Disclaimers for my Questionnaire About Mutt Identification

But first a disclosure for the FTC: I earn small amounts of money from Amazon Affiliate links on this page. Affiliate links pay me a few cents if someone clicks through to Amazon and buys something, kind of like a tiny little commission. I have never received a free product from anyone, or been asked to include a product. Everything here was purchased by me, for me or for someone in my family.

  1. One route for the mutt-curious is to get a DNA test done. I'm too cheap, so I've never done it. But I encourage you to do the research and pay for the test if you really want a scientific determination. What I'm providing below is based on first, my research in books, and second, your subjective observation of your dog. So the scientific validity of this process can only go so far. On the other hand, this is free and minimally invasive.
  2. My starting point was the top 50 on the list of the United States' most popular dog breeds on the American Kennel Club's website. I am morally opposed to dog breeding, but I didn't know where else to look. (And by the way, they have a list of dog rescue groups and their contact information, on their website. Yay, AKC! I'd link to it, but they make that impossible. Nay, AKC!) The AKC's list reflects the number of purebred dogs in the US with AKC registrations. I doubt that purebred registrations exactly correlates with the most common breeds that are reproducing out there on the streets, and then ending up in shelters or at rescue groups. So I included a few extras in my list, breeds that may not be registered with the AKC quite as often as others. All of this was a totally subjective call on my part.
  3. As you observe your dog, be aware that the descriptions below are intended to reflect how your dog should be, if not how your dog actually is. (Wow, that sounds philosophical.) In other words, if your dog has a docked tail or cropped ears, that's not what I want to know about. I want a description of the ears or tail as they should have been if left alone. If your dog is obese, you need to estimate his or her healthy adult weight. For behavior, answer for the dog's normal behavior as an adult. In summary, garbage in, garbage out.
  4. Dog breeds have hallmarks, traits or physical characteristics that exemplify the breed. The hallmarks are what I'm trying to list here. There's two problems with hallmarks, though. The first is that different breeds of dogs may have the same hallmarks. Secondly, even purebred dogs may not exhibit the hallmarks of their breed. I am not an expert on any dog breed, so I got my dog breed information from two books: the Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds , by D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D., and the Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds: A Field Guide to 231 Dog Breeds and Varieties (Pocket Professional Guide®) by Dominique DeVito.
  5. And finally, I am not a Google algorithmitician. This questionnaire gives even-stephen point totals for characteristics. Probably, I should weight characteristics, to give give more common breeds' characteristics more points. And maybe I will someday.

Disclaimers for my Questionnaire About Cat Breeds

  1. Many of the same disclaimers from the mutt questionnaire apply: this is a subjective process, hallmarks are not definitive, and I'm not a Google algorithmitician. I wish I was.
  2. Here are my sources for cat breed information: The Complete Cat Breed Book by DK and others. This book has the most beautiful pictures of cats in it. Even if you don't like cats, it is full of pretty kitties. I also used The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds which was an older book with less pretty photographs, but a lot of good information. I used the cat breed standards available at the Cat Fanciers Association. And, I used the personality research provided at The Metaphorical Platypus website.

Disclaimers for my Questionnaire About Picking a College

  1. I only included schools inside the United States.
  2. The list isn't complete! There are a lot of colleges in the United States. I had to stop somewhere. I think this questionnaire includes just over 400. So the perfect college for you may have been overlooked. Sorry.
  3. I am not a Google algorithmitician. This questionnaire gives even-stephen point totals for your answers. Probably, I should weight your answers, to base school choices more accurately, on what you care about. And maybe I will someday.
  4. This quiz is supposed to give you some ideas, not provide all the information you'll need to choose a college. But, it's a place to start, if you're feeling overwhelmed by the college possibilities out there. If you need more information:
  5. I got my information from the following sources (note all of these links are to newer versions of the books I used, which were all from 2014): Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 by Edward B. Fiske; The Best 379 Colleges, 2015 Edition (College Admissions Guides) by Robert Franek with Kristen O'Toole and David Soto; The Ultimate Guide to America's Best Colleges 2016 by Gen and Kelly Tanabe; the College Board website; the US News and World Report Best Colleges 2015 , and the Top Universities website (just for a philosophy undergrad programs rankings, though).

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