So I let people submit their suggestions for dog breeds, and tbh I think I might already be sold on my final choice but I'm still going to poll the options I liked best. (I have a lot of dog opinions.)
Now, bear in mind, in narrowing my options here I'm going off a variety of factors including aesthetics/vibes, the breed roles/"jobs", and general breed temperament. (This is the part where I out myself as half just making this post to ramble about dog breeds and making inane correlations to human -Jason's, obviously- behavioral patterns.)
What kind of dog is Jason?
Irish Wolfhound
Australian Shepherd
Cane Corso
Australian Cattle Dog
Why didn't you include-?
Breed pics & exclusions/reasons under the cut:
This animal has such a majestic journey from cute scruffy baby to a wretched looking beast and I love it. @glitter-stained mentioned it reminding you of the Baskerville hound and yes I think these animals would make for a perfect recreation of it, and the literary reference is appealing because, well, Jason.
Irish Wolfhounds are a sighthound which means they were bred to rely on speed and sight over scenting. As their name implies that hunting includes large predator animals including, purportedly, the last of the wolves in Ireland. Or, rather, their predecessor did. The original wolfhounds that these ones were inspired after and bred to recreate are technically a lost breed. Which, I mean, has some potentially interesting symbolism re: Jason's death & resurrection.
This breed is often seen as reserved and deeply intelligent, forms strong bonds with its owners and the other animals it is raised with and is not always the most adaptable to change. Independent, it's not a defender of spaces, but will defend their family and is fairly friendly with strangers. The breed comes with a historic motto "gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked" which is very fun. So, overall they're more of a "guardian" breed than a "guard" breed if you keep them around for those purposes, but that initial idea behind them is to hunt large game. The original breed may or may not have at some point been given to some roman or greek, idr, and impressed people by being able to hold their own against lions.
I'm enamored with this image. While I understand the inclination to categorize Jason as a guard dog, Jason as a working breed has just a little certain something to it for me. @daisybell-on-a-carousel you said that these two choices were largely aesthetic based and favoring tri/multicolored coats but further examination does I think reveal some rather inspired takes here.
Right off the bat Australian Shepherds remind me of how I prefer to portray (post-resurrection) Jason with sectoral heterochromia, but like via their fur. They're also funny because they're a misnomer since they were developed in California, but the name supposedly comes from the collies from Australia and New Zealand that made up one half of their progenitor breeds. Though bred for herding it is modernly one of the most popular companion dogs in the US. This means they're generally very energetic and intelligent, and often are prone to herding people and other animals even when that's not formally their job. They can, of course, get destructive if their needs for exercise isn't met like all herding breeds.
This might be a little funny but it does somewhat feel very Pre-Crisis Jason to me? That boy needs a job to do so bad, needs to feel useful that he puts himself in that role even when he's not (entirely) needed/it's not a role they want to put him in.
Special mention to the fact that I actually live near a breeder for Cane Corsos, and therefore have met and learned a great deal about them by chatting with them when they come to my job and sometimes have one of them along for the ride. They are beautiful animals. Now, I have to admit that I tend to be less in favor of the "Walking Fridge" depictions of Jason, bcs a lot of times it comes at the expense of his flippiness, and the fact that he's been remarked to fight like Dick in Hush/passed as Nightwing in BiB (despite the rest of that comic's flaws) is very dear to me, but I'm tbh genuinely impressed by this suggestion. Especially from someone who is "not an expert," @hannibal-is-my-comfort-show
Cane Corso are modernly a companion/guard breed, and a kind of mastiff. They are also extremely intelligent (the aforementioned breeder often jokes that his dogs are smarter than he is) and historically have had a role in hunting large game as well as protecting and herding cattle. Now, for anyone unfamiliar with dog breeding lore, herding dogs HAVE to be very intelligent. And part of this particular breed's standard for registration requires them to be indifferent to gunfire, tranquil to inoffensive strangers, but aggressive in defending their owners.
So I think we're hitting some very interesting points here. While I'm not discounting it for main continuity, I think perhaps would be a good match for, say, AK!Jason?
This is Daisybell's other suggestion, and the Australian Cattle Dog has much of the same appeal as the Shepherd on an aesthetic level and in its being another working breed. This one, however, was actually bred in Australia. Notably, it was bred to herd via biting and has been known to nip running children and forms very strong, protective bonds with its owners. Cattle dogs, like a majority of herding breeds, require consistent training and structure or else they can get a bit destructive. However, these ones do also have some decently high standards that it can't be too repetitive and needs to be thoroughly engaging for the pooch.
Things that appeal I think is that they have a shorter coat than the Shepherds, and Post-Crisis Jason (esp as Robin) as a bitey herder does sound rather appropriate, I think. Very akin to the previous herder it's something of Jason putting himself into a job because he sees something that he thinks need to be done, AND his methods are something that can be seen as scarier for many people despite the dog's overall friendly face. which dovetails nicely with the way his new origin made him less popular.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
I... sure hope the wide variety of images I've posted here explain why I didn't include "Mutt" in this poll. A suggestion like, idk, American Bull Terrier & Black Lab mix (which would classify as a mutt, rather than a hybrid) it would be something more substantial for me to work with. The whole point of crowdsourcing this question is to avoid having to work out the details like that myself. (I mean, partly, it was more I was at work and my code-switch-y brain suddenly could not recall like 90% of my dog breed knowledge.) Shout out to the like, 2-3 people who did specify "(breed) mix" in their suggestions.
That said, there is a strong non-zero chance (as in, I really wasn't ever planning on having Jason as, like, a breed standard/pedigreed animal) that I reference something like "not being full-blooded," but fundamentally what I'm looking for in my asking is/was a base breed. Dogs are such wonderfully varied creatures that have their jobs literally bred into them and their visually and and literally so incredibly varied in size and coloration... you see the dilemma right? A mutt can be anything, regardless of the way they're traditionally portrayed in, say, Lady and the Tramp or, like, Balto (who yeah is half wolf but he's still a mutt), there's realistically too much variance to the concept.
Ahhh, pibbies, pibbies, pibbies... A rather beloved breed for me, I grew up with two and was (and am), in fact, a very staunch advocate for the breed... within some reason there are definitely some people who go to far with it like when they fake the Dog's breed in order to sneak it into places where regulations forbid them. Seriously, way to make the work of getting them accepted harder. So, anyways, when I tell you that I know their history rather extensively, and thematically I see the vision, I mean it.
"Pit Bull" as many know the term, is actually an umbrella term that covers about four-five different breeds (sometimes including some bulldogs) and their respective crossbreeds, and nearly every mixed mutt that has a more muscular build and square face is often labeled under the category of "pit bull type." This is a much narrower field, but similar to the previous problem.
And yet it's almost perfect that way, right? "Pit Bull" doesn't have pedigreed breed standards in the way most breeds on this list would, but I'm going to be honest with you, my entire rejection here is aesthetic. This applies to bulldogs as well as the pitties that are more bulldog-like in figure, I am, once again, not exactly big on the not-exactly-canon walking fridge who's got all this strength and fights like Batman. That said, however, pitties are definitely the perfect breed for, I think, GK!Jason who does kinda display more of that aesthetic.
"Why are these three, completely different dogs in the same entry?"
I could give you a deep, introspective analysis about Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Dobermans, however my issue with these options are all the same, and unfortunately... sigh. I'm not immune to propaganda. I'm sorry animals, but I cannot see a black coat with brown or tan points and not immediately think "That dog's a fucking cop."
So, y'know. That's off the table for me. Would be a great choice for Lobdell's version of Jason though, the cop-ass-kissing bullshit motherfucker that he is! ... Special shout out though to "he kinda built like a doberman," the wide chest and slim waist? Yeah, I see it. Especially Gotham War!Jason, I think that's a worthwhile comparison.
Other mentions:
Pomeranian - Very fun. I'm reminded of this classic post. Alternatively, please play Ghost Trick:
Jason, don't lie, you're not a to- *shot*
Yorkshire Terrier/any other "toy" companion breed - While there is something to be said about itty bitty baby Jason being brought on board exclusively because Bruce was lonely and needed something or someone to fill the space after Dick left, No. I have nothing against companion breeds, but they feel a bit less... survivable on a metaphoric level? Considering Jason's history, the vibes just don't hit for me.
Chihuahua - I'm not going to lie to you, I don't' even consider this a serious suggestion. There's no contender. He has nothing of the breed characteristics. Once again, a small companion breed, so, no. At best the nervous little beasties serve as a watch animal (as in, makes a lot of noise and alerts the owners about intruders), and while I'm not going to let a conquistador have any validity, supposedly they were bred and sold as food by the Aztecs--which I only mention because it reminds me of that "feeding cats to coyotes" post and people correlating it to "feeding Robins to Joker." A more interesting fact however is that they are one of two breeds that still seem to retain the unique ancient genome sequence of pre-colonial Native American dog breeds. Regardless...
If I were to do a smaller breed I would likely choose something like... I dunno, a Boykin or American Water Spaniel? Maybe a Small Munsterlander? Hmmm, yeah, the overall versatility of the S. Munsterlander would probably be good. All those breeds are hunting dogs but Spaniels are mostly used for flushing, but the S. Munsterlander's are pretty good for training into just about any role people have for a small hunting dog. A Boykin would probably be higher on my choice list of Spaniels as well, given their tendency to take their time before pushing a rather aggressive flush which is a very Jason-like behavior. They also have some pretty strong fetch instincts too.
