What is this dog breed?

November 10, 2011 7:58 PM

Trying to figure out what breed of dog this is. It is pure white with long hair like a Maltese but the ears stick up straight like a Yorkie. Is it a mixed breed, or is this an obscure pure breed I don't know about?

My father lost his beloved dog last spring, and it has been a hard loss for him. He saw this picture the other day and commented that it was a cute dog and he wished he could have a dog like this. I would love to buy him one for Christmas. Please help me solve this mystery.

I wish I could post the picture, but this is only my 2nd post,and I haven't figured out how to do that yet. If it's possible please let me know, and I would be glad to share the photo.

posted by JJMOM to Pets & Animals (24 answers total)

To post a picture, hop on over here to upload it. Just click browse, find out where the file is located on your computer, and press open. Once the photo uploads, copy the link to the picture and paste it in a comment by using the link button at the bottom right of the comment box.

Sounds like a cool dog, can't wait to see it!
posted by phunniemee at 8:05 PM on November 10, 2011

You'd need to upload the picture to another site (like Flickr or imageshack), and then post a link to it here. Just copy the URL of the picture and paste it into a comment here. You can make it linky by using the link button below the comment window, but even if you post the URL as plain text people will be able to find your image.

Could it be a pomeranian?
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:07 PM on November 10, 2011

Is it an American Eskimo?
posted by MaryDellamorte at 8:10 PM on November 10, 2011

West Highland Terrier?
posted by invisible ink at 8:16 PM on November 10, 2011

West Highland White Terrier? They are adorable, loyal little guys! There are rescue organizations with this breed, btw.
posted by mochapickle at 8:17 PM on November 10, 2011

Is it a Westie?
posted by MadamM at 8:18 PM on November 10, 2011

(I couldn't figure out the link thing until the fabulous Jessamyn instructed me... highlight the text in the white box that you want to be a clickable link, hit 'link', then paste the URL in the box that pops up. I wasn't highlighting text and couldn't figure out why links wouldn't work.)
posted by malibustacey9999 at 8:58 PM on November 10, 2011

Sounds like a Westie from the description. Post a pic!
posted by azpenguin at 9:13 PM on November 10, 2011

My dog's a Glen of Imaal terrier mix, and your description fits the breed standard pretty well.
posted by SeedStitch at 5:31 AM on November 11, 2011

Westie.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 6:10 AM on November 11, 2011

Skye Terrier http://www.petyourdog.com/dog_breeds/skye-terrier/
posted by Lou Stuells at 8:44 AM on November 11, 2011

Cairn Terrier?
posted by workerant at 8:56 AM on November 11, 2011

If you can't post a picture of what your father saw, could you at least give us an idea of how large the dog is and any other distinguishing features? All white dogs with long hair and prick ears range from the samoyed to the American Eskimo dog to the various terriers mentioned above.
posted by DrGail at 9:14 AM on November 11, 2011

It sounds like an american eskimo to me. If that indeed is the case, and you have any further questions about this dog breed, feel free to memail me. I've owned two Eskies, one of them currently, and know about just about everything there is to know about them. They are really great and happy little dogs. I hope you find the right breed for your dad!
posted by triggerfinger at 5:24 PM on November 11, 2011

Response by poster: Thank you so much phunniemee for the instructions. Here is the photo. I hope it works!


posted by JJMOM at 6:50 PM on November 11, 2011

Response by poster: Dad's Dog photo
posted by JJMOM at 6:53 PM on November 11, 2011

Response by poster: My first link didn't work, as you can see - But I read your post malibustacey9999, and it seems to be working. You are pretty fabulous yourself! I'm going to check all the sites everyone posted to see if any of these are our dog.
posted by JJMOM at 6:58 PM on November 11, 2011

Wow, cute dog! It doesn't look like any of the breeds mentioned upthread, quite frankly. In fact, I really don't have any idea what it is beyond thinking it's a mixed breed. I did some googling around to find a dog that looks anything remotely like the one pictured but to no avail. I'm hoping someone else will know. Now I'm curious.
posted by DrGail at 7:44 PM on November 11, 2011

So.... am I crazy or is that artwork as opposed to a photo? That might not actually be a kind of dog that exists in real life.
posted by wondermouse at 8:03 PM on November 11, 2011

Aaaaw, that is a cute pup! I also am not sure what it is and my best guess would be a maltese mix of some sort. I hope someone else comes in who can figure it out :)
posted by triggerfinger at 8:07 PM on November 11, 2011

I'm wondering if it might be some sort of a terrier maltese mix? He definitely looks like he has a terrier face.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:10 PM on November 11, 2011

The head and face look like this picture of a white pyrenian shepherd, if you were to trim the fur on its ears, except that it has the paws of this Old English Sheepdog.
posted by wondermouse at 8:40 PM on November 11, 2011

Apologies for being somewhat obsessed with this, but I have come to the conclusion that that is an artistic depiction of a Rough-Faced Pyrenean Shepherd. That's my final answer, Regis.
posted by wondermouse at 11:20 AM on November 12, 2011

If it's a fairly small dog (less than 20 lbs) I'd say it was a Maltese mixed with either Papillon, Westie, Pomeranian or Yorkie. It could even be crossed with the smallest of the Eskies.

Here is a Petfinder search. As you can see there are many dogs with the mixes I've mentioned that look quite similar to the graphic you provided.
posted by deborah at 2:00 PM on November 16, 2011