Breed labeling in shelters....

FWIW, I actually agree with the "Pitty" Catahoula.  The pup is clearly a mix and I suspect that the mix is Pit/Catahoula.  Now, if they'd only own up to that...[8|]  The REST of the bunch, OTOH--[:'(].  My boys can tell what these dogs aren't--you'd think that adults could too!

Erm.... Somebody has some issues.

I know a good donation for the shelter, though. A breed encyclopedia!

Wow, where do they come up with some of that?  I feel bad since they must be overstressed and maybe don't have time to correctly label each dog? Really its in the best interest of the dog to be honest about their breed(s)! 

Those are so far off it's not even funny....[>:] I really don't know how they could say that unless they have no idea at all. IMO, it must be that they're calling a lot of them Catahoulas because it sounds like an exotic, rare breed (and they are rare), and they want people to be interested in it. I've got a story about that too. Our family once got a dog from an animal shelter, and I don't remember very good because it was when I was a kid, but they said the dog was a Lab mix, we got it when it was a puppy. However, when the dog got older, it was quite clear that it was mostly a pit bull type (and I hate to use the 'pit bull' so generally, but I really don't know which kind it was), and probably didn't have any Lab at all! This was probably a good thing, however, because this shelter didn't adopt out pit bulls, they were all euthanized [>:] She was, quite frankly, dumb as rocks, and ended up developing a crippling problem. Anyway, I was pretty disapointed about that because I had wanted a big dog, etc. I guess we just didn't know any better then to be able to identify the breed. 

Of course it is always a better idea to give people information that is as accurate as possible.  But in the current BSL climate, when the bully breeds have such a bad rap, I can see another side to this.  If they label a pittie mix as something else, might that not give the dog a chance at a better life?  It means a new owner could adopt him and insist that he was a "lab mix" or a "Catahoula mix" (because that's what the shelter said, and most people just accept that) and avoid the stigma -- and the possibility of having to euthanize the dog for a stupid reason.   I just think a mutt that's called a lab mix is likely to have an easier life than a mutt that's called a "pit bull" mix.  It's sad, it's pathetic, but it's true.  So I guess I can cut the shelters a little slack on that.   

But in the current BSL climate, when the bully breeds have such a bad rap, I can see another side to this.  If they label a pittie mix as something else, might that not give the dog a chance at a better life?  It means a new owner could adopt him and insist that he was a "lab mix" or a "Catahoula mix" (because that's what the shelter said, and most people just accept that) and avoid the stigma

What makes you think that pit owners would be exempt from BSL because some moron at animal control said their dog was something it isn't? I think it's much more likely to backfire, with lots of "catahoulas" getting lots of tickets.

While this points to the idiocy of BSL, it's not a good way to fight it. It puts the dog owner in a position of not being able to make an informed choice.

The other problem with claiming that the dog is something else is that the dog is *not* something else. In order to be responsible representatives of the breed, pit owners must be educated and understand their breed's tendency toward interdog aggression. If you know you have a dog that has a real potential to decide not to like other dogs, then you can watch for aggressive behavior, train your dog to ignore other dogs, and avoid really stimulating environments like enclosed dog runs. No problem--pits are fantastic pets!

But people who don't know that their dog has this potential will be so surprised when they find themselves breaking up that first really scary dogfight--why do that to people?

Some shelter employees, though angelic for doing what they do, are not always good at identifying breeds or mixes. Our local shelter once had a beautiful female dog that was simply described as a mix. I told one of the employees that part of that "mix" was Siberian Husky. He said, "But the fur doesn't quite seem right." I said, "Trust me, Siberian Husky mix, probably with some kind of hound."
 
Here's my Catahoula mix.

Dilly was labled as a Boxer Rhodesian mix as is Elsa. Both are Southern Black Mouth Curs.
Our local shelter mis ID's them sometimes on purpose because if they put their true breed down, they would have to euthanize the dog and not allow it to be adopted or pulled from a rescue.
I am thankful sometimes when they mis identify a breed especially when it comes to SBMC's or BMC's and Pitty's. Which means I pull them quickly and get them to safety.

I love the "Catahoula" mixes we get up here in the DC area.  I think there must be one incredibly potent Catahoula that gets around and has never been caught by the ACOs.

I've found that shelters tend to mislable based on the breeds they see the most of--either everything is a mix of that breed (at my shetler it's "pit mix" because we do have a ton of its, but there's some that I see that I'm like, you have got to be kidding!) or if something is clearly and undeniably not one of those breeds, they just have no clue and start guessing kind of randomly.  The pound we got Conrad from was chock to the rafters with labs, and he's clearly not a lab so they had him labeled as Shar Pei mix!

I know what you mean by the Catahoula thing. I see Catahoulas on Petfinder that are OBVIOUS heeler or aussie mixes. Any dog that has blue eyes or a merled coat seems to get labeled a Catahoula even if it has obvious Heeler characteristics like upright ears or a double coat. I'm not even sure how they got Catahoula mix from any of those Petfinder dogs. Usually they only put that label on spotted or blue-eyed dogs. And don't even get me started on people who can't tell the difference between a merle coat and a ticked or spotted coat.

I DO have a Catahoula, and when I spotted her pic at the local shelter they were calling her a Silver German Shorthair. Huh? There is no such thing! Shorthairs are ticked, Lucy is merled. My sister who works at a vet clinic ID'd her as a Catahoula. She fits all the descriptions: merled coat, blues eyes (small crack), webbed feet, drop ears, short single coat and fits the size guidelines for her breed. But I still have people ask me if she's a heelerX. [:@]

I was shocked that Odin was actually correctly labeled as a Norwegian Elkhound at the shelter. Not too many people know what an elkhound is. I'm not sure if they knew he is purebred, because I think they probably would've charged more for him if they had known.
 
I'm sure it's hard for shelter staff to label dogs. I'd be torn when it came to labeling a pit correctly. You can adopt a lab mix much more quickly, but then you risk people not being educated about the breed they're adopting.

I saw one on there yester day that said chihuahua/shepard mix???[8|] No pic though.http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=6805098

On a side note, a couple years ago, Joey had Santa pictures taken for a shelter fundraiser. Who ever labeled my pictures labeled Joey as a yorky. Uh Huh, a 20lb yorky with a curly tail, and brindle coloring. Not that this was the shelters fault. Who knows who labeled the pictures.

Our local shelter mis ID's them sometimes on purpose because if they put their true breed down, they would have to euthanize the dog and not allow it to be adopted or pulled from a rescue.

There's BSL for Curs? Geez, I've never even (knowingly) seen one.... Are they common in your area?