# Vet asked me what type of dog is Kira.. seriously?



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

A new vet opened across from my pet food store. They had a coupon for a "free" exam. The pet supplier said they were great, and they had no suprises.

I decide to do a "walk in", figuring they would take a look at Kira's dirty ear, and see if it looks OK.

They take my coupon, no fees...so far, so good.

The doctor greets us, and we go into a room.

Here's the conversation:

Dr.: Hi, I'm Dr. xxxx
Me: Nice to meet you
Dr: Who's this?
Me: This is Kira.
Dr.: Oh, Kira's beautiful!.. What kind of dog is she?  :crazy::shocked:
Me: (bewildered) Large chihuahua
Me: Just kidding.. GSD :halogsd:
Dr.: Is she really? I've never seen one like this. She's so small and fluffy
Me: Small and fluffy? That should scare the bad guys.

Me: (Using an iPhone app that makes it appear that I got a phone call), Dr. OH, I forgot I had to pick up my daughter. I have to leave immediately.. LOL


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## GusGus (Oct 24, 2012)

Woooooow. IMHO GSD's are one extremely recognizable breed..


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## kbella999 (Jan 6, 2012)

I had an employee from Petsmart tell me that my dog looked like a little border collie. I just smiled and walked away.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

PetSmart...same here. Not sure what breed she thought Jax was just that she had all this experience grooming GSD's and therefore, Jax was not one.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

LOL LOL LOL And people wonder why I always say NOT TO TAKE DOG FOOD ADVICE FROM VETS!!!

should have looked to see where the vet got his degree from...there are some schools in the Caribbean....not the best educations..... 


Lee


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Looks like a GSD to me. 

She is a little "small and fluffy", though.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Kira's beautiful. I wonder how big the vet thinks females are supposed to be?


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

OMG that is scary! .


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## FrankieC (Aug 15, 2012)

Anthony8858 said:


> Looks like a GSD to me.
> 
> She is a little "small and fluffy", though.


I don't know... looking quickly I definitely see poodle.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

It seems the majority of people (in the US anyway), some vets included apparently, have a warped perception of how large a dog a GSD is suppose to be. I get people all the time asking what kind of dog Jasmine is, or if they recognize that she is GSD they still ask if she is purebred or still a puppy .... she is almost 14 months old, slightly above breed standard for a female at around 70 pounds and roughly 24" at the withers. All too often I get disbelieving looks when I explain that she is mostly full grown and actually at the top and even slightly larger than what a female GSD should be by breed standard.

I guess there are just too many oversized GSD's out there and people expect them all to be 100+ pounds and 30" tall. It's kind of a shame really.


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## Greydusk (Mar 26, 2010)

Eh, this wouldn't bother me that much. I don't feel knowledge of dog breeds correlates with knowledge of internal medicine.


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## JanaeUlva (Feb 5, 2011)

Yep people get confused by Minka. Black and not oversized. Must be a mutt . . ,


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

OH NO! Not the dreaded Small Fluffy breed!!!!!


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## Questforfire (Apr 18, 2012)

It would surprise me that a vet wouldn't recognise a GSD. I have had people asking me whether my dark sable working line male is a Malinois  or Dutch Herder , but my vet knows exactly what breed my dogs are (without being told :laugh


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Why is everyone so outraged? The vet got the species right...so that's points in my book. Everything else past that is just extra credit.


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## TimberGSD2 (Nov 8, 2011)

martemchik said:


> Why is everyone so outraged? The vet got the species right...so that's points in my book. Everything else past that is just extra credit.


I just spit tea all over my computer. 

I have a shepherd with floppy ears so she couldn't possibly be full shepherd, and a sable with a curly tail! I can make up a breed for her. 

I work in a vet clinic, my vets are pretty good with breeds, but I don't discount them to much as long as they know medicine and anatomy.


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## Muskeg (Jun 15, 2012)

I see both sides of this. Almost everyone knows my GSD is a GSD. They do think she is small (24.5 at whithers and 70 lbs is small), but she is always ID'd as GSD. I mean, there is no question.

A vet really should recognize the most common breeds because there are genetically associated ailments with different breeds, especially shepherds, labs or collie types (among others... there are plenty more, eg. bulldogs). 

I don't care if people think my yellow husky (all sled dog) is a lab mix. He has floppy ears, is yellow, and I can understand it. I also don't care if my belgian malinois, who is long haired, is mis-ID'd. I can tell the vet what breed my dogs are, and don't expect them to guess with mixes or non-typical breeds.

But, Kira, like my GSD, really looks like the classic image of a German Shepherd. I would assume, if nothing else, that if the vet didn't know Kira's breed he can't have much experience with treating GSDs and that alone might be enough for me to look somewhere else. 

Breed-specific understanding isn't a neccesity, but it is helpful. I go to a vet who specializes in sled dogs with my husky, and if I could find one with expertise in working shepherds, I'd go there with my shepherds. I've found it does make a difference. Plus, then the vet really likes your dog...

And the comment about her being "small" and "fluffy" kind of threw me off as well.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

WOW. 

I know vets don't get a whole lot of training in recognizing dog breeds, but... WOW. Small and fluffy??

When you open the dictionary to "German Shepherd Dog", there is a picture of Kira. She has the most classic GSD appearance of any GSD I've ever seen. For anyone, but ESPECIALLY a vet, not to recognize her as such is alarming.

I'd find a different vet, one who has a bit more experience with GSDs.


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## JanaeUlva (Feb 5, 2011)

People on the street, I can understand them being thrown by a black, small but in standard female like Minka. However, when I took her to the vets once, the Vet Tech walked me to the exam room and asked me what breed she was. Huh? OK. So I said "German Shepherd." We got into the room and she got down on a knee petted her and said, "what a nice Shepherd cross she is!" I was dumbfounded. "Ummmm no, she is a German Shepherd from European working lines." Thinking to myself "ya got to be kidding me!"




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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

I , too, had two vets tell me they have never seen a GSD like Hans.
I wonder what the ones they had seen looked like?


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Clearly, she's a giant longhaired chihuahua. :laugh: Perfect lap-sized dog.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

On my phone, so I can't reply to all..,
But I just want to say that some of your replies are hilarious. 

FWIW, she's only 23" / 58 pounds of petiteness. 

In all fairness, ask me if I've ever seen a sable. Never heard of them, but they're stunning, and every bit a GSD. 


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## robk (Jun 16, 2011)

At least your dog has classic coloring. People think my dog is a coyote!


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

if a vet asked me what kind of dog Kira was, who as rob said, has classic coloring, I would have turned around and walked out


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

JakodaCD OA said:


> if a vet asked me what kind of dog Kira was, who as rob said, has classic coloring, I would have turned around and walked out


That's exactly what I did. 


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## katdog5911 (Sep 24, 2011)

I'm thinking long haired Dachshund. With maybe some wolf thrown in....
I will have to tell John he is breeding small fluffy dogs.....


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

I sincerely hope that that vet's parents didn't foot the bill for his 'higher education'!!  I'd have asked him who he paid to take his tests during university. :crazy: As others have said, I'd at LEAST expect a vet to know the more easily recognized breeds, and Kira looks 100% GSD to me!  Small and fluffy??? Really? You should have given him your address and invited him to come over about 2am. "Small and fluffy" will greet him at the door.


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

With Fiona still a puppy, I have gotten she is a coyote or a miniature GSD. My friend still teases me about the miniature remark. My breeder was ok with it, because she acts grown up even though she is a puppy.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Funny thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

Well I guess it could have been worse.... At least the vet knew it was a dog :laugh:


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I am pretty sure they don't have classes in recognizing dog breeds in vet school. So talking about their education is not really relevant. They would learn about breed specific ailments perhaps but not in depth about recognizing how the breeds may look. Unless they specialize in that breed I wouldn't discount them completely for not recognizing it. My previous vet clinic had my Golden Retriever listed in the system as either a Golden mix or Golden/Setter cross until I made them fix it finally (she was a field type red Golden so everyone thought she was an Irish Setter).
I think vets and the public tend to see a lot of poorly bred examples of the breed, people always said Bianca was small (26" 70 lbs) and my Golden who was a female but at the top height of the standard for males, was always called small (she was within the weight range for females though becaus she had a slighter build being a field type not show type.)
So most people are probably used to seeing oversized dogs with poor pigment.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Chicagocanine said:


> I think vets and the public tend to see a lot of poorly bred examples of the breed...
> ...So most people are probably used to seeing oversized dogs with poor pigment.


True, and that is fine for most people in the general public, but a doctor of veterinary medicine should be able to indentify the different breeds, especially when given a classic example. There is no excuse for a vet not to know a common breed, I knew all the AKC breeds (and more) by the time I was 12 years old! 

To me, such blatant ignorance would indicate that the vet in question has no particular interest in dogs, and never bothered to learn anything about them other than what was taught in class. I wouldn't take any animal to that vet.


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

So besides the mishap about the breed,how was he as a doctor? 




Anthony8858 said:


> Here's the conversation:
> 
> Dr.: Hi, I'm Dr. xxxx
> Me: Nice to meet you
> ...


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

At least he didn't pretend to "know it all", which is nice for a doc. Walking out of this new clinic seems a little too harsh to me. Would have been interesting to find out why he didn't see a GSD in her. WD is a sable and many people think he is a wolf hybrid or husky mix. There are so many types but I agree that he should have known. She looks all GSD to me, maybe with a little Pappilon down the pedigree line


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

wolfy dog said:


> At least he didn't pretend to "know it all", which is nice for a doc. Walking out of this new clinic seems a little too harsh to me. Would have been interesting to find out why he didn't see a GSD in her. WD is a sable and many people think he is a wolf hybrid or husky mix. There are so many types but I agree that he should have known. She looks all GSD to me, maybe with a little Pappilon down the pedigree line


It was all about her size, and the slightly longer coat. As I mentioned in an earlier thread, her coat looks amazing right now. It's extremely shiny, thick, and a bit longer than what I see around here. OTOH, feature- wise, she's clearly a GSD, albeit smaller than what he's used to seeing.
In fairness, I haven't seen another like Kira in my neighborhood either. Nor have I seen a sable. I see 125 lb black / red imports, and American line GSD's. A 58 pound black and red with longer fur, could easily be mistaken for a different type of GSD breed.

I just didn't like him. I thought he was arrogant too.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Wow. Kira is a stunning GSD. I'm not surprised you turned and beat it out of there. I would've too. 

Small? My Sage, who is an American show line with several championship points, is just 55 pounds. I don't think she's small at all.


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## SS-GSD (Dec 10, 2012)

Overall I wouldn't be upset by someone asking me what breed my dog is, even if it's obvious. It's the "small and fluffy" comment that'd bug me a bit but at least he didn't try to argue that your dog ISN'T a German Shepherd. When guessing breeds, some people are scared to offend a new client if they're "wrong". I myself have given up guessing breeds even if they look purebred because some people can be so defensive!

I worked in a kennel a couple years back and we had a client who owned a dog that looked like this:










Just with a slightly longer coat. I made a comment about him being a handsome German Shepherd and the guy snapped at me that his dog is a BELGIAN Shepherd and that if I work with animals I should know better. (That he adopted of course so not like he had papers to prove it even if it was a really weird, German looking Beligan Shepherd. ) I just smiled, apologized for "my mistake" and then rolled my eyes when he walked away. Sometimes that's all you can do is bite your tongue.

I get a lot of comments about my sable not being purebred or people asking what she even is. She's Czech/West German working lines and is mostly just a sable color all over with the exception of her feet up to her wrist and her hocks being tan with a lot of tarheel and penciling on them. Not to mention the "Why doesn't her back slope? A German Shepherd is only purebred if its back slopes, that's why they have such bad hips!". :crazy: Oh I've also gotten "Is that a Dutch Shepherd?" or "Is that one of those Mali-thingies?" a couple times. Lol!!


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Kira is clearly a Pekingese/Cane Corso mix.
The vet was right to ask. Your breeder duped you.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Anthony8858 said:


> I see 125 lb black / red imports, and American line GSD's. A 58 pound black and red with longer fur, could easily be mistaken for a different type of GSD breed.


A "different type of GSD breed"? Either it's a GSD or it isn't, and Kira should not "easily be mistaken" for anything else. I don't care what kind of dogs roam the local neighborhood--a doctor of veterinary medicine should be able to recognize at least the most common breeds when they're right under his nose!

Now, if you have a rare or relatively new breed, then I could understand if the vet doesn't recognize it, but I would expect the vet to do a bit of reading and research into a breed he's not familiar with. Certain breeds are prone to certain diseases and maladies, so it's medically relevant.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

ooohhhh beautiful picture (and dog)!


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Freestep said:


> A "different type of GSD breed"? Either it's a GSD or it isn't, and Kira should not "easily be mistaken" for anything else. I don't care what kind of dogs roam the local neighborhood--a doctor of veterinary medicine should be able to recognize at least the most common breeds when they're right under his nose!
> 
> Now, if you have a rare or relatively new breed, then I could understand if the vet doesn't recognize it, but I would expect the vet to do a bit of reading and research into a breed he's not familiar with. Certain breeds are prone to certain diseases and maladies, so it's medically relevant.


Yeah.. I knew I used the wrong choice of words.

But I also agree 100%. I don't think she looks any different that any other full pedigree GSD, and honestly was offended, but didn't want to say it.
I admit it, I was taken back by his comment, and his half hearted joke abut her rather small frame for a GSD.

As far as my comment about a different breed...I meant it in a sense that she's a "type" of GSD, not seen too often around here.

Here's some more "fluffiness".. LOL


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## SueDoNimm (Jul 3, 2012)

She is very fluffy! And beautiful. 

Is her coat a stock coat, or is there another name for a coat that's fluffy, but not as long as a long coat? 


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

SueDoNimm said:


> She is very fluffy! And beautiful.
> 
> Is her coat a stock coat, or is there another name for a coat that's fluffy, but not as long as a long coat?
> 
> ...


Unofficially, they call that a plush coat.


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

Wow. The whole thing is quite bizarre. 


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Angelina03 said:


> Wow. The whole thing is quite bizarre.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


I'm not surprised....
Seems to be the story of my life. 


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## nokiaa35 (Dec 14, 2012)

aaa looks definately like a GSD when she's laying,but legs looks little bit short :crazy:... But you know there's a lot GSD mix which looks like huskys,rotts or other breeds,but they still call them a gsd :rolleyes2:...Its sad... you fearlessly can call her a GSD


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

my issue is always when I put exactly what breed i have on the paperwork and i get the paperwork back and the birthday for the dog is wrong AND the breed is something like collie mix when i clearly put specifics on there. I also expect my vet to have a clue about the more common breeds for health reasons.


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