There is a specific frustration in owning a less common dog: every shop has a shirt for Labradors and Golden Retrievers, and nothing at all for yours. It gets worse if your dog is a cross, because then even the breed-specific shops skip you.
This guide covers 26 breeds in the "It's a ___ Thing You Wouldn't Understand" line — 41 designs in total, 8 of them for crosses that rarely get their own merchandise. Everything starts at $21.99.
How to pick between two near-identical designs
Every shirt here says the same sentence, so the wording is not the decision. Three things are:
- Does the drawing look like their dog? This matters more than anything else, and it is where breed shirts most often fail. Coat length and ear shape are what give a wrong illustration away, and an owner spots it instantly.
- Text-led or illustration-led? Plain lettering reads from across a room and photographs better. Heavier artwork carries more character but shrinks at distance.
- Which garment? Most of these are unisex tees at the same price. Where a price jumps, it is the garment — a sweatshirt or hoodie — not a better print.
10 breeds worth starting with
1. It's a Basenji Thing You Wouldn't Understand
Basenjis do not bark. They yodel, and every owner has had the same conversation with a stranger about it more than once. That is exactly the kind of in-group detail this line was made for, and there are three designs to choose between. See all 3 Basenji designs.
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2. It's a Shih Poo Thing You Wouldn't Understand
A Shih Tzu crossed with a poodle. Crosses almost never get their own merchandise, so owners spend years seeing shirts for the parent breeds and nothing for theirs. Three designs here, all on standard tees. See all 3 Shih Poo designs.
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3. It's a Samoyed Thing You Wouldn't Understand
The fur gets on everything and the dog smiles through it. Samoyed owners are resigned to both. Three layouts, from a soft illustration to a plain text-led version that reads faster across a room. See all 3 Samoyed designs.
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4. It's a Saint Bernard Thing You Wouldn't Understand
The drool is not an exaggeration and Saint Bernard owners will confirm it unprompted. This is the only breed on the list with a hooded option, though the hoodie costs $15 more than the tees. See all 3 Saint Bernard designs.
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5. It's a Basset Hound Thing You Wouldn't Understand
Stubbornness on short legs. Anyone who has tried to hurry a Basset up knows the joke writes itself. Two prints, so you can pick the drawing that looks most like yours. See all 2 Basset Hound designs.
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6. It's a Shiba Inu Thing You Wouldn't Understand
Shibas behave like cats in dog form, and owners find this considerably funnier than their friends do. Two designs at the same price. See all 2 Shiba Inu designs.
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7. It's a Cavapoo Thing You Wouldn't Understand
One of the most popular crosses of the last decade and still barely represented in shops. If you have been looking for Cavapoo merchandise and finding only Cavalier or poodle designs, this is why.
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8. It's a Corgidor Thing You Wouldn't Understand
A Labrador on corgi legs. It looks exactly as strange as it sounds, and owners of one are used to explaining the mix to everybody they meet.
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9. It's a Biewer Terrier Thing You Wouldn't Understand
The rarest breed on this page. Biewer owners spend most dog-park conversations explaining that it is not a Yorkie, which makes a shirt that does the explaining for them genuinely useful.
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10. It's a Doberman Pinscher Thing You Wouldn't Understand
The reputation and the actual dog rarely match, and that gap is most of what Doberman owners end up talking about. A plain, legible design rather than an aggressive one.
See detailsThe other 16 breeds
Each of these has its own page with every design we have found for it:
Airedale Terrier (2) · Alaskan Malamute · Bearded Collie · Bernedoodle · Bichon Frise (2) · Carolina Dog · German Shorthaired Pointer · Irish Terrier · Maltese · Maltipoo (2) · Mastador · Peekapoo · Rat Terrier (2) · Saint Berdoodle · Scottish Terrier (2) · Shih Tzu
Crosses get the worst deal, and the best value here
Of the 26 breeds listed, 8 are crosses: Shih Poo, Maltipoo, Cavapoo, Corgidor, Mastador, Peekapoo, Bernedoodle and Saint Berdoodle. Cross owners are the group least served by ordinary shops, because a cross is not a breed with a kennel club behind it and nobody prints merchandise for a market that does not officially exist.
That is worth knowing when you are buying a gift. For a Labrador owner, a breed shirt is a nice thought among many available options. For a Corgidor owner, it may be the first one they have ever been given.
Sizing and ordering
- Unisex tees run true to size. Size up one if you want a relaxed fit.
- Dark colours last longer on a shirt that gets worn to the dog park.
- Allow two to three weeks. Each shirt is printed after you order, so production time comes before shipping.
- Checkout happens on the print partner's site. Sizes, colours, payment and delivery are handled there.
Browsing more broadly? The full "It's a Thing" collection covers professions, hobbies and wild animals as well as dogs, and the dog collection gathers every dog design on the site.
