Animal Farm Foundation - Resources for Shelters and Rescues

Resources

For Shelters &
Rescues

Adoption Support

Adoption Best
Practices

Marketing Best
Practices

For Community
Advocates

For Dog Owners

Home

Words matters. When we assign a breed label to a shelter dog or speak about “pit bull” dogs with the public, we owe it to the dogs to examine the language and labels we use to describe them.

Experts have found that it is impossible to accurately breed label or predict future behaviors based solely on a dog’s appearance. For more information about labeling shelter dogs of unknown origin and how we can use more accurate language, please see the articles and research below.


Language and Labels This section is available to view and print as individual pages or can be downloaded to print and share as an E-Book.		Frequently Asked Questions About Language and Labels


Breed Labeling Dogs of Unknown Origin by Amy Marder, VMD, CAAB and Bernice Clifford, CPDT It is impossible to breed label or predict the behavior of dogs of unknown history and genetics solely on the basis of their appearance.		A Comparison of Visual and DNA Identification of Breeds of Dogs by Victoria Voith PhD, DVM, DACVB “…the DNA results are not what were expected based on the appearance of the dogs or the owners’ beliefs.”


Beyond Breed from Best Friends Animal Society “Whatever we end up calling our dogs, all agree that what matters most is acknowledging that, no matter the breed, every dog is an individual.”		It’s Not “Just Semantics”: Words Do Matter by Pamela Reid, PhD Can we be reasonably confident that the way the dog behaves on a "test" reflects how the dog will behave in the future? "Behavior is considered to be an expression of temperament. But temperament is more than just behavior... We need to acknowledge the limitations of the behavior evaluation and take it for what it is."


Common Language for Cruelty Victims People who engage in the crime of dog fighting commit animal cruelty. The victim of dog fighting is the dog and they suffer the same as any other canine victim of cruelty does. All victims of cruelty are deserving of our compassion.		The Language of Advocacy This short paper is designed to help us critically examine our language and messaging in order to advocate effectively for “pit bull” dogs, their guardians, and for safe and humane communities.


Study shows animal professionals disagree when assigning breed(s) By NCRC Dr. Victoria Voith of Western University of Health Sciences and her collaborators have just published a new study documenting a significant lack of agreement among people who may be asked to assign breed identifications to dogs at part of their job or services. Guessing at breed is not a trivial matter. It directly impacts the lives and welfare of our companion dogs in the law and judicial process, in commercial practices (landlords, insurance companies, service providers), and in the policies and adoption practices of animal shelters and humane societies.		Comparison of Visual and DNA Breed Identification of Dogs and Inter-Observer Reliability By Dr. Victoria Voith Dr. Victoria Voith of Western University of Health Sciences and her collaborators took up the question of breed and visual identification in a new study. A significant lack of agreement among people who may be asked to assign breed identifications to dogs at part of their job or services was documented. The study included 20 dogs and 923 respondents at 30 locations across the U.S. and showed a poor correlation between visual breed identification of dogs of unknown parentage (mixed-breed dogs) and DNA analysis of the same dogs.

Find the Mixed Breed Dogs by NCRC Mixed breed dogs were given DNA test to determine their mix of breeds. Only a few were Lab mixes or “pit bull” mixes. Can you determine which dogs are Lab Mixes, German Shepherd Mixes, or Pit Bull Mixes? Take the test and find out!

Find the Mixed Breed Dogs: Lab Mixes by NCRC		Find the Mixed Breed Dogs: German Shepherd Mixes by NCRC


Find the Mixed Breed Dogs: Pit Bull Mixes by NCRC


Visual Breed Identification of Dogs of Unknown Origin Transcribed Interview with Dr Victoria Voith In this interview, Dr. Victoria Voith discusses her research on visual breed identification of dogs of unknown origin. Note that neither visual identification, nor DNA test results can accurately predict a dog’s future behavior. For that, we must look at the individual dog.		The American Shelter Dog by Dr. Amy Marder, V.M.D., CAAB In most shelters across the United States the majority of dogs are mixed breeds of unknown parentage. Nevertheless, it is common practice for staff to guess a dog’s breed based on appearance… The ARL of Boston is piloting the idea of identifying dogs not by their assumed breeds but rather by their appearance and individual personalities.