I have always been sure that Moose was a 'pure' lab in spite of being greeted by his Indian name "Ohmigod Heshuge' by everyone we meet. I got him from a rescue but he was surrendered by his original owner who got him from a breeder (Skeeter-Lou Labs in Katy TX) and he is AKC registered. Now that is not important to me in the least- I did not even realize he was registered until I got him home and looked through all the records his owner handed over. His registered name was Raven of The Oceans (Blech!).
I just wanted him to act and look like a lab and that he does... mostly. His inclination to retrieve is entirely lacking, otherwise he is friendly and wiggly to everyone he meets like all labs should be! I mention the AKC issue here because I have no idea what goes into that certification? How does the AKC verify this? Is it based only on the Breeder's word? Would the AKC know if his great great great grand mother had woken up one morning with a Great Dane and done the walk of shame back to her kennel unbeknownst to her breeders? If you know what sort of proof is req'd for this AKC reg please share in the comments!!
Moose's stats are: 110 lbs (down to the svelte end of his healthy weight for rehab at 105 lbs but he is not 'overweight' at all for his frame). Height at Whithers: 27", Length (chest to rump) 28", Neck 21". His coat is labbie in general but maybe a little shorter than I am used to seeing on other labs. Moose has a huge ridge on his head that I call his 'bumpkin' that is far more pronounced than I have seen on most labs. I have always known that Moose's stature was much larger than '
breed standard' but I just looked up this noggin issue and
the
AKC says: "The skull may show some median line; the occipital bone is not conspicuous in mature dogs". I would say his bumpkin is very conspicuous! None of the pics I have really show it to its full extent but the one that was posted when he was in foster care kinda shows it. It looks like a cartoon lump on the head after getting an anvil dropped on it!
Now I chalked this up to just the variations in lab head type (field style english style etc) and maybe his bump is just bigger like everything else about him.
But then I saw this pic of a lovely
black Great Dane named Bella over at
Wally's SPCA Saturday and it totally reminded me of Moose's face! Moose's vet also said his head looked Dane like. Could my boy have a dash-o-dane? Any Dane owners (Zoo crew??) care to weigh in on this evidence? All of this wondering is just my natural urge to solve a mystery (I am a researcher after all) not because it matters if he is pure or not... he is pure Moose to me! Whatever he is, he is my best boy (even if he did eat my lunch off the counter today when I stepped outside for a minute )!
OHDog Moose! Are you a danish? What flavour? We like apple danishes over here.
ReplyDeleteBolo
http://peiinthelife.blogspot.com/
Well this is interesting. We suspect that you just have a huge and totally lovable labradude with some aberrations from the breed standard. All dogs came from the same "adam and eve" originally, anyway, right? We used to own a very sweet very long lop-eared rabbit. Did you know that a rabbit released into the wild, if it survives, will mate with "wild" rabbits and lose all of the "fancy" characteristics man bred into them within one generation? I wonder how long it would take dogs ...
ReplyDeleteEverything is bigger in Texas : )
ReplyDeleteWoof to BIG MOOSE
(Actually my mom said...)
ReplyDeleteOur Freddie was AKC registered but was taller than any German Shepherd we've ever seen and weighed 102 pounds, so sometimes dogs can just be big. But I know there are canine DNA test kits (Raising Addie's blog recently told about testing their new puppy Lucie), which might help solve the mystery.
Joey back again: Good going, Raven of...I mean Moose! I bet that lunch was yummy!
Momma had a little rescue that came with AKC papers saying she was a basset hound, but she was clearly a mix. Makes ya wonder, huh?
ReplyDeleteThe main thing is that Moose is a wonderful dude, right? I like the bumpkin.
Slobbers,
Mango
Sorry I missed this.....I have been so remiss in blogging the past month :(
ReplyDeleteHe certainly has that "dane bump!" All three of mine have it, although Kai and Echo's are more predominant.
I truly don't put a lot of stock into the AKC. I think it's so poorly regulated. I mean....most puppymill dogs are AKC registered and how do you know that their pedigrees are not falsified?
AKC papers are only from the breeders word of mouth and only when the AKC gets a complaint about a dog that they will look into that breeders history; by making that particular breeder proove that 'x' was the sire of 'y', etc.
ReplyDeleteNow for the bump - I must say that is quite a "smart bump". There are quite a few other breeds who have it other than Danes. My Dane has one too, although some are larger than others.
I must say other than the bump - your guy looks pretty much like a lab to me. A lot of Dane mixes usually end up with long whippy tails & longer legs.
Anywho - your guy is just adorable!! And as someone else metioned you can always do a DNA test!
Hi - sorry we missed this post when it came round the first time but thanks for telling us about it - it's so interesting!!
ReplyDeleteYes, Honey does have an ENORMOUS bump - I think even more prominent than many other Danes and people are always commenting on it when we go out in the streets. I've asked our vet and she says it is just normal skeletal structure which all dogs have but is just more obvious in big dogs...but I agree, Moose certainly seem to have that bump too!
I agree that the most obvious things about Dane mixes tends to be their "legginess" and height - and also, the "Dane-like" characyeristic of their heads - like having a more pronounced "stop" and flews, giving that typical Dane profile you often see in silhouettes - but in Moose's case, I would have thought his size might have been the big giveaway! Gosh, he is ENORMOUS for a Lab, isn't he? I know there is variation within the breed but I thought the standard is only about 80-90lbs for males...at 110, he is surely way out of the normal breed standard...it sure makes you think. I mean, Honey is only 150lbs so she is not that far off from Moose (and she's considered big for a girl Dane)...I think just his weight and height alone (again, 27" Vs. the normal 21-23"?) would make me wonder.
I don't know much about the AKC but if they're anything like the British KC then their registrations are not worth much (sadly) as - as mentioned above - even puppy mill breeders can easily get registration and there is very poor regulation. It's why there is such a problem with poor breeding and genetic disease, even with so-called "proper breeders" because no-one is checking up on them.
Anyway, as you say - it's all just a fun mystery really and doesn't change the fact that Moose is a gorgeous boy, regardless of his heritage! but I wouldn't be surprised if he did have some Dane in him!
Hsin-Yi (& Honey the Great Dane)
hi , i have an oscar daft big dog who is a labradane (thanks to google for confirming it ) had him nearly a year now he came from the dogs trust , we just thought he was a bit of a one off randy dane offsping until i did a bit of googling recently . we found a few videos of others as well .
ReplyDeleteall i can say is he is great fun to be with , he hates being left alone for to long so comes to work with me , he gets on well with dogs and yeh he is big :)have pics if your interested to see them and compare , thats a great name for hi by the way
stu
As far as I know, it is simply glorified breeder word :( He is Domino's twin and they both look "danish" to me! Thanks for sharing this post by the way.
ReplyDeleteI have been doing research on Labradanes and he sure looks like one. I have a lethal white what I call a Labradane, as the vet calls him a mini great dane. I have never been owned by an AKC dog, only rescued cross breeds.
ReplyDeleteMoose is beautiful and he has the structure of my dog. He's only 70 lbs. at 14 months.
Amazing how much your second photo looks like our recently acquired Franklin, who came from a Lab rescue with plenty of warning that he was NOT entirely a Lab despite his nearly perfect chocolate coloring! They guessed that either Dane or Bloodhound had sneaked into whatever yard he came from, but as former owner of three Danes (yes, there will be another in a few years), I knew immediately that Frank's longer muzzle, MUCH longer legs, shorter coat, and white blaze on his chest, almost certainly indicated Dane. So far I would say that Frank's lab genes are dominant - his greatest wish in life would be to catch one of the ducks in the lake where we jog. Although I had to teach him to retrieve, which I persevered with because he is SO energetic, he has the webbed paws of a Lab and is only 80-some pounds. So far. First estimates of his age as three years were based on his neglected condition when first pulled from a local shelter. But the rescue soon began changing their collective minds as he grew more healthy, and by now our vet has downgraded the best-guess to one year. And he triggers all of my "young adolescent puppy" reflexes. So he'll certainly put on muscle and may well grow. Two of my Danes were equally peppy as teenagers. And I agree about the bump and the flews, which my Frank shares too. Unmistakable. Plus, as someone said, the sheer SIZE of your guy! I don't think that even back-yard American Labs could manage THAT! Like others, I had never heard the term "Labradane" until I googled, and I certainly would not have bought a designer dog. For me it was just that the relatively early and heartbreaking death (liver cancer) of our beloved BlackJack, who came from a wonderful Dane breeder who is keenly interested in longevity, made me decide to add another rescue dog to our pack. And I'm delighted with Frank. But now I've located an excellent Dane rescue nearby, and so inevitably another Dane lies in our future. Meanwhile, BRAVO MOOSE-!
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