Lemon Beagle?

To me he does not look pure beagle, there is definitely something else in him, his face just does not look beagle like, and he looks quite tall for a pure beagle, but that is just my own opinion.

He has a bit of wirey hair on his back and face, and has a manchu beard that I haven't seen on many other dogs out there. His skin on his belly is spotted pink and black. We always joke around that we can shave him and pass him off as a pig! He does not like going in the water at all, when other dogs are in the water playing he just stands at the waters edge and waits for them to come back to shore. We can't even bribe him to go in!

Spotty skin, hates water! sounds just like one of my dogs but he is a total opposite in breed type though as we have had him DNA tested and he is a pyrenean mountain dog x irish water spaniel x brittany spaniel, half pyrnean half spaniel in simple terms

Also after having anoth look at your photos his fur is way to long to be pure beagle, beagle'shave quite short hair and he has long ish hair that is quite thick and fluffy

Well, the fur isn't necessarily thick, but it seems as if there are 2 different lengths of hair on him all over - on top is a coarse and longer wirey hair, much like a Terriers, but under is a short and straight coat closest to the skin.

I love spaniels, they are so sweet

I only say that it's not thick because in person you can see his pink skin right through his coat - but then again, that might be because he is a white dog?

He has no characteristics of a spaniel at all, or even attitude he is very lazy.

I would suggest you get him DNA tested if you wanted a definite answer, otherwise it is just a guessing game

Yeah I was hoping it would be easier (and cheaper) that that! I also want to find out what he is so I can get more of the same breed - or find his siblings. My husband is worried that I would turn into the crazy cat lady...but with dogs!

Crazy dog lady is acceptable, if you own a dog you have to be crazy all this walking in ALL weather no matter what, very labour intensive, expensive to keep, make a mess, makes you do housework, its crazy that we buy these dogs to get nothing except shed fur, slobber and pester to go for walks even though its raining cats and dogs ;)

Welcome to the forum. He doesn't look very much like a Beagle to me.  He's very cute whatever mix he might be.  

I hope you can keep your nephew from treating him so roughly.  Just because a dog tolerates something doesn't mean at some point the dog won't decide he's had enough and correct the child with a bite.  Teaching children how to interact with dogs may save them from a serious bite someday.  Your nephew may come to believe that all dogs are as tolerant as yours is now and that isn't the case with all dogs.

Most dog bites are to children and it's usually children in the family.  The most common response by the adults is that the dog never seemed to mind or that the dog bit without warning.  Dogs almost always warn us but we don't always recognize their body language.  Here's a link to some info you might want to share with your nephew's parents.

drsophiayin.com/.../kids-and-dogs-how-kids-should-and-should-not-interact-with-dogs

Oh no no, I guess it sounds terrible when I say he pulls his ears and pokes him, but he's a really good kid and does understand the importance of being careful with dogs in general.  He never pulls hard or pokes hard and I wouldn't say that he is rough at all. He will go to Lee and say "I love you" then put his arms around him and give him a big hug - my last dog would not stand for even that, but Lee will nuzzle up to him and start wagging his tail whenever he hugs him. He seems fascinated with Lee's floppy ears and likes to lift them up and see what is underneath. We always tell him that he has to be very gentle with Lee because he cannot talk and tell him if he is upset. Actually, I was playing tug of war with Lee last week and Lee was play-growling. Not loud but just a little, like he always does. and my nephew started crying. I stopped playing and asked him what was wrong, and he said to me "Antie, you are being too rough with Lee and he is telling you to stop." then he went to Lee and petted him very gently and said "you okay Lee?" It was really sweet!

I really like the infographic/image on that link - a good thing to have posted at a day care!

I'm glad your nephew knows how to be gentle with Lee.  I'm sorry if I misunderstood what you meant by being rough.

Putting that poster up at a daycare is a great idea!  

No worries at all! I fully and completely agree with you, and I am glad that you jumped at the opportunity to share the concern. It is a huge risk mixing kids with dogs if the owner and parent both have not taken the proper precautions. my last dog was extremely aggressive and now matter how I had trained her, I still would not take the risk as a dog owner with any kids. Dogs can become unpredictable in those situations, just like kids can too. My nephew knows he can get away with more with Lee's tolerance, but proper behaviour around other dogs will be a crucial lesson for him to have to learn.