A Resource for Shelters, Rescues and Owners
Breed ID was started with the goal of helping both rescues and owners identify if their dog is purebred. While it's impossible to say with 100 percent certainty the ancestry of any dog without a pedigree or genetic testing, purebred dogs have been bred for centuries to look like their breed... this is the definition of a purebred dog. Therefore, it is possible to tell with reasonable accuracy if a dog with unknown ancestry is purebred.
Why is have a website devoted to identifying breeds?
The information presented here can help save lives.
There are many people who are very devoted to saving dogs of their favorite breed at shelters. Many responsible breeders dedicate many hours to rescue dogs of their breed, bred by irresponsible breeders. These people can't rescue these dogs if they don't know they're in the shelters. By identifying these breeds, these dedicated purebred rescuers are better able to save the lives of the dogs they love.
Individuals also come to shelters looking for certain breeds. Correctly identifying a dog as a certain breed can help these people decide if they want to buy a certain dog.
Many dogs are turned in to shelters because of behavioral problems. Many behavioral problems are more common in certain breeds. Also, certain breeds are more appropriate for certain situations. By identifying the breed, it will help people decide if a dog is likely to make a good jogging companion, watchdog, family dog, etc. It can also help prevent dogs being returned to shelters for unexpected behavioral problems.
Finally, some breeds are prone to certain health problems. Some breeds can be very sensitive to specific drugs. By knowing what breed of dog a person owns, that person and his veterinarian can better diagnose problems and maintain a healthy dog. In some cases, knowing the breed of dog can save the life of a dog.
How Breed ID was started...
I'd been browsing Pet Finder for a while, helping my parents find a dog. I kept noticing all the dogs labeled as a certain fairly rare purebred, my friend's breed. Many of them obviously had none of this breed in it. A few I wasn't sure on, so I'd e-mail her and ask her. Always the response was the same: "Not likely is this dog even a mix of my breed."
There was even one entry that said "We didn't think this was a purebred, but our vet said it was." It was obvious it wasn't. Some vets and rescue workers are skilled in identifying breeds. Others aren't. It was obvious a resource was needed to identify breeds.
Then I visited a local shelter. I found a Puli labeled as a Poodle mix. It was rescued from a high-kill shelter by Puli rescue, where otherwise it probably would have been put down. If that dog had been sold as a Poodle mix, it may have ended up back in the shelter for acting like a high-energy herding breed (the Puli, which it was) instead of a Poodle.
I've found two webpages devoted to helping people decide if a dog is a purebred (Airedales and Bouviers). Other than that, there are no resources online to help people identify purebreds. Thus, Breed ID was launched!