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I have a labrador Mix. From what I have read on the internet, my dog clearly displays most of the traits, abilities, and temperament of a Labrador. However we can't quite tell what the other breed is.

One possibility is that of a pointer of some kind, because my dog will sometimes point, or stand still and stare far off into the distance while on nature walks. However, some think he also looks a bit like he might have some greyhound, or Scottish Deerhound in him. ( He has that unique large chest, skinny hip thing going on)

If my dog would prefer to find things by sight rather than smell, I think that would be important for the type of things I do with him.

What signs should I look for to know if my dog is a sighthound?

edit: Related question

Edit 2: In my research on the net, I learned about different type of hunting dog categories, or gun dogs. Some like to retrieve, some point, others just like to go after a scent trail. Sight hounds are a bit different though and prefer to see and chase. It's easy to tell if my dog is following a scent, but I'm not sure how to tell if it is following by sight also.

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    Just to clarify that this is not a "what breed is my dog?" question that would be out of scope, but is rather asking how to tell if the dog is primary using a specific hunting style
    – James Jenkins
    Mar 7, 2014 at 15:55
  • Could it be that the dog is listening to something, when he stares far off to distance?
    – Esa Paulasto
    Mar 9, 2014 at 22:56
  • @EsaPaulasto yes it could be, thus my question :)
    – avi
    Mar 10, 2014 at 9:32

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It was all about the breeding. Sight hounds have narrow forward facing eyes to see father better and have short ears that don't get in the way. They tend to be the slender breeds to run faster and chase: think greyhound and pharaoh hound. Scent hounds are shorter and more stockier so they are closer to the ground to smell. They have wider snouts and long floppy ears that help them guide the scent better such as coon hounds and beagles. A mutt can carry many different traits as it wasn't bred for a specific reason. And any of your dogs can be trained for a number of jobs the only difference is some breeds were designed to be more tolerate and suited for certain tasks. Just because my dog isn't a water dog (ie have a double coat with web feet) doesn't mean it wouldn't like to go for a swim now and then.

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