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The Sew What’s New Archive
This archived content is from Mary Wilkins’ sewing and
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From: MaryW
Date: 08-12-2005, 06:25 AM (1 of 18)
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My daughter has recently got a Lab mix female dog. She is a brindle which is odd for Labs. Apparently there is some Shar Pei in her as well. This dog was given to my daughter because the owners couldn't look after her. She was in terrible shape and smelled worse. After two trips to the groomers she came home much happier and about ten pounds lighter. Apparently she had mats that went from one side of her to the other but her fur was so long you couldn't tell. Fur had grown over mats. No matter how many baths she had she still smelled terrible. Anyway, finally she is groomed to within an inch of her life and now she acts like a pup. She is the perfect dog for my grandsons. One is autistic and this dog watches over him. She will also stand between him and any loud sounds or strangers. Very protective. My daughter found a tattoo inside her (the dog's) thigh. Numbers and letters about two inches high. I have never heard of tattooing a mix breed or of such a large tattoo. Has anyone else? It makes my daughter suspicious. MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542 
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From: Lise
Date: 08-12-2005, 07:49 AM (2 of 18)
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Mary, Sounds as though a very nice pet has joined the family and is showing her gratitude by being so protective of your grandson. Why does the tattoo make your daughter suspicious ? What disturbs her about it? Does she think the dog might have been stolen ? Lise 
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User: Lise
Member since: 07-24-2000 Total posts: 231 
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From: MaryW
Date: 08-12-2005, 07:57 AM (3 of 18)
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We have never heard of mixed breeds (mutts) being tattooed.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542
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From: Lise
Date: 08-12-2005, 08:19 AM (4 of 18)
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Since I am a cat person I know little about owning dogs but I thought that tattooing pets was simply to make it easier to find and identify them if they were lost. Liose
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User: Lise
Member since: 07-24-2000 Total posts: 231
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From: MaryW
Date: 08-12-2005, 08:23 AM (5 of 18)
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Yes, maybe you are right.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542
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From: Longblades
Date: 08-12-2005, 09:06 AM (6 of 18)
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That is funny. There is no point in going to the expense of tattooing a mixed breed as they cannot be registered with any breed club. Are you sure she really is a mix? The long hair does not sound Lab at all, but maybe she has other Lab features? The two breeds are quite dissimilar. Also, it would be nice to know the dogs heritage as SharPeis were used as guard and fighting dogs, way back when, and bad breeding can bring out their aggressive tendancies. And Labs are so popular it is easy to get one that has been bred with only thought to profit and no monitoring of the parents health or disposition. I am not a breeder, this is all just stuff I read on other sites, but you could check a lot out on the internet. Labs can be other colours than black, yellow and chocolate. They are called "mismarks" and there are some stunning coat patterns in some of them. I think this can happen, very infrequently, in any pure breed. I will see if I can find the link that shows pictures of some of these mismarks for you. My Lab's name is Jet, after the semi-precious stone that jewellery is made of. But of course she is precious, no semi about it. |
User: Longblades
Member since: 07-14-2005 Total posts: 182 |
From: Longblades
Date: 08-12-2005, 09:23 AM (7 of 18)
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http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/mismarks.html This was a link posted on a UK dogsite I visit sometimes, called Champdogs. |
User: Longblades
Member since: 07-14-2005 Total posts: 182 |
From: dmoses
Date: 08-12-2005, 09:44 AM (8 of 18)
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Mary, is it possible that your dog came from a 'breeder' who breeds more than one type of dog? The puppies may be tattooed automatically before anyone realizes that they aren't what they're supposed to be. My neighbour got a puppy(free) from a Yorkie breeder. Apparently there was another dog in the house, because this puppy has all the features of the other dog! We were all waiting for this puppy to grow some hair, but its body kept growing and its hair didn't...not a pure Yorkie!  My dog also has long hair. If you don't brush regularly, the hair will get matted. Bonus, most dogs enjoy the brushing...as long as you do it before the mats develop. Mine also requires regular haircuts...every couple of months. His haircut costs more than mine!
Take care,
Donna |
User: dmoses
Member since: 02-22-2002 Total posts: 964 
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From: OnAMissionBC
Date: 08-12-2005, 10:59 AM (9 of 18)
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Here in our area, it is a pretty standard practise for the vet to tattoo a dog or cat during the neuter or spay surgery (they need to be asleep) just to aid in tracing ownership if the pet is lost. All my pets, dog and cats, are tattooed and one is even micro chipped for good measure and they are all classed as mutts. LOL
Barb
Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia. |
User: OnAMissionBC
Member since: 03-16-2005 Total posts: 20 
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From: MaryW
Date: 08-12-2005, 02:00 PM (10 of 18)
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Well, I guess that answers my question then. She was neutered, maybe they did the tattooing at the same time.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542
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From: Chrysantha
Date: 08-12-2005, 10:09 PM (11 of 18)
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All my ferrets have a 2 dot tatoo on their right ear. (Marshall Farms) Other breeders put tatoos in different combinations on ears or legs. I know they tatoo racing greyhounds (or they used too) to make sure they belong to a certain breeder. They tatoo race horses (inside their lips) to make sure the horse racing, is the horse that belongs to what farm/breeder. Instead of a tag or chip, maybe they tatooed a number on the dog to make sure they had the right one, if it was lost. It's not my place to say, but I'll put MY 2 cents worth in anyway. I owned a lab mix...labs come in yellow, chocolate and black. If you mix a lab with something else, it's usually going to look more like a lab than anything else.Shar Pei's and labs BOTH have short hair and the dog you discribe has long hair. I'd say someone lied about the Shar Pei/Lab mix part. Labs make good family dogs. Shar Pei's, not so much. The brindle part is also suspicious. Lab's only come in solid colors. (I've seen a LOT of brindle greyhounds, and pit bulls....not many dogs come in brindle) If she's still suspicious about the tatoos...maybe try the police. Or the local animal shelter...they might have more info. Chrys
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User: Chrysantha
Member since: 09-06-2002 Total posts: 2414 
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From: MyGirlFriday
Date: 08-12-2005, 10:44 PM (12 of 18)
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I would think that would have to be some type of ownership mark.... I have heard of dogs getting "chipped" which is a computer chip that is places just below the skin on the animals neck...it has all of the vital info on it incase it gets lost or something. Maybe it is like that only a tattoo~ mgf~ 
Blessings & Smiles
Frogs have it easy....they just eat what's buggin' them. |
User: MyGirlFriday
Member since: 12-05-2004 Total posts: 288 
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From: carman
Date: 08-13-2005, 02:33 AM (13 of 18)
tattoing is STANDARD practice here in Canada (mutts, pure breds, doesn't make a difference), if my dogs are on holidays on the East coast and we get seperated  the first thing the pounds or vets check for are the micro chips and then the tattoo, all my animals have tattoo's, mutts and pure breds, you have the liscence, the micro chip and if they are spayed or nuetered, they will ask you if they want a tatoo as well, my cats have them in their ears of all places. you may want to make sure the info is changed with your vet, in case it gets lost they come looking for YOU and not the previuos owners, as well as the micro chip info. |
User: carman
Member since: 04-17-2000 Total posts: 692 
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From: Bama
Date: 08-13-2005, 12:34 PM (14 of 18)
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We used to have a bloodhound that had a tattoo in one of her ears. She was born to be a prison dog, but didn't train well, so we adopted her Did your daughter ask the previous owners about the tattoo? I think your grandsons will love that dog. Our 2 old mixed-lab females are the best dogs we've ever had. 
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User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116 
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From: Longblades
Date: 08-13-2005, 01:03 PM (15 of 18)
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Chrysantha, check out the link I posted to mismarked Labs, above. You will see photos of a couple of purebred, brindled Labs. However, I think this kind of coat is quite rare and not desireable at all. I would think a reputable breeder would not allow these dogs to reproduce, because, as you stated, the only colours allowed in the breed standard are black, yellow and chocolate. PS Also on that site, look at the white puppy with the black music mark on it. Isn't that amazing? You'd have to give that one some kind of a musical name, wouldn't you? |
User: Longblades
Member since: 07-14-2005 Total posts: 182 |
From: Carol in ME
Date: 08-27-2005, 10:32 PM (16 of 18)
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Your daughter got a dog "from people who couldn't care for her." Did the previous owner get her from a shelter? One of the local animal shelters tattoos every critter. If any turns up as a stray again, the management can opt to not place any more pets with someone who abandons it. In fact, each adoptor signs a form agreeing to return the animal to the shelter for "re-homing" if, for any reason, s/he is unable to care for the pet. I was led to believe this is common practice: they don't want adoptors to think of pets as "disposable" any time it's inconvenient to care for them. I wonder if the previous owners just got tired of their pooch, and wanted to be able to get another, later? Both cats we got from the shelter have tattoos. We named the female Lydia, for the Groucho Marx ditty about the tattooed lady. |
User: Carol in ME
Member since: 01-27-2003 Total posts: 105 |
From: paroper
Date: 09-02-2005, 10:28 AM (17 of 18)
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If you are concerned about the dog, just call a vet and ask about the tattoo. If it is a lost dog that the previous owners found (may not have known about the tattoo), it would probably be a reported dog. Maybe this would ease your concern. If you are going to check into it though you need to do it right away to keep the kids from being anymore bonded than they already are. If the dog is registered to the previous owners (if you even know their names), you can change the registery while you are about it.
pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: Teri
Date: 09-27-2005, 07:53 PM (18 of 18)
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Hi, My little guy, Harvey, is both tatooed and microchipped. He is a Peek-a-Poo which is a mix of Pekinese & Poodle and is not a recognized breed. However, because this is such a nice mix, they are frequently bred on purpose. He was tatooed by the breeder on his inner thigh (he's an intact male so it doen't just identify neutered dogs)) and microchipped by my Vet (only $35 plus $5 registration fee) this way if he ever gets lost he can be identified by any animal rescue or Vet. You can see his picture in the photo album. Teri
"Where are we going, and why am I in this basket?" |
User: Teri
Member since: 09-14-2005 Total posts: 66 
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