Hair of the Dog

If you guessed that the picture of my latest spinning venture was dog hair, you're right.  And it's been interesting.

Someone I know wants to knit a gift for a family member using the hair from their dog, as a kind of memento.  (The dog is still healthy and alive, and running around, it's a sort of pre-emptive memento)  I was given a plastic grocery bag of fur from the dog's latest shearing, and I promptly did what any of you would have done: I shoved it deep under the pretty, more attractive, more alluring spinning fibers in my queue.

Well, time is up.  The yarn is needed by Sunday, and I hadn't touched the fuzz.  So I dug it out and shooed the kittens away.  (They're awfully fascinated by this crinkly bag of odd-animal-smelling stuff!)  I reached into the bag and pulled out...short, slick hairs.  Tried again...more of the same.

So I'm trying (madly) to spin 3/4" long slick dog hair into a yarn fit for wearing?

I tried blending with merino wool: ended up with pretty batts that incorporate the fur, but aren't exactly the same color as the dog.  Not even close.  In order to get a cohesive batt I had to go 50/50 with the merino, and it altered the color so much that it won't be recognizable as the same animal's fur, though it's a LOT easier to spin!

Next attempt, tonight, is going to be blending with llama.  At least with the llama I can match the color closer (having about 100 pounds of it resting in the garage!)

So at what point is it no longer yarn made from the dog?  At what percentage does it become "wool with dog"?

On the other side of the coin, every time I spin any yarn, there is cat hair incorporated into it, when does that become "cat yarn"?