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nimdreamsOriginally posted on August 6, 2023 and edited on September 23, 2023
I've tried different breeds in the past, and I do not know if I will find that a different breed fits me better in the future, but this is my journey so far.
As soon as I joined the community and learned it's different terms, I knew I was a dog in a way. Animalhearted was a term I felt very comfortable using and I have called myself either dog-hearted or a dog therian from the very beginning.
The first time I called myself a dog therian, I was still researching different breeds. Then in January 2020, I first felt a very strong pull and click with a breed, the Chinese Crested. This is the first breed I confirmed and identified as for a time. In this case, the click I felt came from my history of researching and learning about breeds and though I thought hairless dogs looked a bit funny, I did feel this pull to them. I thought this connection could be because they were my theriotype. I didn't get any shifts that felt particularly like a Crestie, but their size felt right to me and I thought I could be a toy breed as I don't have much of a hunting instinct nor interest in herding or pulling.
The second dog breed I confirmed was the Silken Windsprite in March 2023. I had had envisage shifts since October 2021 that lined up with this breed very well. The confirmation of this breed was largely based off these shifts and their personality fit me very well too. I had never seen or heard of this breed before and the day I found them is the day I confirmed them. They felt like a comfortable fit, but eventually I changed my label from therian to hearted and the Windsprite went to the back of my mind. I still felt like, if I were a dog I'd be a Windsprite, until I went back to the dog therian label and felt like I had to explore my breed more.
One breed I never fully confirmed but questioned most is the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They made sense as a toy breed and their size was what felt right. I mostly questioned them because of my insanely strong connection to them, as my first dogson was a Cavie. I also have the same brain malformation that a lot of Cavies suffer from. However, their coloring never matched up with the coloring I saw myself being and I didn't feel like their personality was mine.
The third breed I have confirmed and also questioned the longest (from the very beginning in fact) is the Golden Retriever. They fit with my shifts, they are the right color and I have a history with Goldies as my imaginary pups. When I was young, I got myself a Golden puppy plushie and treated it like my own pup. I really bonded strongly with this plush, had picked him out specifically for being the plush that most felt like my own.
I never quite cared for Golden Retrievers more than other breeds. I grew up with Flat-Coated Retrievers instead and felt like Goldens were overrated. So possibly having the Goldie as my theriotype wasn't something I thought much of.
However, I kept going back to this breed because of my plush and because whenever I imagined my own puppies, they were Golden puppies. There has also always been something about the color of their coat that resonated magically and deeply within me. And their size, even though I imagined myself as a smaller dog; the way my mental shifts had me react to other dogs actually made sense with a bigger breed, and as a bigger bodied person, the Goldie's size overlaps my self image better.
I am not sure if my personality fits with the typical Golden Retriever, but I find that matters less because each dog has their individuality too.
That is where I am right now. For the first time really getting to stretch my Goldie paws and settling comfortably in my Goldie fur. This feels different because instead of labeling myself something I believe I identify as, it is based off something deeper. Something I have history and experiences with. It is not something I chose as the best fit, but something that makes sense, a logical conclusion.
Update: After settling as a Golden Retriever I went back to questioning a few dog breeds. I questioned the English Cocker Spaniel because friends see me as one and it feels so good to be seen as your theriotype. I also questioned the Kooikerhondje because this breed lined up perfectly with my identity as a witch's familiar. I have returned to calling myself a Golden Retriever therian however, as that breed just matches up too perfectly with how I see myself and my experiences.
I've tried different breeds in the past, and I do not know if I will find that a different breed fits me better in the future, but this is my journey so far.
As soon as I joined the community and learned it's different terms, I knew I was a dog in a way. Animalhearted was a term I felt very comfortable using and I have called myself either dog-hearted or a dog therian from the very beginning.
The first time I called myself a dog therian, I was still researching different breeds. Then in January 2020, I first felt a very strong pull and click with a breed, the Chinese Crested. This is the first breed I confirmed and identified as for a time. In this case, the click I felt came from my history of researching and learning about breeds and though I thought hairless dogs looked a bit funny, I did feel this pull to them. I thought this connection could be because they were my theriotype. I didn't get any shifts that felt particularly like a Crestie, but their size felt right to me and I thought I could be a toy breed as I don't have much of a hunting instinct nor interest in herding or pulling.
The second dog breed I confirmed was the Silken Windsprite in March 2023. I had had envisage shifts since October 2021 that lined up with this breed very well. The confirmation of this breed was largely based off these shifts and their personality fit me very well too. I had never seen or heard of this breed before and the day I found them is the day I confirmed them. They felt like a comfortable fit, but eventually I changed my label from therian to hearted and the Windsprite went to the back of my mind. I still felt like, if I were a dog I'd be a Windsprite, until I went back to the dog therian label and felt like I had to explore my breed more.
One breed I never fully confirmed but questioned most is the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They made sense as a toy breed and their size was what felt right. I mostly questioned them because of my insanely strong connection to them, as my first dogson was a Cavie. I also have the same brain malformation that a lot of Cavies suffer from. However, their coloring never matched up with the coloring I saw myself being and I didn't feel like their personality was mine.
The third breed I have confirmed and also questioned the longest (from the very beginning in fact) is the Golden Retriever. They fit with my shifts, they are the right color and I have a history with Goldies as my imaginary pups. When I was young, I got myself a Golden puppy plushie and treated it like my own pup. I really bonded strongly with this plush, had picked him out specifically for being the plush that most felt like my own.
I never quite cared for Golden Retrievers more than other breeds. I grew up with Flat-Coated Retrievers instead and felt like Goldens were overrated. So possibly having the Goldie as my theriotype wasn't something I thought much of.
However, I kept going back to this breed because of my plush and because whenever I imagined my own puppies, they were Golden puppies. There has also always been something about the color of their coat that resonated magically and deeply within me. And their size, even though I imagined myself as a smaller dog; the way my mental shifts had me react to other dogs actually made sense with a bigger breed, and as a bigger bodied person, the Goldie's size overlaps my self image better.
I am not sure if my personality fits with the typical Golden Retriever, but I find that matters less because each dog has their individuality too.
That is where I am right now. For the first time really getting to stretch my Goldie paws and settling comfortably in my Goldie fur. This feels different because instead of labeling myself something I believe I identify as, it is based off something deeper. Something I have history and experiences with. It is not something I chose as the best fit, but something that makes sense, a logical conclusion.
Update: After settling as a Golden Retriever I went back to questioning a few dog breeds. I questioned the English Cocker Spaniel because friends see me as one and it feels so good to be seen as your theriotype. I also questioned the Kooikerhondje because this breed lined up perfectly with my identity as a witch's familiar. I have returned to calling myself a Golden Retriever therian however, as that breed just matches up too perfectly with how I see myself and my experiences.
