looking for opinions: the word "mutt"

[plaidninja]

I have absolutely never heard of this, and I try to be up on appropriate terminology. Since it offended people, I won't use it again, but my quick Google yielded nothing.

Someone was posting their mixed breed dog, advertising it as one of those blended name designer types, mixed with something else. I remarked that when you get three and four breeds deep, it's just a plain old dog. A mutt, even. Not that they aren't great, but the designer dog craze is just making more unwanted puppies in my opinion.

A lot of people got very upset. It's ignorant, it's insulting, it's equivalent to the n word, they shudder to think of what I would call a mixed race child. (A child, probably.) I recanted, but I think my posts were deleted, I'll have to check later to see if I was kicked out of the group.

Their point appears to be that since mutt has been used to refer to people, it's bad to use for dogs. My logic was that bitch is the same, but we still use it. I try very hard not to be offensive, but I was shocked. Am I out of touch, and it is a bad word?

[keen23]

Hmm, I don't know. I've never really put much thought into the subject (I'm not a dog person). I know that in Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games trilogy, mutts were genetically mutated animals that were bred to harm/hurt people.

But, I agree with you, a "designer dog" is nothing more than a dog.

[Arete]

Umm, mutt is perfectly acceptable to use to refer to a mixed breed dog in my area, but I'm from New Jersey and we aren't exactly paragons of euphemism.

[yetanothermeg]

Mutt is a perfectly normal and acceptable word to use when talking about a mixed-breed dog. I own a mutt and I call her a mutt! It would be a completely inappropriate way to refer to a mixed-race person. The people in your Facebook group have their logic backwards: Mutt would be an insult to a human because it describes a dog, just as bitch is an insult to a human because it describes a dog. Neither are insulting to dogs because, among other things, dog's don't speak.

[littlemommy]

I called a dog "an adorable mutt" the other day. It was so perfectly all-American-- a grinning, tail-wagging, mishmash of breeds dog. I half expected to see 2.5 kids trailing along behind it. It's owner laughed and said it was a rescue dog. I don't think mutt is a bad word. What did they say is the right word? A genetically diverse canine?

[dawbs]

I've never taken issue w/ the word 'mutt' being used for my dog. I do raise an eyebrow when I've heard it refer to people.

There's also a 'tone' that might or might not show up. I can tell my dog that she is "a cuddly mangy money pit of a mutt dogus" in a way that makes it clear she's awesome, or I can say "come here you lovable mutt" in a way that is 'mean'.

(usually it's the former. Although she hasn't had mange in years :-P)

And if I may soapbox a moment:

It's a disservice to the dog world to refer to 'designer mutts' by the cutesypoo names they're given. It gives a bit to much respectability and the pretending of breeds and encourages demand of dogs that are often badly bred by puppymills. That's not to say that those dogs don't deserve homes--they do. But I'd like to discourage people from making it PROFITABLE for the breeders to neglect/abuse animals for a buck. (there's a difference between people who are actively working on making a new breed/improving a breed and the person who advertises daisy-cocka-poos for sale in the local paper/at the local pet shop)

Better explanation (not breaking, info site): http://www.canismajor.com/dog/poodogs.html

http://home.comcast.net/~nopuppymillsva ... mutts.html

[micatite]

I have a purebred dog and to me he's still a mutt. I use the term generically for canines, in an affectionate manner. Like dawbs said, it's all about tone. I call mixed-breeds just that, mixed-breed, though my mother has always favored calling them 'Heinz 57s', a term I also like.

[cindyluvs24]

When strangers see my dog they usually say how big is he and what kind of dog is that? I tell them just a big ole' mutt. (He looks like tthe result of an dalliance between a Newfoundland retriever and a Leonberger. A big mush. ) Some people project a little too much onto their animals. The way I see it, he doesn't seem to mind the label so why should I?

[Dinaberries]

As an extremely mixed person, using the word "mutt" for a dog never bother me. It's when people have referred to me or my family as mutts (it's always been in a joking sort of way, never aggressive) that I take offense. I absolutely hate that word when it's used in reference to people. However, I don't think it's anywhere near as offensive as the N word.

[happy atheist]

I agree with everyone else. It's fine to call a dog a mutt. Not acceptable for a person.

:animals-dogrun:

[Firiel]

Wow, I would never expect "mutt" to be considered offensive when referring to a mixed-breed dog. I'm all for understanding the power of language to subjugate, but that just seems silly.

I always use "mutt" to talk about dogs. And I've also used "mutt" to describe myself. When people ask my background, I say I've got a lot of Irish, but I'm mostly just a European mutt. :embarrassed: I would never use it to refer to a mixed race person (or any other person besides myself, actually) because, well, I have any modicum of sense, propriety, and respect.

[crazyforkate]

Oh, and this happened:

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I'm kind of lol'ing at the awkward reactions of the people behind him. I get the feeling that if Obama didn't have to be diplomatic he'd be this snarky all the time.

[plaidninja]

I should have correctly called it a mixed breed dog, or by the complete list of breeds, or the cutesy smash up name. I'm still getting notifications, they're still going on about it, just not looking.

I'm glad to hear people think I didn't make a huge error. Of course it's not acceptable for a person, but it's a dog. People seemed to conclude that because I used the word I value it less than a pure bred dog. The accusations were amazing. I alternate between guilty/horrified (the idea of offending/angering people and being criticized gives me major anxiety, fighting through) and ... seriously? Really? Dog racism? Phew. I'll just lay low for awhile.

[Chowder Head]

The term mutt is fine and so is a Heinz 57 or my favorite an oppsy . Some people just can't help but get their panties in a twist .

[Khan]

The cutesy names for mutts are like the new jewelery trend Chocolate Diamonds. Marketing bullshit.

It is not a Cockapoo. It is a mutt. A cross breed. There is nothing wrong with the word. I've called myself one. Calling another human that, however, might be considered an insult. People are so bloody touchy about everything. Looking for reasons to clutch their pearls and gasp in shock.

[Full enough quiver]

My dog is a mutt. She is I believe a german shepherd/greyhound mostly, with a jack russel looking head that shakes like a chihuahua. Mostly she's just weird looking. I call her a mangy mongrel, and she doesn't seem at all perturbed by it. My grandfather (lovely man. NOT.) used to call my siblings and I "dirty half breeds" (Mexican father, white mother). We made a joke out of it, and call each other that all the time. However, I would never call anyone else that unless we were very close and I was positive they'd know I was kidding. Same for mutt. I call myself one, but wouldn't use it as a general term for a mixed person unless I knew for a fact they were ok with it.

[RandomTrivia]

I don't see anything wrong with calling a dog a "mutt."

I do roll my eyes at the cutesy names, although if it's a common mix of 2 breeds, I can cut the name some slack as shorthand. Less slack for ultra-cutesy names, but that's just the cynic in me, I guess. (Happens in horses, too - Morab, Quarab, etc.) However, if all 4 grandparents are different breeds, it's a mutt in my book, and if I see a newspaper ad for one of those, asking $300+ for a puppy, I will have the urge to not only roll my eyes, but also wonder about the nerve of asking that much for a mutt.

[Curious]

I should have correctly called it a mixed breed dog, or by the complete list of breeds, or the cutesy smash up name. I'm still getting notifications, they're still going on about it, just not looking.

I'm glad to hear people think I didn't make a huge error. Of course it's not acceptable for a person, but it's a dog. People seemed to conclude that because I used the word I value it less than a pure bred dog. The accusations were amazing. I alternate between guilty/horrified (the idea of offending/angering people and being criticized gives me major anxiety, fighting through) and ... seriously? Really? Dog racism? Phew. I'll just lay low for awhile.

I will tell you the only thing you need to know about this subject. It's a secret, but after many years in the dog world I have made this discovery and it has been laid on my heart to share it with you all here today.

Dog people are crazy

I say this as someone that has 3 tiny dogs that I talk to as though they were my children and who have a bigger wardrobe than I do. To say my dogs are spoiled is an understatement. Dog people are still too crazy for me the majority of the time, so that should tell you something ;)

[theCR]

I will tell you the only thing you need to know about this subject. It's a secret, but after many years in the dog world I have made this discovery and it has been laid on my heart to share it with you all here today.

Dog people are crazy

I say this as someone that has 3 tiny dogs that I talk to as though they were my children and who have a bigger wardrobe than I do. To say my dogs are spoiled is an understatement. Dog people are still too crazy for me the majority of the time, so that should tell you something ;)

I couldn't agree more. My dogs are my kids lol and I am the crazy dog lady. Both of my dogs are "mutts" a pit/catahoula and a chihuahua/terror I'm mean terrier mix. Mutt can be used in a negative way but it all depends how someone says it.

[Patsy]

:roll: Yeah, that's a mutt. People are weird. Labradoodle. So pretentious. Shut up, it's a fucking mutt.

In Australia, a mutt is also called a bitsa. ("What breed is it?" "Bitsa this, bitsa that.")

[stonefruit]

I've certainly referred to myself as "your standard Eastern European Jewish mutt," but I'd never refer to another human that way. My cousins used to call their (sadly, now dead) dog a love-hound instead of a mutt, though, which I always thought was pretty great.

[PennySycamore]

It's too bad the "Like" button is gone for the moment, because there are so many of these posts I'd like to "Like".

I love the appellations "Oopsy" and "Bitsa" though I love mutts. One of my favorite breeds happens to be the Petit Bassett Grande Vendeen or PBGV. The first time I saw one at a dog show a number of years ago I though it was the perfect dog. Why? Because it was so mutt-like! Long and low like a dachshund or Bassett Hound and adorably scruffy!

[DGayle]

A mutt is a mutt. The people who get pissed are the ones who are making these "designer breeds" (it's a breed when recognized by a legit canine society). Screw them. They're stupid enough to think designer mutts are anything other than mutts, so who cares about their feelings.

Pretty much everyone else with mixed-breed dogs are fond about the dogs they call mutts.

So don't worry about the dewicate feewings of people who are making more shelter-fodder.

[smittykins]

It's too bad the "Like" button is gone for the moment, because there are so many of these posts I'd like to "Like".

PennySycamore, try switching to mobile style. The "Like" button works fine for me that way.

[RosyDaisy]

Aren't some of these designer breeds prone to certain medical problems? Why do that to a poor animal. A good mutt or alley cat is just as good of a pet as a designer breed. Do people want a pet that can bring joy to their lives or a fashion accessory?