Animation Source Forums

Yeah, the sizes are a little messed up, but I figure that's because they probably didn't really intend for her to have an exact breed and just drew her however they felt like. But, if Jenna is say 20" at the withers and Dixie's half that...it's okay enough. For a cartoon. *shrug*
Her color doesn't help in pinpointing a breed either since she's lilac and a sort of off-white something-or-other. Poms can be cream or pretty much any color or combination, which is a vote in their favor.
I know what you mean, too, about them being a round ball of fluff...that's the way Poms are very often groomed. There's been a big emphasis on coat (and small size) in the breed's recent history so they tend to appear that way. But they're not all necessarily ball-shaped. They could have less floof to them.
But again...it's just a matter of opinion. ^^

Touche. I never thought about how dogs were groomed "way back when." I'm sure if there were old photos of Pomeranians, that would be a great help

I used to think Dixie was supposed to be a Samoyed, but they're much bigger than Dixie. I think I agree with what Cat said in that she is an American Eskimo Dog. http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americaneskimo.htm
They're not purple, but then there is no breed that is actually purple - this was a stylization made by the animators to make her look more feminine. Same with the floof of hair on her head. If she's a northern breed, I think the American Eskimo Dog is closest. They are the closest in size, and have the fluffy, husky-like tail that Dixie has that not many other small breeds have.

But, she could be something entirely different. The name "Dixie" is generally used to denote something from the South (as in south of the Mason-Dixon line), and Dixie speaks with what could be a southern accent (I'm not exactly sure, though. I'm bad at recognizing accents). I think this might mean that she's not actually from Alaska, which opens the door to hundreds of possibilities for what she could be. I have sort of always had the idea that Dixie's owners moved to Alaska from one of the Southern states, so we don't have to pull her breed from the list of breeds suitable for the Alaskan climate. However, most toy breeds are much smaller than Dixie would be if we're using Jenna as a reference for the average husky. This is a really interesting topic.

Good point on her name. XD I knew it was a Southern-ish name, I never thought of her being from the South tho. It's sure possible. As interesting as this is, I'd like to ask the creator of Dixie (whoever that is) what the heck he/she was going for

Mm, yeah, I’d still go with Pomeranian as a tentative breed for her…it just feels right. But, you know, just basically; if she were real, I would think she’d be a mix of something (ie, Pom or mini Eskie + something bigger + ??)

For one thing--ha, yes, older pictures of the breed *would* help, though I’m not sure where to obtain any. >> I don’t have a Pom-specific book or anything and I doubt if googling “old Pomeranian” would be very helpful either. XD But, yes, they have been bred way down and into total teeny puffballs. Perhaps the time period would’ve made some difference in how her owners wanted to groom her, I ‘unno.

I think it’s pretty interesting too, especially since a few of you were thinking of larger breeds. I mean…to me, it definitely seems that they intended her to be a petite, though not teacup-tiny, dog, as opposed to a larger, taller, or leggier one. Truly, the Miniature American Eskimo’s size is a pretty darn good match as far as what the comparison with Jenna’s size seems to be. Then again, with color eliminated as a factor, you could almost guess at any appropriately sized and coated spitz breed or mix…the German Spitz has a “mittel” variety with the same height range as the American Eskimo mini, for instance. But, anyway, I suppose the miniature Eskie is as good a guess as the Pomeranian. Lol, it would be very good to be able to ask the moviemakers what they had in mind when coming up with the designs--and not just for Dix!

Now, about her name…you can pretty well tell from her general appearance that she’s at least predominantly a northern breed.
Dixie is indeed a term commonly associated with the American south, but I don’t think her accent sounds Southern at all. I’ve got cousins who live in Georgia with heavy southern accents, and Dixie’s is…well, it’s probably New Yorkish or something. And whatever it is, it suits her attitude very well. While she *could* have hailed from the south, in this case they probably mostly just wanted her to have that name..
I too have speculated that she might not be an Alaskan native, that her owners might have brought or shipped her there with them. Whatever the case, though, it really has no bearing on her breed(s)…she could still be anything, but she’s still obviously a spitz type because of how she looks, see? A dog of any breed could be born in Alaska, or wind up there by any combination of events.

So, um…yeah, I’m not sure whether to think of her as having lived there all her life or not. It’s too bad I have to always be drawn to the secondary--no, tertiary--characters! ^^; We’ll probably never know the truth about them!
As to the fact that most toy breeds ARE smaller than her…well, yes. I have to say, yes. But…*stares at pictures* Yeah, y’know, the relative sizes seem like they’re…off. Skewed. As if they change from scene to scene. 0.o I’ve always chalked it up to the impossibility of animating something with perfect, realistic accuracy. I mean, they are good for the most part. Also, I'm sure Jenna's supposed to be a rather small, dainty, feminine Husky. My own dog is like that--kinda small and 'petite' for her breed.
I think the overall image is the important thing.
So…gah. An Eskie-Pom or something like that. It’s all in the right ballpark! Somehow I expect that the animators just said “generic floofy little Nordic dog” and designed her to suit her personality. I love the way she looks. :3

Yes..But since when are dogs purple?
I vote Lhasa apso/chinese crested mix. = VERY EXPENSIVE DOG.

Since never. The ability to make a purple dog is one of the freedoms animators have, and they used it.
Expensive, yes, but it doesn't match Dixie at all. We've been through why Lhasa Apso is NOT her, and neither is Chinese Crested...even the powderpuff variety doesn't look much like her.



^ That I agree with. The Pom/Chi idea has been offered before and it too is good--in reality, much too tiny, since Chihuahuas especially are way smaller than she'd be...but again, there are no perfect matches. They're animated characters so they could be almost anything, and I don't think their creators intended any of them to look exactly like anything real.

Actually, I find that she has been more commonly dubbed as a Pomerainian.
- I don't think she is a Lhasa Apso because they have wavy hair and furry faces, and she has neither one of those things.
- She can't be an Alaskan Klee Kai because those look like mini Huskies, which she is not.
- She can't be a long-haired Chihuahua (many think she is) because she is too big, has a large tuft of fur on her head, a bushy tail, and very small ears.
I believe that she is a Pomeranian because she looks a lot like one. I pretty much just described her when I was pointing out why she wasn't a Chihuahua. ^

Yes, very good. ^^
Lhasa hair is more straight than wavy, but yeah..

I think Dixies a pomeranian all evedents match up and i think the only reason why she is pink/purple is so the kids just dont see a plain white dog they want to make it more interesting

Yeah.
Her being lilac-colored makes her seem feminine and fashionable--and to be honest, you don't exactly notice, do you? I mean, you don't see her walk onscreen and cry out, "OMG purple dog! Sooo unrealistic!" It just works, so you accept it. *shrug*
Of course, pure white dogs can be extremely beautiful too, but I do think they wanted to work in different shades of color.
It's the same with Georgette from Oliver & Co. and plenty of other purple, blue, pink, and otherwise unrealistically-colored dogs...fantasy, yes, but we don't question it.

I knpw they just do it for the kids realy