Hello, my name is Shawn and I'm in Paso Robles, California. I volunteer my time to recover/rescue/trap lost or stray dogs in my area. Upon checking the breed of this dog I trapped today, 6/20/25, it appears to be a male Affenpinscher. I am not familiar with the breed, I'd be grateful for a couple of opinions if this dog is indeed a Affenpinscher? I use an app called 'dog scanner' which is usually pretty good at identification of various breeds. If it is an Affenpinscher, it would seem highly unusual that it is not reported as missing and is not chipped. I have begun to search for a possible owner, starting locally and now reaching out much further. Sadly it will have to go to the local shelter if I don't find (and verify) the owner. I despise bringing dogs to the shelter and this little one has been through enough on the streets alone for the past month. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Shawn
I doubt he is a purebred affenpinscher but he may have some in him. I'd guess definitely a terrier of some sort. Possibly schnauzer or even wire haired doxie. But the thing is, it can be extremely difficult to identify the breeds in a mixed breed dog - especially from a photo. Not every breed will show up in the physical traits. And often, the physical traits will combine and look like an entirely different breed. I just gave that app a trial using my Tornado-dog. He's a great test for breed identification apps. I used three photos and got three different answers. This photo came up as Border Collie, Canaan Dog, English Springer Spaniel and English Pointer. This photo came up asall Border Collie The third photo that won't upload here says he is Fox Terrier Smooth, Borzoi, and Saluki. He is not any one of those breeds. He is parsons russell terrier, rough collie, shih tsu and pekinese. The mistaken identification of border collie is very common - most people think that is what he is by looks. But that is due to the way his parsons and collie dna combine. The parsons piebald coat, the collie size, the terrier smooth coat mixed with the collie ruff. All that ends up looking like a border collie. The shih tsu and peke don't show up at all in his physical traits except maybe a bit in the eyes. One of his brothers had a peke coat - coloring and texture. The others all looked like oversized parsons. In trying to find this guy's owner, I would identify him as a long haired terrier mix. By being slightly vague, more owners looking for their dog will look at your post. If you state affenpinscher, then only those people who are missing an affenpinscher, or know that their dog resembles an affenpinscher, will check your post. The others will gloss over it because it doesn't sound like their dog. I've been doing rescue for decades and it is always better to be a bit vague in your description - it forces the person claiming the dog to properly describe the dog. Back in the day of lost and found ads in the paper, I often just wrote "small brown dog". That got the most people calling on the ad. Then I had them describe their dog and tell me about the wire coat, the white feet, etc. When the owner called, I knew it was the owner. Now with social media and posting the photo of the dog, it is much more difficult to verify ownership.
I'll also add that many of the breed identifiers don't consider the rarity of the various breeds. For instance, the chance that Tornado-dog is part Canaan dog is virtually impossible. There are very few Canaan dogs around, I would guess 99% are show dogs, and the chance that one of those show dogs randomly mated with a mixed breed dog is just not reasonable. Even the English Pointer and Borzoi are highly unlikely to be in a mixed breed around here. Always look at the most common breeds first. Only if they are able to be ruled out should you look at the uncommon breeds. Doxie or schnauzer mix is far more likely than affenpinscher. He may have shih tsu and even likely poodle.
My pleasure. I hope he finds his home. If not, I hope he finds a home that will treasure him. He is extremely cute! If you can't find his original home, contact some of the rescue groups for your area. They may be happy to take him in and find him a new home. Small dogs adopt quickly and he is definitely not the standard chihuhua mixes we see most often. That all makes him highly adoptable - and sometimes rescues are just thrilled to get a dog like that.
He isn't an Affenpinscher. The alternative name is Monkey-Faced Terrier and they do have a very short nosed monkey look. I hope you find his owner soon.
I agree with that ToedToes suggested above. Don't label him as any particular breed because the owner might think "My dog isn't a [whatever]". I hope that he has good, caring owners who are missing him, or if not, he goes to a wonderful new home.
