In the Mix

Soon after Toby and I got home from the shelter, one of many things on my mind was what the "mix" in "lab mix" could possibly be! I had always been interested in dogs and had a general knowledge of many different breeds so that gave me a starting point. The shelter had estimated that he was over 2 years old so I knew he was done growing and I studied Toby's appearance and personality then researched breeds I thought might be in the mix. Dogbreedinfo.com definitely came in handy during my search! I started with Labrador Retrievers because he looked a lot like one, and sure enough he has a Lab type coat, a pretty Lab like face, and a perfect Lab tail. He even acts like a Lab, he is energetic, loves fetch, likes swimming and is a pretty quick learner.  His body, though, was not very Lab at all, and he was well under the weight range.
I thought about it some more and his large chest, tucked up abdomen, skinny legs, and slightly visible ribs reminded me of a Greyhound. I looked them up and he was way too small for a Greyhound, so I looked at other breeds in the same group, Sighthounds. A few were too big, one was too small, and then there was the Whippet. Toby fit perfectly into the Whippet's height and weight measurements, his legs, and chest met the standard exactly. His personality also has a touch of Whippet, he is a fast runner (can't quite tell if he has a whippet's gait though, he's too fast!), and a little timid with strangers. I am sure there are other breeds in Toby's mix but at this point I think I can safely say he is part Labrador Retriever and part Whippet. Maybe one day I will buy a dog DNA test to have a more scientific idea of his mix but for now I will stick with the free version ;) Do you have a Mixed Up Mutt? Tell us about them in the comments!