What’s A Cow?

Ever since I’ve known her, Cow has been Cow, but I always wanted to know more about her lineage. What gave her those beautiful spots, and why are her ears half-folded in a way that reminds my family of the Flying Nun’s habit?

We’re getting a Royal Canin DNA test to hopefully find out what breeds Cow is made up of, and other information about her. A sponsored post about our experience is to follow, but while we’re waiting for our results, Little Dog Tips is holding a contest to see who can accurately guess “What Is Cow?”

Read on for hints about Cow to help you create an educated guess, and scroll down for the rules and entry form.

All About Cow

Cow weighs about 27 pounds and she’s about 13″ withers (measured from the floor to the top of her shoulder.)

She was born with a long, white tail, which she lost due to unknown circumstances. You can read more about her story here.

She has black and white fur, and some of the black parts have a slightly reddish tinge in the sunlight.

She has a double coat. Her hair is short, longest on the nape of her neck. Her belly is bald, and her chest has a very light covering of fur, through which you can see her pink, spotted skin.

She has dewclaws on her front paws.

She is prone to allergies, sometimes her skin turns pink on her belly and above her nose.

Her eyes are amber-colored.

Her ears can be described as “button ears,” that occasionally become erect when the wind blows through them.

More photos are available on Instagram.

Cow’s Behavior

A dog’s genetics will also show in their behavior.

Cow is wary of strangers, and is always on alert when someone enters our home. She is not friendly towards people or other dogs, though she loves to play with Matilda. She disarms herself by lying down and gently nibbling on Matilda with a soft mouth.

She also takes treats with a “soft mouth,” unlike Matilda, who chomps on my fingers.

Cow chases prey. She used to chase chickens and cats. She’s easily triggered by laser pointers.

Sometimes she hops around the yard, and sometimes she holds up her paw.

She loves to snuggle. Though she’s a good runner and can be very active, she walks calmly on the leash.

Cow sometimes does these weird hops around the yard

A post shared by Matilda The Meep Meep (@matildawoofwoof) on Feb 24, 2018 at 2:49pm PST

Cow’s Origin

Cow was born in 2014 in a Central California town called Cutler. This was a semi-rural area with many loose Chihuahuas, Pitbulls/BBMs, with the occasional sighting of a Heeler or Great Pyrenees.

When she was a puppy, her previous owner also had two of her littermates. One was black with a white patch on his chest and one blue eye, one brown. The other brother was black and white, just like Cow, but had blue eyes.

The Grand Prize

If you can correctly guess Cow’s breed, you can win a $25 gift card to your choice of a pet store: PetSmart, PetCo, Pet Supplies Plus, or whichever is conveniently located near you, as long as I’m able to buy the gift card for you! It just has to be a pet supply store.

If only one person guesses correctly, or has the closest guess, they will win. If multiple people guess correctly, or have almost-correct guesses, I’ll draw randomly from that group.

How To Enter

Comment below with your guess! You can make up to three different guesses made up of as many breeds as you’d like, just make sure to separate your combinations, for example:

(Bovine x Alley Cat x Burrito)

(Great Dane x Scented Candle)

(Draft Horse x Soft Pretzel x Honey Badger x Trash Panda)

Comment, then use the Rafflecopter widget to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lindsay Pevny

Lindsay Pevny lives to help pet parents make the very best choices for their pets by providing actionable, science-based training and care tips and insightful pet product reviews.

She also uses her pet copywriting business to make sure the best pet products and services get found online through catchy copy and fun, informative blog posts. She also provides product description writing services for ecommerce companies.

As a dog mom to Matilda and Cow, she spends most of her days taking long walks and practicing new tricks, and most nights trying to make the best of a very modest portion of her bed.

You'll also find her baking bread and making homemade pizza, laughing, painting and shopping.