#if you want a mixed breed get a mutt rescue

[3liza]

Out of over 100 responses, most groomers expressed frustration.

“We cannot take any more. I groom four to six per day. They take hours just to bathe and dry. They take the slot of two or three small dog appointments. They are not cost–effective or smart for business owners to take, even in good condition, because their hair is so dense and hard to maintain.”

Another groomer said, “I have multiple calls a day for new doodle customers, and 85% of my current customers are already doodles. There are too many to accommodate.”

Finally, one quipped, “I drink more after work since the doodle craze.”

Many groomers simply refuse to groom any of the poodle mix breeds.

“I stopped accepting new doodle clients of any kind this past winter. I make more money grooming small dogs, and it’s easier on my body,” one groomer said.

In addition, several groomers stated that they had instituted a weight limit (usually 40–50 pounds and under) to eliminate all of the larger poodle mix varieties.

More than one echoed, “I’m at my breaking point and will no longer groom any of them.”

[catscidr]

// taking care of your dogboy (hsr edition!) //

i. note — sry i havent been posting yall i got a job + ive been working on three cosplays at the same time bc my local con is coming up lmao (´ཀ`」 ∠) however the brainrot never stops. it only takes a break. a little break of approximatively. a month. ish. ......... anyways dog hybrid hsr boys brainrot !!! lmk if we want more of this with more boys •ᴗ• comments and asks are appreciated hehe ii. includes — blade, gepard, boothill and gn!reader iii. cw — slice of life stuff turning into smut, possessive behaviour, overstim, slight dom/sub dynamics, real messy stuff, manhandling. use of the word "hole" to keep reader gender neutral iv. wc — 1,9k

blade is a mutt riddled in scars and dirty bandages from living on the streets and fighting to survive.

you think he might be some german shepherd mix, but he refuses to let you swab his teeth n gums for a dna test (last time you tried you narrowly avoided a punch to the face. he apologized in his own way afterwards), so whenever people ask, just say he’s a rescue to avoid revealing that you actually just… don’t really know what breed he is. they usually drop the subject and simply go on their merry way, seeing as he wasn’t the type of pup to appreciate affection from strangers anyways– it’s rare for you to leave the house in the first place, though.

you had to switch to a remote job because blade is just so persistent when it comes to you. although possessive is a much better descriptor, because he doesn’t let anyone near you. whenever you leave to get groceries he ends up practically breathing down your neck from how close he gets— acting as if he were your literal shadow— glaring at everyone that gets too close to you. you’ve made it a habit to always go to self-checkout lane so blade doesn’t scare off the cashiers.

the second you get home he’s all over you, determined to rid you of that outside stench and replace it with his own. you started packing your grocery bags in a way that nothing will break if (read: when) you suddenly drop them on the floor, all because you’re so familiar with blade’s impatience.

he holds you still by engulfing your body with his, knees caging your hips as he grinds into you, shallow and deep. blade’s growls and huffs fill your ears just as much as his cock fills your hole, his knot kissing your tightness from the outside.

“do you like this? like how i have to fuck you every time you decide to go outside again when you could stay here,” with me blade omits, his tail swishing back and forth on the bedsheets behind him, the sound just barely grounding you to reality.

your grocery bags were long forgotten on the foor (as they usually are), your mind too foggy to function. clawing at the sheets, you try to crawl away from blade’s grip— to no avail.

he tuts, craning his head to bite down onto the skin where your shoulder meets your neck. “i might just need to mark you for extra precaution,” he bucks into you, knocking the air out of your lungs. you hear squelching, the constant plap! plap! plap! from his thighs smacking against your ass and whine, broken babbles leaving your kiss-bruised lips.

“b-blade, y’can’t- ah,” he shushes you by plugging you full of his lengthy cock, his knot almost threatening to press inside of you. you whimper, feeling lightheaded from a mix of both nervousness and arousal.

he soothes the hickey he left on your neck, licking it languidly as he stills to bask into the way your hole throbs around him. warm and tight and oh so tempting.

“shit, wanna fill you. wanna… have everyone know they can’t have you. you’re mine, mine to love ‘n mine to fuck,” you’re not lucid enough to process his thinly veiled confession, too busy writhing your ass back against him in a feeble attempt to get him to continue moving.

you might want to invest into some good concealer or into those skin coloured tattoo patches to cover the bruises and bite marks blade’ll leave on you if you want to continue being a functioning member of society. you can’t really be walking around in public as if a dog had just mauled you right before you left the house, can you?

gepard is a golden retriever because of COURSE he is. similarly to blade, he likes to invade your personal space a lot— not because he’s possessive, but because he’s extremely protective of you.

the random bruises you used to randomly notice on your body faded as soon as he came into your life. gepard’s soft, lingering touches healed them; gently placing a hand on your hip before you bump into sharp furniture so it doesn’t hit you, redirecting your head to his shoulder as you nod-off in the train before you bang your head, and so on.

it’s a full-time job and he’s working 24/7, always on the lookout for anything that could possibly hurt you as you saunter off… wherever, without a care in the world— because he took care of everything!

he would clean the apartment for you, cook (though you usually insist you do the cooking; a human doesn’t have the same taste in food as a hybrid), and even act as your own personal alarm clock. gone were the days of being woken up by loud, blaring beeping. gepard woke you up with forehead kisses instead, making your mornings much more pleasant.

but poor geppie, he’s always taking care of you; so take care of him, won’t you?

every so often you’ll sit in his lap to help him get rid of whatever stress he held in his body. your hands will knead at the muscles in his broad shoulders, all while you simultaneously kiss away the strain in his face. his brows are furrowed as you do your best to soothe his muscles; you never forget to smooch his cheek, nose and the corner of his lips.

though the attention and gentle acts of affection always ends with your hands lower than they should be.

“ah ah, no touching, remember?” you murmur in his ear playfully. you had been at it for what felt like hours; gepard’s cock and abdomen was smeared with the remnants of his cum, skin tacky from his previous loads. your hand shows no sign of stopping, not even when he begged oh so sweetly.

“c-come onn. just… jus’ wanna kiss…” and who were you to deny your sweet boy? your lips find his in a heartbeat, his tongue swiping over your own sloppily as he breathes you in like a depraved man.

the only condition you had when you did this was for him to keep his hands to himself— at least until you both decide to move on to something else. until then, his fists clench the sheets beneath the both of you, and his ears stay flat on his fluffy head.

“i’m… i’m close again, g- aah, please, please…!” he begs, cock weeping precum as you continuously jerk him off. you smile, absentmindedly rocking your hips to the rhythm you held him prisoner to— gepard was too engulfed in the warmth of your hand to notice, anyways. “cum whenever you want sweet boy,” you purr, and he keens as he buries his face in your neck, his hips lifting off the bed ever so slightly as they meet your hand and he thrusts, riding the high of his orgasm.

sticky cum coats your hand for the nth time; you relent your grip on his cock for his sake, instead choosing to shower him with chaste kisses all over his face. gepard whines, taking ahold of your waist weakly as he breathes into the crook of your neck.

“geppie, your han-“ he cuts you off, swiftly switching positions so you’re now laying on your back as he hovers over you, chest rising and falling quickly, catching his breath from the intensity of his orgasm. gepard’s tail wags slowly behind him as his hands creep up from your waist to your chest just as slowly- you feel his cock harden against your pelvis, precum spilling from his pinky tip.

“‘ts my turn now,” he huffs, leaning down to nip at your neck.

boothill is the most obnoxious dalmatian hybrid you’ve ever seen (not that you’ve seen many, or at all). but he’s made your life so fun so you can’t be too mad at him

he’s always dragging you out of bed to go do something— could be going to the park nearby or sit in the living room playing video games on your dusty console, it doesn’t matter because he’ll MAKE you step out of your cozy nest!!

you’re glad he’s friendly, because you’re not sure how you would handle such an excited hybrid when you left the house. people come up to the both of you to chat and he indulges their questions, essentially leading the conversation (while you stand there awkwardly, not knowing what to say).

boothill is also great with kids, unexpectedly. 9 times out of 10 when you go to the park he ends up playing with someone’s child, bright smile on his face as he messes up their hair with a rough hand. they’ll throw a frisbee for him to go catch and he’ll do it happily, or he’ll even… teach them how to beat people up.

(you stare mortified as he teaches a little girl how to throw a proper punch only for her to then punch her parent when she leaves boothill’s side. you go up to them and apologize profusely, forcing boothill to bow with you.)

he also loves to help you out, even though he’s not the greatest at household chores— but he definitely tries! though he is a stellar cook, which never fails to surprise you whenever he’s on dinner duty. he just… really sucks at everything else.

it’s… mostly because he just has so much energy. he sweeps the floor? nope, he’s picking off the pieces of the broom off of the floor because he accidentally broke it. he’s fixing your bed? nuh uh, you’re throwing out the ruined bedsheets because he accidentally tore them to shreds somehow.

so, with all of these accidents happening because he’s just brimming with energy 24/7, you started purposely exhausting him. or, rather, gave him the green light to exhaust you until he tires himself out.

“booth-aah, w-wait, you’re being too…!” you fall over on top of his hard chest, keening at the new angle his cock reached inside of you. he repeated his assault on the spot that made you see stars as your jaw gaped, broken moans leaving your lips.

“don’t tell me y’re tapping out.. haa, already!” boothill grunts, his grip on your hips tightening. he throws his head back with a loud moan, abs tensing as he nears yet another climax— the 5th one of the night. maybe, maybe not. you lost count after the third one.

you bury your face into the crook of his neck, focusing on the feeling of his cock plugging you full instead of the soreness, the burn in your muscles that came from your knees holding you up on his lap.

watching you riding him will always be his favourite thing in the world, even if he always ends up fucking up into you and taking back control at the end of the night.

“gonna cu-uum…” you whine, clenching around his length almost painfully tightly, hearing his breathing hitch as an orgasm is ripped out of him in consequence to yours. boothill’s fingers dig into your ass, his hips lifting off the bed as he cums deep inside of your sloppy hole again, sticky fluid building up beneath the sheets.

you collapse on top of him fully, chest heaving against his own as you come back to your senses, slowly but surely. boothill’s ears perk up, hearing how your breathing had evening out.

“so… got another round in ya?”

[doberbutts]

Hello, I have a Dog Question.

I grew up with dogs who were rescue mutts but now that I'm an adult I'm looking at getting a dog from a breeder. All my research says "make sure the breeder is reputable" but I don't know at all how to assess a breeder's reputation. I don't even know how much is normal to pay for a dog, and when I look it up, all the websites seem AI generated. Do you have any advice on where to get more information about that kind of thing? Are there any registries that are really trustworthy, or is it better to try to find word-of-mouth networks on who has a good reputation?

If you don't have any advice, no worries, thanks for reading my question anyways.

It can really depend on what type of dog you are looking for! There isn't necessarily one right answer.

Personally I don't care about reputation (reputable) more than I care about the breeder's personal code of ethics (ethical) being relatively close to my own.

Breeding dogs should be health tested. Not just a DNA test but whatever they may be at risk for due to their size or breed or genetic mixup. These results should be made available to you as a potential buyer, and the breeder should be weeding out or making informed choices for dogs with less than steller results. You need to know what is something that just needs to be bred to a dog with better results, vs what shouldn't be bred at all. This, as said, can vary depending on what exact dogs you're looking at.

The breeder should be asking you for more than just money. Talking to you and making sure that you are the right home for their puppy, and letting you also talk to them and make sure you actually want to buy from them. Do they say things about the dogs that don't sit right with you? Are you okay with the way they keep their dogs? Are they well fed, vaccinated, and have their needs met and cared for? Can you see proof of that? People will just say whatever, but seeing is believing.

What's the average price? Different breeds cost different amounts of money. Dobermans are very expensive! Other breeds cost less. Some cost more! If they're mixing breeds, why and what are they looking to create? Does it seem successful or are they just producing a bunch of dogs just to produce a bunch of dogs? Does the high price seem justified? Dobes are expensive because the health testing is very expensive, but less health tested breeds are cheaper. Is the breeder actually doing that expensive health testing or are they charging high without justifying cost?

Registries are not proof of ethics. Being registered with a registry just means that the dog has a traceable pedigree. So we know who the parents are, great. It doesn't determine anything else about the dog though. There is no registry that I would say exclusively has ethically produced dogs. However if a dog is of a breed that can be registered and yet isn't, that is a red flag.

@molosseraptor is a good friend of mine that runs a dog breed matching service and she also knows how to help people find a breeder that works well for them. I would trust just about any recommendation I got from her! She might be able to help you narrow down the list.

[heart-of-copper-dog-training]

Purebreed vs Rescue

A common debate among the dog loving community is purebred dogs vs rescues. Several things contribute to this and of course I'm going to talk about my own opinion on them.

First, I'm going to say that while there is such a thing as a bad breeder, there are also ethical breeders who genuinely care about the health and welfare of their dogs, as well as the temperament and purpose of the dogs they are breeding. To buy from these breeders is not a bad thing if you know what you need in a dog, have a specific purpose in mind, or simply want to know the most likely temperament and health from puppy to adulthood because it is much more controlled. I also contend with certain breeds of dogs being bred to more and more extremes (french bulldogs, bulldogs in general, any dog with high health issues due to their need to conform to "standard") because these are NOT ethical. They may be well cared for and have a certain temperament, but I can't support dogs that can barely breathe and often have expensive surgeries and/or die due to aesthetics.

Buying from an unethical breeder is something I will never agree with. I'd say your average dog owner knows what a puppy mill is, but many don't understand why a backyard breeder is not much better. Supporting those who breed simply because they have two dogs that are technically purebred (getting an akc registration is actually easier than you'd think) is supporting over breeding, even if the dogs are well cared for. These dogs are at best minimally medically tested with random temperament, and at worst, simply purebred with no testing in any way. Please do your research before buying.

Pet shops carry unethical dogs. Whether fad breeds or "rare" colors (i.e. nonconforming or not even possible colors like a silver lab which is a mix of a Weimaraner and a Labrador), an ethical breeder will not supply these shops.

Fad "breeds" are also something I struggle with. Many of these doodle mixes have become a bane on the dog world. They are cute and adorable, but often mixed with breeds that cause incompatible drives leading to heavy behavior problems being bred into them right from the start. Doodles are worse off due to their cuteness and being marketed as "great beginner dogs" which often translates to new owners as "needs minimal to no training/socialization". While doodles do bring in clients, I would rather they not. Same goes for many of these "purebred" crossbreeds, such as shepskies, pitskies, etc. These dogs are selling for high prices with breeds that should not mix and can cause at best challenging but high drive dogs and at worst a bit of a nightmare for most dog owners.

All that said, I support ethical breeders. I support buying a dog for a specific job (service, sport, search and rescue etc). And I support new owners looking for a more predictable dog with the lifelong support a breeder will bring to that dog. Buying responsibly is not a bad thing, and is what keeps some of these breeds alive.

Now, let's talk rescues. Rescue culture is interesting. Back when I was younger, we just called dogs from shelters/streets/oopsie litters mutts. Sometimes we got lucky and got a purebred from a shelter, and we'd say that was a lucky find (by the way, there are purebreed rescues and many dogs in shelters are purebred, often due to guardians not knowing the demands of a breed or overbreeding). The culture around mutts has shifted to become a more positive one. Now we say "rescue", seemingly referring to any dog that is not directly from a breeder or pet shop is a rescue. I have personally rescued dogs off the street. This is not a humble brag, just a statement of facts. Of those I picked up, several were in poor health and needed medical treatment, and many were just a little dirty and skinny in need of a bath and food. Of these, I kept none, but rehomed all of them.

I'm not here to gatekeep the term rescue, but to put some context into it. While I support adopting from shelters, there is a new culture of calling all dogs in a shelter a "rescue" even if the dog was born there, an owner surrender, or never in any medical/physical/mental trauma to begin with. This culture shift was to aid the shelters in moving dogs and encouraging guardians to "adopt not shop" wasn't enough. They needed to have people feel good about their dog in a way that was more than just "I didn't buy a puppy" so they shifted to calling all dogs rescues. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, but it leads to a ton of misconceptions.

Shelters are a traumatizing environment for dogs. Many dogs who are in a shelter long enough suffer mental trauma and can appear as though they were abused. It's very easy for a shelter or future guardian to talk about their dog in a way that personifies them (again, sometimes helpful, sometimes not) and paints a tragedy around a dog who probably was never abused but actually just needs help working through the trauma of just being in a shelter.

Why is this a problem? Well, it's because I meet guardians who assume nothing can be done, that this is "just the way she/he is" because "they were abused". They "hate men" so therefore "a man must have hurt them". So while they love their dog, they never seek the proper help for their dogs' mental state and the dog carries that trauma with them. But they do get to carry that badge of honor saying they "rescued" a dog, whether or not any abuse took place.

I have met puppies from a breeder (I actually have a client right now with this issue) that started from a breeder but was (in this specific case a covid puppy) undersocialized. These puppies turn into adult dogs that are fearful, skittish, and scared of things they weren't ever exposed to in a positive way. Things such as men in hats, tall people, people who are not in the household. These dogs duck and cower and bark. These dogs would appear to be "abuse cases" if they appeared in a shelter (and many of them do, because these behaviors can become overwhelming and guardians can feel too ashamed to return the dog to the breeder or worse, got it from an unethical breeder). Maybe their temperament was poorly bred, too, which compounded things. These dogs would end up in a shelter with a sob story and probably be adopted by kind hearted individuals who want to save the dog and tell everyone they rescued the dog.

This weird culture over having a "rescued dog" badge of honor leads many guardians who really would do better with an ethical breeder to adopt a shelter dog instead. And, as much as this pains me to say, shelter dogs (abused or not) are not for everyone. Shelter dogs can be a huge challenge. They have trauma, whether from the environment or the past, whether they are undersocialized or oversocialized. They will often come with behaviors that are not for the feint of heart, and certainly not for first time guardians. But people feel guilty buying from an ethical breeder and feel the need to defend their decision.

Marginal dogs are often adopted out to inexperienced guardians. Even going to an experienced guardian or trainer can cause rescue burn out. A family feeling the pressure of adopting and "rescuing" rather than getting a dog that is more practical for their lifestyle will adopt these dogs and sometimes get lucky, but often times end up with a dog they have no idea what to do with and may quickly return, leading to a revolving door for some dogs which adds to shelter trauma. A family who gets enough behavior problem dogs from a shelter without knowing where to find proper help ("this is just how they are because they were abused") WILL burn out and WILL make shelter dogs look like "all shelter dogs are bad dogs" and "all shelter dogs have behavior problems".

Shelter dogs are a big, beautiful unknown. They can be diamonds in the rough, or they can be a new learning experience for an upcoming dog trainer. They can be the inspiration for some to LEARN about training and behavior in dogs. They can be a therapy dog (Copper, who inspired my namesake, was such a dog), they can be a service dog, a sports dog, a working dog. They can be an anxious dog, a dog with separation anxiety, a dog with aggressive behavior towards certain triggers. They can be beautiful or funny looking (in the cutest ways) and graceful or clumsy as Scooby Doo (looking at Pancake right now). They can have past health issues that come back to haunt new owners or be more healthy than most purebreds.

So what does all of this mean? Who's better, purebreds or rescues?

I think the more important question is: what do you want in a dog, and what are you prepared to handle? Once you know that answer, you will know who is better for YOU.

Stop shaming ethical breeders. Stop shaming shelter dogs who have behaviors their guardians don't have the knowledge or resources to handle. Stop shaming those who bought from an unethical breeder unknowingly because they were never given the chance to learn. Stop shaming guardians who turn to breeders after having a bad experience with a shelter dog.

Educate. Show sympathy and kindness. Show them resources for any of these guardians. Why are huskies a challenging breed, and what can guardians do with a shelter dog that needs more help?

Dogs are dogs, and we love them. But we are doing a disservice by simply slotting them into "breeder vs rescue". We are ignoring the nuances of what these terms mean and we are not educating those who need it most to help those dogs who need it most.

We need to focus on our mutual love for dogs and educate those who do not have the knowledge, background, or resources to find it themselves.

As always, be kind to yourself, to your dogs, and to others. It is free to be kind.

[firelightfoxes]

i saw a post recently that made me want to state my opinion on something.

i do not hate doodles. in fact, i would say i'm pro doodle. as long as the doodle is bred or acquired ethically, i have 0 problem with them existing.

obviously doodles can have problems much like many other breeds. many. most of them. but that doesn't mean they shouldn't exist! and uninformed/uneducated buyers will unfortunately always be a thing. it doesn't mean that whatever they're buying shouldn't exist.

i don't anymore, but i worked in the animal industry (pet retail, shelter, and veterinary) for about 3 years. i NEVER saw a doodle that was as awful as so many people paint them to be. i'm not saying they don't exist! just anecdotally, i interacted with plenty of doodles that were totally fine. not my cup of tea as far as dogs go, but non problematic. in fact, most of the nervy messes i can remember were purebreds (looking at you schnauzers). that does not mean i think that schnauzers should not exist or that we should witch hunt the people who breed or own them.

in my experience working in rescue, i very rarely saw any dogs that could've been a poodle mix (think curls or furnishings) - and when i did, they wouldn't last more than a day there before getting adopted. people like doodley dogs! i understand this may differ regionally, but where i'm located, we don't have an overpopulation problem of doodles. we DO have a very clear overpopulation of pitbulls and bully breed mixes.

but back to the point. people hate doodles for all sorts of reasons - they're designer dogs, they're a fad, they're bred for money, their coats are bad, etc etc. okay fine, you're entitled to that - but you CAN'T hate doodles for those reasons unless you also hate all the other breeds or mixes (sport mixes!!!) that fall under the above criteria as well. doodles aren't special. they're not different. they're just another type of dog and people like them. popularity isn't a sin. lots of breeds have had their time in the spotlight and yet their owners aren't verbally flogged for having them.

i'm pro rescue and adoption. i'm pro ethical breeding. i have a rescue mutt from a shelter and i have a purebred dog from a breeder. and i believe that doodles fill a niche in a lot of homes that other breeds don't. hence their popularity. if you hate doodles, i think you should really try to think deeply about WHY. like, i'll most likely never own a doodle because they're not what i want in a dog - and if you groomed them and thought they were always annoying and you dislike them - fine! but when you think that every single doodle is the scourge of the earth and people should be ashamed for owning them, you need to sit down and think about that, because chances are you've fallen prey to some sort of anti-doodle propaganda without truly examining the facts.

[v-anrouge]

Dogs I can picture them owning! (DIFFERENR FROM THE BREEDS THEY WOULD BE!) (I would love a Chinese crested! )

Riddle: he’s a Doberman owner if I’ve ever seen one! Stern, scheduled, rules for everything! Dobie would be so happy with him!

Trey: Labrador, who is really old, and really fat. Trey can’t say no to puppy eyes, so his dog gets fat fast. But he does make sure all food is safe for the pooch!

Cater: the most spoiled Pomeranian, maybe a Chinese crested. Little Velcro dog, and I feel his dog would be the most spoiled dog!

Deuce: some sort of rescue mutt, maybe a Shepard mix.

Ace: another mutt boy, his and Deuce’s dogs are besties.

Leona: Samoyed, soft fluffy pillow! His dog would end up as his emotional support dog probably, loves the dog more than he will admit.

Ruggie: is friends with all the strays, but doesn’t “own” any of them

Jack: husky, good in the cold, and LOVES running and hiking! Enough energy to finally keep up with Jack’s workouts!

Azul: i can only picture Azul with some white furry cat to finish off his mob boss persona. Maybe a Maltese or Pekingese

Jade: Jade probably trains his to help him hunt mushrooms. Maybe a bloodhound or a terrier mix…

Floyd: mutt, another emotional support dog, helps keep him stable and helps limit major mood swings. Would have to be a bigger dog though, can’t picture Floyd with a small dog

Kalim: King Charles spaniel, spoiled little brat of a dog.

Jamil: Anatolian Shepard, hard workers, and the dog probably has some sort of satchel so Jamil can carry a lot around.

Vil: another Doberman owner, and is great with diet control cause WHY DO THEY ALWAYS GET BLOAT!?!

Rook: a bunch of grand basset griffon vendeens, little scent hounds from France, laid back babes. Or petit basset griffon vendeen, who are more rabbit hunters than just scent hounds. All I know is he would own a pack of hounds!

Epel: keeshond, which a spitz breed, super friendly and outgoing, but protective of their territory so Epel’s dog would be a great guard dog for their apple trees

Idia: only would own a cat. Not a dog person.

Ortho: (if i misspell this imma cry) kromphorlander…kronforlander…which is a companion breed, sensitive and sweet

Malleus: Pekingese to bring in his royal brand even more. His dog is a spoiled baby who only likes Malleus, and always wants to be held.

Lilia: a mastiff, probably an ex war dog, who is a lazy loaf of a dog now!

Silver: rat terrier, a small bit hyper dog who would happily wake Silver up for play time!

Sebek: broholmer, a silent guard dog, who is very independent, but I could also see Sebek with a Doberman

Crowley: a t’osa, a patient and sweet dog who happily sits at the front door to guard it. I can just see his dog sitting at his desk, by his feet to guard

Crowely:volpino Italian which is a little white puff who happily does exercises then happily cuddles on the couch!

Vargas: a boxer, sweet heart of a dog who is ready to work and run!

Sam: tibétain mastiff, a good guard dog who is aloof. Won’t refuse a pat, but doesn’t react to it. Good cuddle partner at the end of the day.

i know nothing about dogs but everything you say i trust you so much also VIK W A DOBERMAN GRAHAHH It would probably be named something very cute in German

[ciaossu-imagines]

For the multi muse!

Multifandom time! Numbers 1,5,10,11,18 and 20!

Go wild! Let us know about your most current fandom, the one that is easier for you or even one you haven’t written for in a long time

Okay, so since I had gotten KHR sent in in another ask, I chose five other fandoms from my huge list of fandoms. I chose the second most popular fandom on here, then one from each of the three categories, and an additional two that I love and rarely get to write about and hope you will enjoy the thoughts on each of them! Thank you so much for sending in this :)

1. Which muse is the easiest to write?

So, I'm using Servamp for this particular question. Honestly, Tsurugi and Mikuni both come very easy for me to write, for very different reasons. Sakuya is also pretty easy for me to write, while I find Mahiru and Tetsu to be the hardest so far for me to write!

5. What would your muses be the deities of?

Okay, I chose The Outsiders for this one. It's a really tough question but honestly, I love the fandom and never get to write for it, so while I didn't do all the Greasers, I chose a couple that I automatically had ideas for.

Dally would be some sort of vengeance deity, mixed with a little bit of a justice deity. I'm thinking a mix between Nemesis and the Furies, if we go with Greek mythology. However, I also see him as a patron god of the downtrodden and broken, especially youths who are that way.

I can see Johnny being sort of like Janus, a deity of gateways, doors and thresholds. Of beginnings and endings, of choices.

10. Which muse would be the 'Mom Friend'? The 'Dad Friend'?

Okay, Saiyuki was on my list of fandoms I was going to do for these questions anyway and of course, I had to use it for this question! It just fits so perfectly because you cannot convince me that Hakkai isn't the mother, Sanzo the father, and Gojyo and Goku the unruly children. There's even some jokes here and there about it in canon if I remember correctly, haha! Going for Kougaiji's group, Yaone is the Mom friend and Dokugakuji gives strong 'Dad friend' vibes to me.

11. Which muses are cat people? Which are dog people?

Now, this one is the one where I chose my second-most popular fandom. That's, of course, K! I'm sticking with HOMRA, because I do love writing about them.

Mikoto, Bandou, and Dewa are all cat people to me. Dogs require too much attention and dedication to Mikoto, they're too high-maintenance for him to want one as a pet. Not that he really wants a pet but if he did, he'd prefer a cat, since they don't need constant attention. As long as you feed them, keep them supplied with water, and change their litter box every now and then, they're good. Bandou honestly thinks cats are pretty cool and he loves cat videos on the internet (it's his secret shame that nobody knows). Dewa prefers cats for much the same reason as Mikoto - less maintenance, less high-need, and he likes that they're largely independent and that they have attitudes.

Tatara, Yata, Shouhei, Chitose, and Eric are all dog people to me. The reasoning for all of them preferring dogs seems pretty obvious and self-explanatory to me so instead of explaining out why I think they are, I want to go into what type of dogs each would prefer. Tatara prefers mutts, honestly, and would go for rescue dogs. Eric would definitely go for rescues as well and would have a soft spot for mutts, but he greatly prefers longer haired dog breeds to short haired breeds, just because they're softer and more pleasant to pet and cuddle with. Chitose would want a Rottweiler. Yata likes to think he'd get a great big, tough looking dog but there's something about the attitude and fearlessness of a Jack Russell Terrier that speaks to him. Shouhei, meanwhile, would have either a Lab or possibly a Saint Bernard or Newfoundland.

Kamamoto has an equal amount of love for both dogs and cats. Fujishima loves all animals and would never be able to pick between dogs and cats.

Izumo wants neither, please. He's not really a big animal person overall.

18. Which two muses would immediately fight each other if they met?

Okay, but just because it amused me, I combined both Class of the Titans and Mystic Messenger for this one. One hundred percent it would be Neil and Zen. Both boys are quite narcissistic and both are somewhat famous. Neil is a model, and I do think he's had some successful shoots that were used on billboards and such, so he is known in his universe, whereas Zen has a successful career as a stage actor. Both also like to believe themselves the most handsome and I definitely see it being a huge clash of egos when it comes to the two of them.

20. Which muse would investigate the scary noises? Which one would hide?

For the last fandom I chose, I chose GetBackers! Ban is going to investigate the scary noises and though Ginji really doesn't want to, Ban isn't giving him the choice. Ginji is going to go investigate them too. Paul, Hevn and Natsumi? They're all staying put, thanks. Those two can go investigate, the rest will stay nice and safe.

[whatisshelties]

While it looks like I’ve got a prospective new dog that is a rescue, I was thinking this morning about breeders and how I really like that a lot of the whippet breeders are chill with mixes being bred. Overall that seems a pretty chill breed culture. I’ve seen (what appear to be) successful racing breeders that will cross an occasional show dog. The race practice I went to was just like “we want all whippets to participate.” They have a separate track for show dogs in racing. I think at some specialty confo events there’s a race champion class. I’ve seen the “show dogs aren’t real whippets” thing on occasion (and maybe the opposite that “race dogs are mutts”) but it seems like there’s enough chill people to balance that out.

I think mix breeds and breeding programs are neat. I feel like I’d want a breeder I get a dog from to not hate mixes, but then again, I guess it doesn’t matter if I’m not planning to breed. I also feel like I’ll be hard pressed to find mix positive sheltie breeders, but who knows. Lots of breeder types seem ok with you owning an oops cross or a rescue mix, but I bet you’d get blacklisted with some people for owning a purposefully crossed dog. I feel like I’ve read that happening with doodle owners.

Getting a dog feels like it’s gotten so complex, lol. One reason I had rescue on my list of prospective next dogs, lol.

[heritageartifacts]

One would think they’d be giving stray dogs away on every street corner. But like most everything in bella Italia, nothing is easy nor transparent. Unwanted dogs are shipped from the poorer south, where neutering is as common as a bad meal, to the more affluent north, where they’re fattened by pet owners, worked on ag lands, or trained for hunting. - Luna landed in a rifugio in the Dolomites, where winter had arrived, gloves and scarves no longer an accessory but a necessity. We found her online, an odd process involving months of choosing different dogs but then not being able get any of our choices. We filled out applications and questionnaires, sending pictures of our property to pounds all over Italy. All of the communications were in Italian, conducted in the haze of not fully understanding how the process actually works. Life here is often like driving through Piemonte’s famous nebbia, the fog so thick you can’t see five feet in front of the car, hands white-knuckled-gripped to the wheel, face inches from the dash, straining to scan the road ahead, scared and confused. - Four-months-old and a mix of breeds, Luna was too young to withstand the cold mountain evenings, even with the dirty sweater wrapping her small body. We were told to come immediately to rescue her, the application a quick formality. - Her assigned name was Slim, but unless she was secretly one of Capote’s swans, her name didn’t suit. The day we claimed her, the Moon and Jupiter were in close alignment. I voted to name her Jupiter, but the wife won with the Italian, Luna. - The refugio was a mud patch velcroed to the side of a mountain. My heart sank at the sight; dozens of unclaimed mutts playing in the mud, in their feces, their shelter only outdoor kennels. The cold, grey day and filthy dogs jumping all over us made me want to make the transaction lickety-split-quick. But alas, this is just not how it’s done in Italy. At least the two kind souls who care for the unruly brood didn’t offer us coffee while we stood in the muck. After an hour and a half, ten signatures, a 90€ ‘donation’, and the promise to eventually spay her, we were free, and now a pack of three. - #italy #dogadoption (at Niella Belbo) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmwwXKRtdOvXH9x4Wc1LQEP7VzmnTjIodEgJL00/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thequeeranachronism]

Look mutt is not a bad word for a dog. It’s not a slur nor does it necessarily have negative connotation. It can be used negatively about a dog but it isn’t a negative label itself. It’s just a term for a dog that has two or more breeds in its background. The so called designer breeds are just mutts that hype has made a market for; and so there are unethical people are filling it. If you want a doodle mix puppy just get an ethically bred poodle or the different breed of dog. Poodle mixes aren’t necessarily hypoallergenic or less prone to shed either as you can’t control the mix of genes passed.

Mutts are lovable dogs but there’s no way to buy a puppy that’s ethically bred. Also if you do want to rescue a dog do research on the rescue. There are a lot of really shady dog rescues wether it’s a rescue for a specific breed or not. Shop or adopt ethically and research to determine wether the breed or mix (if you know it) will fit in with your life.

[agro-carnist]

Ethical breeders don't add to the shelter population because they have contracts that require any buyers to return the dog to them if they can't keep it anymore. A well bred dog ending up in a shelter is almost unheard of. Bred dogs in shelters are nearly always from backyard breeders and puppy mills. Many shelters and rescues are contributing to the pet population crisis themselves by using up resources that could go to adoptable dogs on dogs with bite histories, having ridiculous requirements for adopters that hardly anyone can qualify for, importing dogs from other places, not spay aborting dogs, or outright purchasing dogs of desirable breeds or mixes and claiming them as rescues. Not every shelter or rescue of course, but a not insignificant number of them.

You seem to be under the impression that if someone can't get the dog they want they'll just go to the shelter and adopt a dog they didn't want. But people that want a Yorkie or a Pyrenees or a whippet aren't going to go and adopt a bully mix, which make up such a high number of the shelter population.

But anti breeder people never fail to jump on the accusation that people against the "adopt don't shop" narrative just hate mutts. Shelter dogs can be really great dogs but an animal of unknown history is not suitable for everyone. And I'm of the apparently wild opinion that healthy dogs of sound mind that have only ever known the love of humans should outnumber dogs with grab bag genetics that are fighting a past of abuse, neglect, or the steets.

Controversial opinion maybe but I dont think dogs need to be champion show dogs to be ethically bred

[theequeerstrian]

A person just needs to take one look at a normal shelter and see the overwhelming evidence of dog breeds average households can't handle. It's all Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, and Huskies. All poorly bred messes of dog genetics and bad instincts. Sure there's some great dogs in that mix, but there's so many more dangerous ones.

To be fair, the vast majority of non-mutt dogs in shelters are also from backyard (aka irresponsible) breeders. Puppies from responsible breeders will always come with a puppy return clause (this is one thing I'm unrelenting on- certain health tests are as needed per breed, but the puppy return is crucial) SPECIFICALLY so that their dogs never end up falling between the cracks and going to shelters and poorly matched homes.

But.. you're absolutely right in that most of those breeds are POOR matches for the average pet home. The best bred husky, GSD, pit bull, etc will not last long in a household that's not prepared for a dog with high drive and/or high prey drive. Pit bulls were bred to fight (at first bulls, and then each other- the fact that aggression is a feature and not a bug is simply fact), German Shepherds were originally bred for herding but have largely been adapted as guard/attack dogs, especially since WWI (though obviously the herding instinct remains, it's just amped up and more readily turned on non-livestock targets), and huskies were bred to have the stamina/drive/love for running miles and miles at a time, often for several days in a row. Sure, not every musher is doing an iditarod every other week, but pulling a loaded sled even for just a few miles is HARD WORK and the resulting dog NEEDS HARD WORK.

There's a huge issue, especially that I've seen in the last decade or so, of people getting dogs purely off aesthetic. Huskies are pretty, Central Asian Shepherd's Dogs are big and "impressive" (this one's usually cis men who haven't examined their relationship to toxic masculinity lol), Pit Bulls have a built in "poor me" sob story for their owners (swear to god this is why half the people who have them do, they love that they get to whine about their poor nanny dog being targeted), and so on and so forth.

When I was a kid you didn't just?? Get any dog? Maybe it was my environment, but I distinctly remember seeing shows on animal planet talk about how important it is to get a breed of dog that matches your lifestyle. I had the AKC's Complete Dog Book and read it cover to cover several times picking out my favorite breeds. As a kid I couldn't FATHOM actually getting to own a doberman, as a child I knew I couldn't manage one so I didn't think it possible. I stayed obsessed though, and as I grew up and was more and more determined to have one someday so I adapted MYSELF to be a good fit for one. When I approached breeders, the ones who were ready to just toss me a puppy no questions asked didn't get any further inquiry. The one who actually screened me, interviewed me to make sure I was qualified? To make sure I wasn't going to dump the dog as soon as it became inconvenient? That's the one I got my dog from. Kandi's puppy contract has a no breeding clause (or if I did want to breed, I had to work directly with the breeder to ensure he was correctly titled and tested first), and a puppy return clause (breeder told me a story of a person who HAD violated this, and it took him months to find the dog and get it back but he did it and thank god bc the dog had been in rough shape, BUT THAT'S WHAT GOOD BREEDERS DO).

This. Has gotten venty/ranty but what the hey it's 7am and I'm avoiding getting ready for work.

ANYWAY.

TL;DR: generations of selective breeding matter, good breeders matter, pick the dog that matches your lifestyle not your aesthetic, don't buy sob stories from manipulative rescues

[smalldogvibechecks]

Hi! Sorry if this question feels disrespectful for your or the person who owns the dog - but looking at photos if Max, cocker-shiba mix that was submitted to you and posted recently, it looks a bit like he is a bit overweight. Can you confirm if this is true? Or, even better, maybe you can share how to identify if a small dog/dog is overweight? If I recall correctly, being overweight is potentially dangerous for a dog and it is hard to help/make a dog loose weight - I definitely remember reading a post about overweight animals that said that in case of hunger/starvation, dogs and cats start loosing muscle mass before fat. Can you confirm this?

Sorry is this is disrespectful/inappropriate! No hate/blame/etc towards the owner, I just saw the photos and was unsure if this is true and wanted to confirm if this is the case and how to correctly identify such things!

Oh oh, maybe you know answer to this question. If a dog is mix/mutt/nit a breed, is there a way to know their normal weight limits? I feel like the most sure way to check is the animal is under/overweight with not purebred dogs is to check for visual signsz but maybe you know something else.

Being overweight (or underweight!) can be bad for dogs, yep! But dogs can get to an unhealthy weight for so many reasons, lots of which are not the owners’ fault (e.g. the dog might be a recent rescue, might have health issues causing it to gain or lose weight, maybe the owner just didn’t know they were feeding the dog too much until the dog gained weight, maybe the dog is just older & getting chubby! it happens) so I’m not going to call out anyone for their dogs’ weight when they send in pics, just as a rule. Getting your dog to a healthy weight is a slow process and you should talk to your vet before putting your dog on a diet.

As far as how to check if a dog is at a healthy weight, your vet is always going to be the best judge of that! But as a basic guideline, if you run your hand along the dog’s side, you should be able to feel their ribs. If their ribs are visibly sticking out with not much fat covering them, they might be underweight (or they might just be a sighthound, whippets look underweight when they’re actually at a healthy weight, they’re just shaped different). If you can’t feel their ribs at all or you can just barely feel them, they might be overweight. Like this:

edit: oops, forgot to answer the bit about mixed breeds! Visual signs will probably be the best way to check if they’re at a healthy weight, but if you know what breeds they’re a mix of, you can probably average out the healthy weights for those breeds to get an estimate. If you have a dog that’s half chihuahua (which usually weigh 3-6 pounds) and half mini dachshund (usually 11 pounds or less) you’d probably expect that dog to weigh around 7-8 pounds, but each dog is going to be a little different!

[onlyangelcas]

Dean wakes with a start, the sound of a barking dog startling him from his peaceful sleep. The dog barking is alarming, considering they’ve lived in their modest lakehouse for over a year now and he’s never woken to the sound of a dog barking before. Their closest neighbor is a decent way up the road, and he’s certain they don’t have a dog.

Dean is so caught up in the sound of a barking dog that he doesn’t even realize Cas isn’t in bed next to him. He turns his head to check the clock on their nightstand, 7:23 AM. Dean typically doesn’t sleep past 6:30, one of the many joys of having a 3 year old, so he’s thankful for the extra rest. He slides out of bed and wraps himself in his favorite robe, it’s beige and soft and definitely not previously owned by a dead guy.

Dean pads down the hallway towards the stairs, intent on finding the source of the barking. He doesn’t have to look for long, however, because halfway down the staircase he spots it. A large, brown and black mutt-looking dog spread out on the rug in the living room. The rug is Cas’ most prized possession, purchased from a local woman who weaves rugs by hand and sells them at the farmer’s market. It’s gorgeous, Dean won’t deny that, brown with brightly colored twine and fabric woven throughout. Jack loves to sprawl out on it and braid the tassels around the edge. However, Jack is not sprawled out on the rug this morning, instead there’s a giant dog in his place.

Oh yeah, Dean thinks. We got a dog. The realization hits him there, frozen halfway down the stairs. Jack had been begging for a dog for months and Dean tried to stay firm, because really, a dog and a 3 year old? But Dean is weak, and Cas brought up the idea of visiting the local shelter “just to look”. That’s how they ended up with a 58 pound mixed-breed rescue named Bee.

Cas had been holding Jack’s hand as they strolled through the shelter, pausing so Jack could say hi to every dog. “Bee,” Jack said, as his hand pointed up towards the name card on one of the cages.

The name card had indeed said Bee, with a little illustration of a bumblebee next to it. Cas, who had shared his love of all things bees with Jack, visibly melted upon hearing the name. That’s when Dean knew he was toast, they’d be leaving with a dog that day.

They had requested to take Bee out to the fenced off area behind the shelter, to play and see if she got along with Jack. It just so happened that Bee was the sweetest dog in the world and took an instant liking to all three of them, especially Jack. Dean had been nervous, considering Bee was almost taller than the 3 year old and could easily overtake him if she wanted, but she was gentle and careful around him.

“She likes you guys,” an employee of the shelter had said as she watched them play in the grass.

“I love her!” Jack said excitedly, wrapping Bee up in a tight hug.

Dean stood up and brushed his hands clean, making his way over to the employee to ask about the adoption process. He figured he’d better get a head start on it before Jack started to beg. Before he knew it, the four of them were piling into the car and setting off towards home.

So, they have a dog now, which explains the barking wake up call. Dean continues down the stairs and toward the sleeping dog, stopping to give her a scratch behind the ears. Then he heads toward the kitchen, where he can smell coffee brewing, Bee following close behind.

“Oh Jack, daddy’s awake.” Cas says, reaching up into the cabinet for a mug.

“Morning daddy!” Jack says, his mouth full of blueberries.

“Good morning, baby.” He replies, planting a kiss to the top of his head. “Did you feed Bee already?”

“Yes! Papa let me do it all by myself.” Jack says proudly.

Cas walks over to the table, pushing a mug of coffee into his hand and pressing a kiss to his lips. “Morning.” He says, face breaking into a gummy smile.

“Mmm,” Dean sighs. “Good morning.”

“Jack and I were thinking we’d take Bee for a walk around the lake, what do you think?”

And because this is his life now, his perfect, blissful life, he smiles and says, “I’m in.”

[girlhorse]

seriously not trying to put anyone on blast because i think there are some interesting points being brought up that i want to discuss based on my personal experience with pet owners

fuck landlords obviously just getting that out of the way

First:

Tbh calling your very obvious pit bull a lab mix can land you in a heap of trouble if a bad actor reports you for owning a pit or if the dog ends up biting someone and getting recorded as a pit bull by the party that reports the bite. You could be at risk of losing your dog and losing housing. It's just not something I would risk personally. By all means lie to your landlord if you must but there are absolutely consequences if you get caught.

Landlords also DO know that people do this and some have started requiring DNA tests (insane), photographs, or have straight up put weight restrictions on dogs. So calling a pit a lab mix doesn't work in many, many instances.

There are other, more secure routes to get a restricted breed into an apartment, including negotiation with landlords, finding housing that allows dogs, getting personal insurance, etc. so you at least don't have to risk being kicked out or losing your dog, which again may put the dog back in the shelter system.

If a shelter and owner come to an agreement about intentionally obscuring a dog's breed so that the owner can adopt a restricted breed, that's frankly none of my business. But the shelter needs to be up front with the owner about the dog's breed for other reasons i will try to hash out below. (Vets sometimes will do this too and change documents to list a pit as a mutt etc so im sure a shelter that wants a dog to get adopted would try to help lol)

Second:

You may be surprised by this but breed literacy is extremely poor in the states. Ask anyone with a purebred that isnt in the top 10 most common breeds what their dogs have been misidentified as and they'll all have a pretty funny anecdote to tell you. Personally my havanese has been mistaken for a fucking *schnauzer* before, several times. (more commonly shih tzu but that at least makes more sense). New pet owners or people with little understanding of visually identifying breeds are relying on the word of the shelter to identify their dogs as particular breeds. (I personally think any shelter with a particular breed that has very specific needs should put at least a blurb about the breed so people stop adopting dogs that are a poor fit but i digress)

I will give you a couple of antecdotes that might help illustrate this. I personally dog sat for a couple that adopted what they thought was a lab mix a few months ago. The moment I saw her i KNEW she was a great pyrenees mix - a large livestock guardian breed that frankly has no business living in a suburban pet home (not the most intense LGD but still an LGD). Her behaviors were typical for the breed: largely dog intolerant (broke out of the house two separate times to bite a neighbor's dog), being generally mellow and sleepy until hearing strangers/dogs outside of the home, very little drive for training, being aloof around strangers, and struggling to settle in a very busy suburb environment. the family was working diligently with a trainer to get her reactivity under control and continues to try very hard to work with her which I think is commendable, but to me it is still a poor fit. I'm hoping it will work out but had they known she was a pyrenees and largely unsuited for a busy suburban lifestyle they likely would have moved on to a different dog and saved themselves a lot of grief.

another example which is a bit more light-hearted... a dog daycare client brings in what is clearly a pit mix (on the small size) and claims she got her from a pug rescue that labeled her as a puggle (pug/beagle mix). Puggles generally are mellow and quite lazy, and not a particularly poor fit for a pet home. Her dog was the spitting image of a pit bull, and she had NO idea. This dog was bouncing off the walls like a maniac and was too rough with the small dogs to be put with other dogs her size. She ended up having to be rotated with the large dogs because of how energetic and strong she was.

I think the lack of breed literacy can also happen inside of dog shelters, sure. But i think in this particular case there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they are lying to people to get them to be more willing to adopt a dog.

bro you have got to be kidding me (look at the breed labels)

this is literally just from the first 2 pages on this shelter's website

[tf2-hellhole]

I wrote down my Hybrid AU Garbage

yeah I know it’s cringe lmao, I do what I want

you can request Hybrid AU content in the future if you want uwu

The Hybrid AU Universe:

Dog or cat hybrids are basically dogboys or catboys. Bird hybrids have wings and a tail, and sometimes feathers in their hair.

There are a couple work laws for hybrids, because sometimes they need additional training for jobs (just for stuff like keeping tails out of machinery and other safety precautions, how to use their animal senses to their advantage in the job, simple stuff like that).

Hybrid!Scout:

Mutt. He knows theres some Greyhound and a smidgen of Pitbull in him, but he doesn’t really know what else.

Light brown fur that matches his hair.

Raised very similarly to how normal Scout was raised, but was probably raised around lots of other hybrids (possibly a home for families) and rarely got enough to eat. He was caught several times stealing food all over Boston proper.

He claims he doesn’t give in to those instinct dog behaviors, but like four times a week he gets zoomies and runs all over the place like a maniac.

Hybrid!Soldier:

Pitbull mix, mostly American Bully.

Blondish/brownish fur that matches his hair.

Born and raised for illegal fighting. He, along with many other hybrids, were rescued when he was a young adult. He had lots of anxiety and fear-based aggression issues, but was taught to deal with them and began to recover once he was adopted.

He only really give in to instinctual behaviors when stressed or alone.

Hybrid!Pyro:

Breed unknown, but they are a dog and probably a Pomeranian.

Black fur.

Nobody knows exactly where Pyro came from, but they exhibit a lot of behaviors typical of hybrids that were abused or neglected while growing up. They refuse to talk to anyone about where they came from.

They honestly don’t give a shit about embarrassing themself and shamelessly give in to their dog instinct and do all sorts of stereotypical dog stuff.

Hybrid!Demo:

Purebred Smooth Collie; his bougie ass parents were pretty proud that the family’s purebred so he’s kinda proud of it too

Black fur, but tip of his tail is white, funnily enough

He grew up in a hybrid shelter and going to different families for a long time, but eventually his parents took him back. That’s all that really changes for Demo’s story.

He doesn’t really do much dog stuff other than crave pets and snuggles. From time to time he’ll boof on accident and gets embarrassed about it.

Hybrid!Heavy:

Siberian Mountain Cat

White and brown/grey fur

He and his family have always been independent and without owners after they left the gulag. Like canon Heavy, they spent most of their lives out in the wilderness alone.

He claims he doesn’t give in to his cat instincts, but he loves sitting or sleeping in the sun, and does use his senses in the field.

Hybrid!Engie:

Leaf-Cutter Bee

Only physical difference is wings. He can’t fly very well, though, since he doesn’t do it often/doesn’t need to fly.

Engie’s story is almost identical to that of canon Engie. The only difference is that he had trouble getting into university, as the only hybrid that had even been admitted to an American university at the time was his father.

Hybrid!Medic:

Domesticated Barbary Dove (Release Dove)

Pure white feathers, none in his hair.

His parents only partnered because purebred bird hybrids are kinda a status symbol. He found a fascination in hybrid anatomy and came to Mann Co. after studying it on his own for most of his life.

Indulges in a few bird instincts in private, if anyone found out he did he’d be so humiliated.

Hybrid!Sniper:

Doesn’t know what breed he is, he knows he’s a mutt though (he’s actually not, he’s a purebred Huntaway)

Brown ears that match his hair, black to brown tail.

His story is basically the same, except he knew he was adopted from the beginning, since the Mundies weren’t hybrids like him.

He doesn’t indulge in any dog instincts usually, but if he has an S/O, he has nasty separation anxiety and destroys stuff while they’re gone.

Hybrid!Spy:

He’s embarrassed to say it, but he’s a French Bulldog

Light brown fur that matches his hair, no tail (typical of nubtail breed hybrids).

Sold to and raised by a wealthy family, but eventually was kicked out. He was picked up by a crime group and turned into an assassin. He later left them and was an independent assassin, and later came to the US. There, he met a charming young hybrid, and the rest is history.

His only real dog trait is that he can be needy to an S/O. Also, he can do The Frenchie Scream.