Monday, November 22, 2010

The "What is your dog crossed with?" question

Or "what kind of dog is he/she?"


[Taken from Wilson's twitter]

Because Wilson is a long haired dachshund I seem to get this question a lot. They all think he is cute and they sometimes know that he must have dachshund in him but because of the long fur they are thrown off. Which is completely ok, I know I do it a lot with other breeds of dogs that I don't know much about.


Its the people that fight with you about it that kinda peeve me off, but more about that later.

This kind of question happens often to me at the dog parks or when out for walkies. I always know its coming when I see that confused look cross their face. I usually stand there and let them ask, I mean they are standing as my little terror barks like crazy at them. (because i love dogs and dog people) I always answer with a smile and chuckle even on a bad day.

Now I understand why the few people with wirehair dachshunds were always so excited when I'm like "OOMMG WIRE HAIR DOXIE <3~~"

....

You don't see the wire hairs all that often in Alberta so its a special treat. But anyways.

So I was at Petsmart looking for healthy dog treats and some lady walks up to Wilson. I sure didn't see her (I do try to keep an eye out to make sure I'm aware where strangers, other pets and little kids are in adjacent to my pup like a good owner. But I'm human) and Wilson didn't notice her either untill she had reached down to pet him. In good old Wilson-dachshund fashion he flipped. Flipped meaning backing up, fur spiked, barking his sweet head off. May I also mention he has a loud and deep bark? Even when I'm used to it sometimes I'm still shocked. I almost jumped out of my socks; and clearly this lady felt the same. And here's the kicker. She GIVES ME the stink eye. As if its MY fault that she thought it was a good idea to try and touch my dog without asking(extremely impolite), scare my dog by sneaking up to him as he is trying to sniff out yummy treats and invaid my dog's personal space. Most dog owners ask, most adults don't sneak up on a dog. It's impolite.


I said sorry to her anyways, and got back to what I was doing. This distracts Wilson enough that he stops barking. (oh food, the power you hold). She sticks around and then asks me the normal question.

Me: Oh, he's not crossed with anything! He's a long haired Dachshund.

Woman: I know he is a dachshund, but do you know what else he is crossed with?

Me: He's not a cross -

Woman:(rudely cuts in) Yes he is, he's clearly a mutt.

Me: Uhh, no. He's a long haired -

Woman: I've had dachshunds before, they only have short hair. If you don't know, then you don't know. There's no point in lying about him. (sniffs and then walks off)


Huh?
She didn't even let me go into my speel about the three different types of dachshund coats.

And she called Wilson a mutt. Very rude! She even made the word mutt sound like a bad thing. Mutts are cute!
Mutt also means that the parenthood is completely unknown.
Silly woman.

I know that another great blogger that has had something like this happen with her long haired doxie - Alven. This is the link to the post here for those interested in reading what happened to another long hair dachshund owner.
Tehehe, sorry. Done my rant and feel ten times better!

10 comments:

Peanut said...

Oh my gosh some people these days have no kindness! That woman was rude. She could have at least let you say something back! I didn't know that dachshunds were also wire-haired, but I make mistakes like that occasionally and I never put up a fight.

HH and The Boys said...

Oh oh... that lady was very naughty to sneak up and then not believe you. You were very nice to keep your cool.

Pawhugs, Max

Elizabeth said...

I used to get that question all the time. Especially with Gauis being a dapple as well. I started just making stuff up to see what folks would believe. I would say "Yeah he's a very small sheltie, his ears never stuck up for some reason" or "He's a miniature border collie." I once got a woman to believe he was a miniature Austrian Shepard and we just never dached his tail :) Just have fun with it :)

Chelsea and Wilson said...

Peanut: I know! We all do but she acted like she was never wrong, meh.

Max: I thought so, cool as a cucumber lol.

Elizabeth: Hahaha! That gave me a real good laugh! I think I might do that next time!

Sandra said...

What a rude lady. She's lucky I wasn't around or I would have given her my most superb stink eye. And we do not appreciate the mutt comment either. My sister Dottie is a mutt and while she is kind of weird there is no reason to make her feel bad about it. Humans are crazy.

Alven

Daisy said...

She sounds like a meanie!

Mariodacat said...

I think Wilson is adorable. Some oomans can be so stupid.

Rachel said...

I love long haired doxies! And I always get so excited when I see one! One of the couples in our neighborhood has a pied long haired doxie and he is just a sweet little hot dog...kinda bratty but that's just him...I was out walking Amy The Corgi one morning and another woman who was out power walking said, "Ohmigosh, I thought that looked like a corgi! What's she crossbred with?" Ummm she's a pedigreed champion show dog, her line's been bred by the same woman for 40 years, she's not crossbred with anything. "Oh...she just doesn't look like she's all corgi. I've never seen one like her." Well, maybe she's just PRETTIER and MORE ELEGANT than the weird, short, stubby-faced corgis I've seen around the neighborhood. Truly, Amy is taller and longer than every other corg we meet, and her face isn't as pinched together, and her forehead is wider so her ears sit at a wider angle. But she is all corgi and all her relatives have the same big triangle face and long body. So I dunno whatchoo talkin' 'bout, lady!

If we hadn't chosen to go Corgi, I wanted a long haired dox. Low riders FTW!

Texas The Doxie said...

Can I just say I'm happy that my doxie is not the only one who "tells people off" if they attempt to pet him! lol.

Erin & Texas (who is always nice and friendly.for real)

Kiyi Kiyi said...

Wow she was so rude! Some people!
I kind of understand what you mean about people not knowing about your breed of dog. I have a Tibetan Terrier and people always give me a blank look after I tell them that! Or they say -
"Ohhhhh, a terrier! And it lives with 2 rabbits? I thought terriers ate rabbits?"

Yeah, maybe terriers do, but Tibetan terriers aren't really terriers! So confusing.