Saturday, May 31, 2008

What Have We Gotten Into?

Once upon a time, we wandered into a pet shop and bought this adorable little puppy. She looked to be a feminine little dog with lots of little hearts all over her. "Twenty pounds at the most" we were told. She was so tiny.

But now looking back, I wonder if we had listened close enough if we would have heard the snickers behind our backs.



But Victoria was a good choice because Muncie-the-alpha-dog loved her as well and accepted her into the pack. Probably because Muncie was so much bigger and Victoria was so tiny, Muncie knew she could easily put this pee-wee in it's place if need be....

Look how nice Muncie is to Victoria....can't you just hear her saying "Be careful, honey...that last step is a doosy".....


But 3 months have passed, and now look who is towering over whom. Muncie still rules, but only because no one has told Victoria that she could probably take Muncie with one paw tied behind her back.



Did they really say tiny?

Tiny my foot! This is NOT a tiny dog!

Look how long that thing is!



Despite her staggering growth rate, she has proven herself to be a smart dog. She doesn't tangle with Muncie. BUT, she does hold her own in the battlefield with the others.

Her weapon of choice (when she can get it out the dog door).....

A toy sword.



There it goes! SUCCESS!

here she comes....



I wonder who won the battle?



Did I mention that this dog seems to be extremely strong? She can drag a 10 year old as easily as she could drag Muncie (but we won't encourage that sport).



The other thing about this "small dog, half Australian Shepherd, half Blue Tick Hound" is that she has webbed feet. OK. I don't know ALOT about dogs. But I do know enough to know that neither Australian Shepherds nor Blue Ticks have webbed feet.

Those are webs between those toes, aren't they? Isn't that what webbed dog feet look like?


So, if we base her breed on the webbed feet characteristic, these are the possibilities according to Wikipedia: Akita, Brussels Griffon, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Chinook, Field Spaniel, German Shorthaired Pointer, German Wirehaired Pointer, Irish Water Spaniel, Labrador Retriever, Leonberger, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Otterhound, Plott Hound, Portuguese Water Dog, Redbone Coonhound, Spanish Water Dog, Weimaraner, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon.

One breed they don't mention is a Catahoula Leopard Dog. This is Sophie's conclusion on Victoria's true identity. Especially since she has one blue eye and one brown which is a common trait for a Catahoula.

Did you know that there are Genetic Tests Available to Detect Your Mutt's Composition
through DNA samples?
But, are we really that curious? It wouldn't make a difference what type of dog she is, you know. No matter how big she gets, we will keep her - we're a loyal bunch after all. Still, it would be kind of nice to know what we've gotten ourselves into, don't you think? But then again, maybe a surprise is better. Doggy pot luck. Keeps life exciting that way.

We'll take the good with the bad and love her just the same....just like we do with all people.


10 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I have read about those DNA tests. Too much money. Who really cares??

Ilove the pitures of Victoria and Muncie. I know no dog will take over Muncie's place. Daschunds are such tenacious dogs no matter their size is small.

Laurie and company said...

daaaang, she has gotten so big!

I'm with Lisa at Greenbow...DNA tests are too expensive and you know you will keep her whatever you find out...so save your money and buy....more books.

Love ya,

LY

Jodi said...

Ooooh! She's beautiful! And I can't believe how big she's gotten! I love the sword pictures. It looks like you may have taken her to see Prince Caspian. I'll bet that she is one of those talking animals. :)

Beth from the Funny Farm said...

I hadn't been able to see the "blue tick" in her until I saw that recent picture of her all stretched out. THAT looks like Blue Tick body! Those dogs can get BIG!

(20 pounds... TEEHHHEEEHHHEEE! Try 50!)

Carol Michel said...

I know nothing about dogs, but she looks sort of like a calico cat with all those spots. Maybe she is part duck, with those webbed feet. We will never know!

Anonymous said...

wow, she has gotten big! You can tell the puppies love you as much as you love them!

dex said...

Haha! I'm glad you figured it out. Blue Tick Hound indeed, lol. I was reading the post and practically screaming CATAHOULA! We have a 10 week old catahoula puppy, a rescue. The rescuer told us she was an "australian shepherd/lab mix" Well she has a medium coat, black and grey merle pattern and paws which are webbed to the ends of her toes! Catahoulas just aren't as well known as they should be. Congrats on having a wonderful breed of dog. Also, forget 20 lbs, try 60+. LOL The pet store probably just had no idea

Alyssa said...

CATAHOULA are webbed to the tip of the feet i have just discovered our border collie pup has webbed feet and a CATAHOULA must have got into her mother. These dogs here in Deni NSW fetch around $150-$500 a pup. I am glad i got mine for free she is beautiful and kind in nature. CATAHOULA originate from Louisiana used for pig hunting, herd cattle up. If you dont walk them everyday they will eventually eat your house! The webbed feet were used for swamp areas and allows them to swim better

Ann said...

Bluetick coonhounds do have webbed feet...gives an advantage at multi breed coonhound trials in water portion. Our boy was more toward the old fashioned bluetick type and had webbed feet and was 75-80 pounds. We kept him lean as he was a rescue, and survived severe heart worm case so extra pudge was not good for his heart.

Anonymous said...

We have a Catahoula pup who also has webbed feet. This is common since they are a breed from Louisanna working in swampy, marshy areas. My guess is that it's one of these. Good pups.