NH).

I'm a little perplexed why you'd adopt a mixed breed puppy, sight unseen, from
a distance. Not that I have anything against adopting, or mixes, etc, but
surely there are MANY puppies in NH shelters who you could meet, find out if
their PERSONALITY meshes with your lifestyle, and judge a little more
critically, what they may be a mix OF.

I think breed or breed type is very important when choosing a dog that fits
your lifestyle. Little black puppies (and at 4 weeks, they're a little
nondescript) are most often labeled "lab mixes", when in fact, they may be just
about anything. The puppy's personality, more than anything, is the best gauge
of how well you and this pup will live together in the long run. I can't
imagine adopting on looks and unknown background alone.


Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

What d'ya think? The picture is very small, but she looks like a Lab or
Lab cross. To my untrained eye, she looks like a pure lab, but what do
I know (I hope she isn't, actually). Could the white on the chest mean
Lab x Dal or Lab x BC or Lab x Aussie?

Hopefully I'll get some better pictures soon. We are adopting her sight
unseen (she's fostering in VA, coming to NH).

My purebred Lab puppy had a chest spot that went from shoulder to shoulder
when he was born, which has slowly melted down into about a dozen hairs.
All his littermates had lots of white that eventually went away. So white
markings in a puppy (or adult!) aren't necessarily a sign of mixed blood.

But there really is no way to tell what a 4 week old puppy's breed is until
it grows a bit and you can see it move around and it's body as well.
Furthermore, a small 4 week old could be small because it's a smaller
breed--or it could be the runt, or it could be a member of a large litter,
or it's mother could not have been able to provide adequate nutrition.

But honestly, why ship her all that way? I'm sure your local shelter has
(or will have, the week after Christmas) plenty of black lab mix puppies.

--
Emily Carroll
Dealing 80s Toys - Rainbow Brite - My Little Pony - More
Fluttervale Labradors: www.geocities.com/diamonds_in_her_eyes/dogs/
CPG: www.geocities.com/cyberpetgame/
4-H Club: www.geocities.com/woofsandwiggles/


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I'm a little perplexed why you'd adopt a mixed breed puppy, sight unseen, from
a distance. Not that I have anything against adopting, or mixes, etc, but
surely there are MANY puppies in NH shelters who you could meet, find out if
their PERSONALITY meshes with your lifestyle, and judge a little more
critically, what they may be a mix OF.

I think breed or breed type is very important when choosing a dog that fits
your lifestyle. Little black puppies (and at 4 weeks, they're a little
nondescript) are most often labeled "lab mixes", when in fact, they may be just
about anything. The puppy's personality, more than anything, is the best gauge
of how well you and this pup will live together in the long run. I can't
imagine adopting on looks and unknown background alone.

Hi Janet. You make a good point about adopting a dog sight unseen. I,
too, would rather be able to meet and interact with the dog before
bringing it home. I am putting a lot of trust in the shelter rep here,
I realize (they do what little temperament testing they can and are
somewhat discriminating about which dogs they bring up). The shelter
rep has something like 80 dogs. Of these, she felt that six of them
would be a good match for us, so there is some consideration given
making good matches (there was a lengthy application and interview).

Then again, in the final analysis I WILL get to meet the dog before I
bring it home. I have no obligation. I will loose my $100.00 deposit
if I don't take the dog, which is an acceptable risk to me (not that I
think this is likely to happen). The rescue's contract indicates that
any dog that must be given up must be given back to the shelter. They
have a vested interest in making good matches, for what it's worth.

I don't know what it is like in other parts in the country, but here in
southern NH there truly is NOT a surplus of adoptable puppies (believe
it or not). There are several rescues in the area that try to fill the
shortage of adoptable local puppies by rescuing dogs from other parts of
the country, or even other countries (I was working with another shelter
that gets dogs from Anguilla and Puerto Rico) where the dogs would have
little chance of being adopted.

There is a demand for puppies in my area. If not for these rescues,
there would be many more puppies bought from mills and b.y. breeders
(and of course, EZ pay at the mall pet store).

In the interest of full disclosure, there are many adult dogs in need of
rescue in my area. So, yes, marketing these puppies in my area may
reduce the chances of many adult dogs getting adopted.

Anyway, that's the story. There is a larger picture of the dog from its
original shelter's petfinder listing (click on the picture and it blows
up) if anyone still wants to play 'guess the breed':

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=2299980

There is a larger picture of the dog from its
original shelter's petfinder listing (click on the picture and it blows
up) if anyone still wants to play 'guess the breed':

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=2299980


Now that I can see it a bit better, the pup appear to have a slightly pointy
face, indicating (to me anyway!) a MUCH pointier face as an adult than a lab
would have. Of course, she's cute (she's a puppy! ;-D). Glad you will meet
her and that there seems to be a good screening process on both ends.

I had looked into (but not visited) some southern NH shelters when I almost
moved there ~5 years ago. Didn't realize they didn't have a high volume of
puppies. My [purebred] youngest dog came from a breeder in NH.

The practice of importing puppies from PR and such is pretty controversial -
don't think I can go along with it being a good idea when so many here in the
states are in need.

BTW - my lab mixes that I've had/have have been great dogs, so I hope you're
happy with your litle one, no matter what she winds up being!

Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Purely empirical, I realize, but running a search on Petfinder for
'baby' dogs returns

12 listings in NH (I didn't look but I suspect some of these may be
imports, too, and that some really aren't babies at all (I think this is
sometime done on purpose around here, to generate interest in dogs
beyond puppy-hood) and......

There were 207 listings in KY.

I guess us up in 'Live Free or Die' NH do a (relatively) pretty good job
with are dogs, after all!

Furthermore, the rescuer tells me that of the four puppies in my puppy's
litter, only one had an adoption application in KY (and the adopter
never showed to pick here up!). She claims to have received something
like 100 applications through the NH listing.

So, this isn't science, but I do believe there is cause to be moving
dogs from region to region where supply and demands dictate it makes
sense to do so.

Regarding my puppy, she looks a little terrier to me, after seeing the
larger one.

Thanks!

-Joel







There is a larger picture of the dog from its
original shelter's petfinder listing (click on the picture and it blows
up) if anyone still wants to play 'guess the breed':

http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=2299980


Now that I can see it a bit better, the pup appear to have a slightly pointy
face, indicating (to me anyway!) a MUCH pointier face as an adult than a lab
would have. Of course, she's cute (she's a puppy! ;-D). Glad you will meet
her and that there seems to be a good screening process on both ends.

I had looked into (but not visited) some southern NH shelters when I almost
moved there ~5 years ago. Didn't realize they didn't have a high volume of
puppies. My [purebred] youngest dog came from a breeder in NH.

The practice of importing puppies from PR and such is pretty controversial -
don't think I can go along with it being a good idea when so many here in the
states are in need.

BTW - my lab mixes that I've had/have have been great dogs, so I hope you're
happy with your litle one, no matter what she winds up being!

Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

ASDF writes:

they do what little temperament
testing they can

"Temperament testing"
an underaged puppy is an
all but meaningless exercise.

JohnR
Pit Bull Libertarian

Never sneer at the power of a little
pink squeaky toy!

Yeah, the rescuer sort of said the same thing. Temperament testing were
my words, not the shelters. (she described things like checking there
pulse response when handled in certain ways, etc). She'll be 8+ weeks
when she comes to the local shelter this weekend (I'll get to meet her
then). I don't suppose there is any meaningful termperament indicators
in an 8 week old, either....?

"Temperament testing"
an underaged puppy is an
all but meaningless exercise.

JohnR
Pit Bull Libertarian