The Mystery of G

When we first got Gordie, he was described as an "Australian Cattle dog and Labrador mix."

Then we saw him and thought, um, no.  He might have some lab in him, but I don't see any Aussie Cattle dog.

Gordie had a few traits that helped us figure out one of the breeds that made up his genetics. 

Physically speaking, he had a blue/black spotted tongue, a curly tail, lots of extra neck skin, somewhat stilted back legs, and tiny little triangle ears that look a few sizes too small for his noggin.  Personality-wise, he was very dominant, protective and territorial.  This led us to diagnose him as part . . .

Chow Chow.

It's somewhat difficult to see in G, because he obviously lacks the fluffy coat and was bred with a larger dog that gave him the bulk of his frame.  But all of the above listed traits are strongly associated to chows, and our vet concurred.  However, whatever he was mixed with left us stumped.  We'd heard lots of suggestions: Labrador, Golden Retriever, Visla, Rhodesian Ridgeback, etc.  But none of those seemed to fit quite right.

We knew whatever he was mixed with had to be a larger dog with a longer snout, longer legs and longer frame since Gordie's size is larger than a chow.  He also has a very large chest, especially when compared to his tiny waist.  I guess that makes him the Barbie of the dog world.  He's also a very speedy dog and can outrun pretty much any playmate at the dog park.

Not a great photo above but I think it helps show his somewhat unusual frame.

Then this weekend I was watching Dogs 101 on Animal Planet.  They focused on one particular breed, and I saw Gordie immediately.  This breed had all those missing G pieces.  The longer snout, legs and larger frame.  The large chest.  Speed.  We believe the other breed that gives Gordie a good portion of his DNA is . . . .

A Greyhound.

While we can't be sure without a DNA test, I feel fairly confident in saying that Gordie is a Chow Chow/Greyhound mix.  Truthfully he may have a bunch of different breeds in him, since he is a mutt of unknown origin.  But for now I'm calling it case closed on the Mystery of G.