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

[Chicagocanine]

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.

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by Chicagocanine

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.

[Gharrissc]

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

Originally Posted by Anthony8858

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?

[wolfy dog]

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

[Anthony8858]

Originally Posted by wolfy dog

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]

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.

[SS-GSD]

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!". Oh I've also gotten "Is that a Dutch Shepherd?" or "Is that one of those Mali-thingies?" a couple times. Lol!!

[Sunflowers]

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

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by Anthony8858

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.

[katieliz]

ooohhhh beautiful picture (and dog)!