what breed was old yeller?
In the novel, Old Yeller is a Black Mouth Cur. Spike, the dog who played Old Yeller in the movie, was purchased as a pup from the Van Nuys Animal Shelter in Van Nuys, California by trainers Frank and Rudd Weatherwax. At the time of his purchase, Spike's ancestry was unknown. In the commentary on the two-disc Old Yeller DVD, it is revealed by a Weatherwax relative that Spike was a 170+ pound Labrador Retriever/Mastiff cross.