It never fails: Every time I take my senior dog Otto into public, people ask what breed he is. And I have to smile and shrug. My standard answers:
“He’s a Disney dog!”
“He’s an Oroville Chickenhound!” (He was found as a stray pup, about four months old, in someone’s chicken coop, and brought to my local animal shelter. When I adopted him at the estimated age of 7 months, I couldn’t believe that such a cute pup had been languishing there for three months. It may have had something to do with the fact that his cage card indicated that he killed chickens.)
Mostly what I say is, “He’s very mixed.”
However, this tend to make people ask “Why don’t you get one of those DNA tests that tell you what he is?”
And I have to say, “I have! Five times! And the results are mixed!”
Otto’s DNA Journey
In 2009, I sent Otto’s DNA to the two companies that seemed to be the most reputable at the time, Wisdom Panel and Petco’s Canine Heritage. The technology was new and the results were a sketchy on details, but both companies detected Chow Chow and Border Collie. Wisdom Panel thought there was also German Shepherd and Basenji; Canine Heritage thought there was also some Poodle. I thought any of that was possible, with the exception of Basenji.
In 2016, I planned to write an updated article about DNA tests, and I again sent Otto’s DNA off to two companies that offered mixed-breed identification, just to see what they had to say.
One of the companies was DNA My Dog. Its results agreed with my “very mixed” assessment, but the breeds they suggested that might be present bordered on ludicrous: Collie, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, English Setter, and Norwegian Elkhound. Given the rural and economically depressed area in which Otto was found, I think it’s unlikely that any of those four breeds have ever set foot in the area—or at least not in the same generation!
The other company I sent a sample to in 2016 was Wisdom Panel. Shortly after the company received the sample, I received a message indicating that they recognized that they had tested the same dog previously, and that they would test the new sample anyway. Cool! That lent the endeavor credibility.
Wisdom Panel’s 2016 results offered a lot more detail than in 2009. “Basenji” had disappeared (it had been pretty unlikely), and the previously detected Border Collie, Chow Chow, and German Shepherd were still present. However, topping the list were two breeds that had not been reported by any of the companies previously: American Staffordshire Terrier and Australian Cattle Dog. At that time, the company didn’t offer estimates of the contributions of potential ancestors by percentage; instead, it offered a theoretical family tree. Otto’s showed no possible purebred ancestors until at least the great-grandparent level.
I think I might have written a blog post about the results, but I know I didn’t get around to writing a feature article about DNA that year.
Some New Information
In 2018, I asked one of our contributors to write an updated article, instead. I revisited the Wisdom Panel website, knowing that they promised to occasionally “refresh” their results as their technology improved. I also sent a sample of Otto’s DNA to a new player on the mixed-breed identification block, Embark.
In 2018, Wisdom Panel was expressing the contributions of various breeds in the dogs’ DNA as percentages. All of the results in Otto’s 2016 report were the same, but percentages had been added. They indicated that there were about equal amounts of Am Staff, Cattle Dog, Border Collie, Chow, and German Shepherd in Otto.
This was very interesting in light of the results I received from Embark’s 2018 test of Otto’s DNA. Its results were very similar—with a notable exception. Embark identified Otto’s bully breed ancestor as American Pit Bull Terrier, and also indicated that he was more APBT than anything else, as much as 21.2%! This company also found Cattle Dog, German Shepherd, Chow, and Border Collie in Otto, but added some Labrador.
While I have to admit that I’m looking forward to any future testing or updates available, I’m going to stick with calling Otto “very mixed.”
Has anyone else had your dog tested by different companies? How did your results vary?
My old dog, Cholmondley, looked like a Jack Russell- beagle cross. He appeared on the street of my Colorado mountain town as an 11 month old, already neutered, short-haired pup, white with tan spots and a docked tail, without ID. No one responded to my ads or found-dog shelter reports. I always suspected he’d been dumped out of a car, because of his weird phobias about cars (which he eventually outgrew). Customers asked for my opinion on the DNA testing in the early days, so for their and my own curiosity, I sent his swab in to Wisdom panel. It came back a cross of purebred chihuahua and purebred Finnish lapphund. That was in 2010, when you could count the Finnish lapphunds in the US just about on one hand. Unlikely, I thought – and after looking up the breed (no one in our AKC all-breed club had even seen one) I thought it even less likely. I mean, Chihuahuas are everywhere, but few folks who buy or import rare breeds allow them to run around and form ad hoc alliances with “commoners.” Chum weighed in at 23 lbs as an adult, which he remained at all his life. In 2013, I submitted another cheek swab to Wisdom panel, under a different name and owner name, and they did know they had tested him before. This time, he was half Chihuahua and half German Shepherd mix. In that GSD mix were: Finnish lapphund – 11.33%, English cocker – 9.33%, Belgian sheepdog – 8.53%, Pharaoh hound – 3.69% and dachshund – 3.27%. I have to say that if these breeds were represented in his ancestry, the canine genotype is infinitely plastic! Some Chi I could see (if I really tried) but none of the others. He looked and behaved like a mostly JRT – and his voice was very beagle. Go figure!
I bought the DNA kit from chewy.com- I believe it was Wisdom Panel. ot a single person who meets my dog believes he is 50% Chihuahua. More likely he is at least half Cairn terrier so when people ask I just say he is a Terrierist. 🙂
When people ask me about breed, I often answer that he/she is a dog.
I did do Embark which was fun. As my older girl ages at 14 year old, I wanted to do it. She came out pretty much exactly what I thought. Mostly GSD and Akita but they found some Lab too. Her personality and build was so clearly GSD and she wooo wooed and has coloring like an Akita. I would also clearly see flashes of Akita in her face.
So I had so much fun with that so I am going through the house. The second one had 6 breeds and while some were a surprise (I had always called him a Heinz 57) they all made sense, all herding dogs which I had guessed there was some herding in there, many very vocal, barky dogs, and anxiety.
It made sense.
I may want to check out Darwin’s Dogs.
I’d like to compare.
I like that …..he is a dog……very funny.
Can’t afford the fees. Supposed to, be silky terrier, but he’s not.
We adopted Izzy from a shelter almost 3 years ago, and were told that she’s Shar-Pei and Newfoundland. Her appearance backs that up perfectly, with her big round snout, heavy body and short legs, and her lustrous, wavy black fur. This past Christmas, we decided to have her DNA tested, and it resulted, like Otto, in a large percentage of American Staffordshire Terrier, with a few collie-relatives and a vague mention of an Asian relative such as Chow-chow or Shar-pei. We can’t see anything at all of Staffy in her. People always ask if she’s Shar-Pei, and we pretty much always just respond that she’s Shar-Pei and Newfy!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful post. It’s just amazing to see the different results you got back from all five DNA tests. We still need to do a DNA test on our one dog still. We hope to do that soon. We hope your having a wonderful day so far.
I haven’t had my dog tested with multiple companies, but I did use Wisdom Panel earlier this year and was quite impressed with the results. I adopted him from a local shelter in January – he is clearly a purebred Rough Collie, so I wanted to have him tested for the MDR1 mutation that is very common in Collies. My vet suggested the Wisdom Panel health assessment, which also scans for over 150 other genetic issues. The breed assessment was included, and came back 100% Collie, which didn’t surprise me. The analysis of genetic markers for various physical traits, including coat color was the part that got me. He has an unusual coat pattern – and the analysis described him pretty accurately. (He is primarily white with a tri color face)
I lost a dog about a year ago that I really intended to have tested – he was a shelter pup, and I was constantly asked what kind of dog he was – my favorite response was “he’s a GOOD DOG!” He was a sweetie, unfortunately our battle with cancer was brief and the cancer won before I even thought about a cheek swab…but that’s okay – he will forever remain my Good Boy!
I had my dog’s DNA done when the tests first came out for home use. I paid about $50. Cheek swab. I don’t remember the company but I did get percentages but no family tree. As soon as I saw it I could see the breeds. While I’m not sure about some of the minor percentages his two biggest contributors were apparent; Boston Terrier and Afghan hound. He had the body of an Afghan Hound except for the ears and the coloring and gait of a Boston Terrier. He loved to run and was definitely a sight hound. He would bark at the birds perching above on the electrical wires. When he ran toward me I saw Boston Terrier. I even saw a few Dalmatian polka dots in his white parts. He lived to be 14 years and 9 months.
Now I have Diana pawPrints. I did Embark on her along with the medical. She is completely clear which is reasuring. I expected her to have pit bull and she does. The rescue said lab mix and she has no lab at all. But she does have large parts of German Shepherd and Golden Retriever. Embarks matches them to dogs who share DNA and she is constantly having German Shepherds come up as cousins and half siblings so I guess her Dad or Grandfather is still actively breeding.
When my parent got their puppy I had her done with Embark as well. Explained a lot. Still some pit bull but also boxer. I suspected it. Also cocker spaniel, German shepherd and down in the supermutts a Blue Lacey coonhound. That explains her extensive vocabulary. He large variety of vocalizations delights my Mother who calls her her little coonpuppy.
I had their previous dog down with Wisdom panel and it was straight out easy. 75% Labrador Retriever, 12.5% Golden Retriever and 12.5% white German Shepherd. Well, that explained her coloring. Think a labrador with German Shepherd coloring.
They have and are all outstanding dogs. All very healthy, long lived and with great temperaments.
Dog DNA has come a long way and getting better every year. Now that they can test for genetic abnormalities and medical issues I would recommend going the whole hog and getting the complete medical panel. Dolly came up as having an issue with tests so something for the Vet to watch for. No genetic problems, just that the tests might not be accurate. That is good to know. I had both Dolly and Diana’s tests sent directly to our vet and they are in their files for reference. The best thing about knowing the breeds is that some breeds tend toward certain medical problems so knowing the breeds can help to identify a likely problem if something comes up.
So I guess the moral of this story is to not waste your money on DNA tests for dogs.
I don’t care if my dog is 99.99 % shit breed I love my pound pup dog!!!! So those of u that must know pay for your DNA tests it doesn’t really matter you will love your pup just the
SAME!!!😊. It is good to know i guess for future medical purposes if any arise. I can understand that! Just keeping loving that mixed breed pound pup like it was a $2000 papered one !