[ArronPCD]

Hello everyone.
I have a 6 year old dog called Mr. Snuggles whom I've owned since a puppy but I have always been unable to figure out his parentage.

I've attached a few pictures to this thread, I have a couple more in nice high-quality on my Sky-drive or can upload further pictures here if needed.

He is a very loyal dog, loves the out-doors although he is also very lazy (could never get him to play fetch with anything).
He doesn't bark an awful lot although when he does his bark is quite deep and menacing. Very gentle temperament, he's also friendly to most people, quite often too friendly as like most fairly big dogs he still thinks he is as light as a feather hah. He also malts an awful lot and does so all year round.
He's cross-bred in quite a few areas I'd guess but I've had no luck myself with identifying him and I'm not too bad with dog breeds. In any case, anything you can give me here would be very helpful to finally answering all those questions of "what" my dog is exactly.

Couple of random post notes:
We got him while living in Spain [from a rescue centre] and the attached images are of him at varying ages, with the bottom one being the most recent.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by ArronPCD

Hello everyone.
I have a 6 year old dog called Mr. Snuggles whom I've owned since a puppy but I have always been unable to figure out his parentage.

I've attached a few pictures to this thread, I have a couple more in nice high-quality on my Sky-drive or can upload further pictures here if needed.

He is a very loyal dog, loves the out-doors although he is also very lazy (could never get him to play fetch with anything).
He doesn't bark an awful lot although when he does his bark is quite deep and menacing. Very gentle temperament, he's also friendly to most people, quite often too friendly as like most fairly big dogs he still thinks he is as light as a feather hah. He also malts an awful lot and does so all year round.
He's cross-bred in quite a few areas I'd guess but I've had no luck myself with identifying him and I'm not too bad with dog breeds. In any case, anything you can give me here would be very helpful to finally answering all those questions of "what" my dog is exactly.

Couple of random post notes:
We got him while living in Spain [from a rescue centre] and the attached images are of him at varying ages, with the bottom one being the most recent.

The breed is the Perro de pastor catalan commonly referred to in Spain as the Catalan Sheepdog. This breed is common in Spain.

[Deafdogsrule]

How on earth did you know that Yogi? I've never heard of them... and I know alot of breeds! Do you think this one is a cross? from the pics I googled, he looks alot smaller and with not nearly as much coat... but then it could just be the photo's.

I bow down to the master of breed knowledge!

I cannot believe you pegged that one! I was like "uhhhhh... ummmm... have no idea!" LOL

[CorkyMax]

Yeh! Yogi sure knows the breeds! Here is pic. I found on the net-- Catalan Sheepdog Pictures and Information, Catalan Sheepdogs

[Yogi]

The breed was thought to have been descended from the Pyrenees Sheepdog and migrated over time to Spain. There it went through transformation and was probably cross bred to create the breed of today.
These will average anywhere from approx 17 to 21 inches and can weigh up to approx 45 to 50lbs. There is always an allowance since putting two undersized ones together for breeding could easily create ones smaller in size than the standard and same if breeding to over sized ones.

[ArronPCD]

Wow, I must say I am astounded you found that out Yogi, my sincerest thanks!
I can definitely see many resemblances, although as Deafdogsrule mentioned, would you say he's a cross? His coat is very soft and puppy-like still (he didn't get the name Snuggles for nothing ) and it doesn't grow a whole lot more than you see on any of the pictures.
At least now I know why he always liked sheep!

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by ArronPCD

Wow, I must say I am astounded you found that out Yogi, my sincerest thanks!
I can definitely see many resemblances, although as Deafdogsrule mentioned, would you say he's a cross? His coat is very soft and puppy-like still (he didn't get the name Snuggles for nothing ) and it doesn't grow a whole lot more than you see on any of the pictures.
At least now I know why he always liked sheep!

Based on what I know of the breed he appears to be a purebred. To note, the hair is suppose to be soft just looks rough. Even the Pyrenees sheepdog coat is soft but looks rough to the touch.
This is not to say that there may be some other breed in there but it would have to match pretty much this particular breed to resemble this strongly.


One thing to note, I have discovered over the years that in most European countries being the dog population is not overly great in comparison to North America, there is not quite as many mixed breeds especially in places like Spain, Italy, Germany etc. Where in the US, mixed breeds are predominant. This generally lends to the fact that in most cases the dog is purebred. These breeds native to these countries are generally viewed to be part of their heritage thus mixed breeding is frowned upon. In the US we have only a small handful of breeds that can be considered US breeds, the balance are primarily European breeds brought here over the centuries by immigrants. Over the years they have been crossed bred with other breeds creating in most cases much of the problems we have here now, overloaded shelters. I personally even though an AKC breeder or purebreds, have owned several mixed breeds over the years and would not have traded them for anything. But in your case, I see this as a purebred and would not surprise me if many shelters in Spain had many dogs that were actually purebreds.