What kind of freaking cute dog is this?

March 13, 2009 1:15 PM

There's a ridiculously adorable little black dog featured in a scene of the film The Nanny Diaries. What breed of dog is this?

The scene opens with a close-up of this tiny, comically cute little black dog. The camera pulls back and we see the dog is being held by a lady in an elevator. I've tried Googling, but can't find a still shot of the dog or find any breed that resembles it. The only thing I can say is that he looks a bit like a black version of Mr Winkle.

Any ideas?

posted by Valuev to grab bag (11 comments total)

Mr Winkle is a pomeranian with a weird haircut. I have a black pomeranian dog - see the flickr link in my profile for pictures of him. Does that look like the dog you seek?
posted by moonmilk at 1:23 PM on March 13

A schipperke, maybe?
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 1:29 PM on March 13

I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Pomeranian, as it didn't have the fluffy coat, and its snout was quite flat, not so pointy.

You do have a super freaking cute dog, though.
posted by Valuev at 1:33 PM on March 13

You know, I saw that movie and don't remember anything about it - but considering how ubiquitous chihuahuas have been in movies these past few years, could it have been a black chihuahua (or chihuahua mix)?
posted by chez shoes at 2:37 PM on March 13

(Oh, and meant to point out that Mr. Winkle may be a Pom/Chi mix.)
posted by chez shoes at 2:39 PM on March 13

Looks like a smooth coat Brussels Griffon. (movie nitpick: that white patch on the chest would disqualify that cute little dog from meeting breed standard, which one would think someone living on 5th Ave would tolerate in a pedigree dog).

Dog in movie clip here, advance to 3:48.
posted by jamaro at 3:04 PM on March 13

Almost certain that is a pug.
posted by vrakatar at 4:24 PM on March 13

yeah it really does look like a puppy pug. i wonder if he is a mix, because he does look a little fluffier about the ears than most pugs do. but it's so hard to tell in that teeny little clip.
posted by smalls at 4:48 PM on March 13

hold up. i just looked at jamaro's link and would like to change my vote to brussels griffon. those things look like pugs with fluffy ears. :)
posted by smalls at 4:50 PM on March 13

It's too bad we don't get a glimpse of the tail of the dog in the movie, since that would answer it definitively (BG tail = straight, usually docked, Pug tail = cinnamon bun) but the main reasons I leaned toward BG is size and shape of the head. Breed standard for BGs is 8-12#, pugs 14-18#. The dog in the clip looked smallish for an adult pug, which are surprisingly stout for their size.

BGs have a very high domed apple-shaped forehead with wide-set ears (ear bases are nearly on the sides of the head and set at an angle), pugs have (or should have) flat foreheads with ears set closer together with the topline of the fold in the ears forming a nearly level line with the top of the head. Again, I thought the shape of the head (rounded on top) was more BG than pug.

Anyway, probably more than y'all care to know about random breed characteristics of wrinkly snubnosed toy dogs.
posted by jamaro at 10:44 PM on March 13

I'm happy to go with Brussels Griffon -- which I believe is also the same breed of dog as "Verdell" in As Good As It Gets. I could also imagine that this could be some sort of mixed breed (it does seem to have some Puggishness about it) although from a characterization standpoint it would indeed be odd that an Upper East Sider would carry around anything less than a top notch pedigree.

Thanks, everybody!
posted by Valuev at 3:07 AM on March 14