Calling All Dog Experts: What kind of dog is that?

Enjoy taking the survey below by  Dr. Julie Levy with the assistance of Merial Veterinary Scholar Kathleen Croy made possible by a grant from the National Canine Research Council.

Calling All Dog Experts: What kind of dog is that?

"Mom always said I have my father's ears."

While many people like to know “What kind of dog is that?” just to satisfy their curiosity, dog breed designations have also been used in an attempt to predict future behavior, match pets to families, find lost dogs, and even to restrict the ownership of certain types of dogs.

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and frequently without pedigrees to describe their heritage. The breeds of dogs with unknown or mixed-breed lineages are frequently guessed based on their physical appearance, but it is not known how accurate these visual breed assessments are.

We are conducting a national survey of dog experts to compare their best guesses for the breeds of dogs in a series of photographs. These visual assessments will be compared to DNA breed profiles for the dogs.

Start the survey now.

We invite all dog experts, including breeders, trainers, groomers, veterinarians, shelter staff, rescuers, and others to complete our brief survey to match dogs to their breeds. It’s fun and easy – just 10-15 minutes to identify the breeds in 20 dogs!

The survey will close on June 15, 2012.

Do you know another dog expert? Please share to your social network or forward this link so they can also participate in the survey!