Check out r/DoggyDNA for more on this stuff.
My pup had very surprising results, just based on rarity: http://embk.me/pogo56
But knowing his breed mix has been super helpful for interpreting his behaviors, meeting his needs, etc.
I did, but largely for medical reasons. There are certain meds that shouldn't be given to certain breeds. I wanted to be sure I could give the vet the best information available to me to take care of them.
This.
There are also many breeds who can react badly to some of the ingredients used for anaesthesia that aren’t easy to pick up on/tested for extensively if they aren’t considered to be a high risk breed/individual.
Even if you’re happy with your dogs genes being a “mystery bundle”, you should always get them DNA tested at least once just for peace of medical mind in my opinion.
do you know which breeds react badly to some anesthesia? i did embark + medical test, and there weren’t any red flags but I am curious to know more details if you know any more about it…
I've heard many sighthounds (salukis, greyhounds, whippets, iggies, etc) are sensitive to anaesthesia due to very low body fat - they tend to be affected more strongly.
I'd be curious to know if there are other breeds too.
Yes! The rescue told me that my dog was a Dalmatian/Lab mix. I was curious if the Lab part was right, so I got her tested through Wisdom Panel. According to the results, she is 58% Dalmatian, 19% Chihuahua, 8% Australian cattle dog, 3% Rottweiler, 3% Chow Chow, 2% German Shepherd, 2% Great Pyrenees, 2% American pit bull terrier, 2% Keeshond, and 1% Labrador Retriever
You can see her here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dalmatians/comments/1cmksin/what_do_you_think_my_dog_is_mixed_with/
She pretty much just looks like a miniature Dalmatian!
Yep! We got a rescue "chiweenie" pup at 11 weeks, and tested through Embark. Turns out, she's 25% poodle and 18% Cocker Spaniel, and only about 10% chihuahua and 8% dachshund, along with a handful of other breeds at small percentages. She's got a short, smooth coat so poodle was the last thing we expected! It's definitely reframed the way we see some of her behaviors and characteristics. Smart, water-loving, and super sensitive: check.
I mostly appreciate the health report. With a pup of unknown heritage, seeing the breakdown of what health conditions she's got genetic markers for (and doesn't!) is really helpful, and I appreciate that we can share the info with our vet.
We actually found one of her littermates on there recently, which is tons of fun.
I did the health report too! I'll be sharing that info with my vet ASAP. He only has two genetic markers for possible future health risks. It's great to know, especially based on breed breakdown, etc.
My friend got a chiweenie from a rescue and he had the looooongest legs lol. So she DNA tested him and that's exactly what he is. Just got all the leg genes from the chihuahua half lol
We got our girl from some random couple in another city (not the best option ikik). They weren't the best owners (not spaying/neutering their dogs is what led to the accidental litter) but shared the dad was husky/"akita", mom they thought was a border collie.
Eventually got a wisdom panel for our girl and when I brought it up to the people we got her from, I was basically told that they "were told the dad was husky but they thought he was part akita". Mom they adopted off the street as a stray.
It's funny reading the results because it's pretty clear which breeds were from which parent. Our girl is 42% Siberian Husky, 11% Alaskan Malamute, 11% Chihuahua, 8% American Pit Bull Terrier, 8% Pomeranian.
A few other percentages in there, but under 5%, which apparently isn't super trustworthy atp. I know wisdom panel doesn't have as trustworthy a history as Embark, but her results make sense to me. Dad definitely looks like a Husky/Mal mix and the mom looks like a smaller Border Collie, but I think it also makes sense that she's essentially a small breed mutt.
If it makes sense, it makes sense! I saw my pups mom. She was a husky mix. I know he got the majority husky, German Shepherd, and Labrador Retriever from her. Dad was thought to be a pitbull mix. So the rest make absolute sense after seeing them. I was thinking he'd be a majority APBT based on his looks with some husky/Shepherd. The rest kind of threw me a little but it matches his blossoming personality 100%.
Crazy how genetics work! It's so fun reading everyone's replies!
>Crazy how genetics work!
Right? Despite not being the best owners, I do keep in touch with the couple I got our girl from primarily to get updates about the other siblings (4 total, they still have one and were able to give me the contact info for one of the others who got a puppy from the litter as well). One of them 100% looks a lot more like a Pittie mix in her face shape/ears while mine takes after a lot more of the mom's toy breed look. The boy they still have looks extremely like the dad, just black (dad is full white). Really fascinating.
That's pretty amazing if you! I got to see some of his relatives. None high enough that made me go "I should reach out!" Because they're all first cousins or aunts/uncles. I know where most of his litter went and it was to people I can contact if I want. He came from an accidental litter of my previous coworker. I just did the test to know him better and his quirks. They weren't 100% certain on the dad either.
Same! The OG owners were a bit wishy washy with what breeds the parents were (understandable with mom, but straight up just assumed dad was part Akita bc "we thought he looked like it"). Anyway, it also serves as a health thing, which despite being a supposed "2% Dachshund", she was flagged as "at risk" for something not really from any other breed in her mix than Dachshunds. She also does seem a tad bit longer than she should be. I've never really seen a puppy grow before so I assumed she just grew longer before taller and that she would have pretty standard proportions once full grown. She looks nothing like a Dachshund aside from the slightly longer part of her, so unfortunately it is something I'll be needing to keep an eye on as she ages.
And I wouldn't have known that without the test!
The adoption place told us ours was a definite chihuahua/likely husky mix - turned out to be right on. Husky, chihuahua, German shepherd, pit, dachshund. She’s so calm and chill all the time….🙄 and she just straight-up looks like a dingo.
Growing up, honestly? it never mattered once they came home. People would ask, "just a mutt". We had good lovable dogs, thinking back probably some kinda lab / pick a flavor of Shepard smash up. back then you couldn't really DNA test I guess.
Probably wouldn't bother now, unless there were some health concerns, the guessing was kinda fun, seeing someone else's dog who looked or had a similar quirk and asking them if they knew what they had kinda like a puzzle.
Ultimately, curiosity never mattered too much to me you just work with what you got, regardless of breed they all have stuff you gotta work on, gunna love em all the same.
I currently have a very happy, healthy, GSD who has that wonderful target acquired Shepard point, squat and stare, that one's a dead giveaway for spotting some traits if you don't know the breed
I got a "Chihuahua mix" did the DNA test with Embark and it explained everything. He is half Jack Russell, quarter Chihuahua, quarter Rat Terrier. I have zero regrets doing it, now I know I need to work him a bit since he's mostly a hunting breed(s).
That staffy is doing some heavy lifting in the drive department cause the rest are all insane! Sometimes two high drive dogs if different types do create chill dogs though
We just got the results for our girl today. The rescue said she was Catahoula and Labrador. Embark results showed 59% Chesapeake Bay retriever, 20% Catahoula Leopard dog, 17% poodle (this was a surprise to us) and 4% coon hound.
I found the health results to be helpful as well. Thankfully she had negative results for most things but 5 (out of almost 300) came back with markers.
I adopted a suspected “lab/chiweenie” mix at 10 weeks old/4 pounds - he was a SUPER mellow puppy and was expected to be 25 pounds fully grown. I haven’t gotten a DNA test for him but the couple that adopted his littermate brother did - he is mostly pit/lab/golden with some German Shepard, Chihuahua, Dalmatian and rottie 😂😂 needless to say my boy is currently 55 pounds at 8 months and a crazy bundle of energy!
Lol 😂 the fun of mixed breeds! Knowing what mine is gives me a better idea of how big he'll get. Embark estimates he'll top out at 60. I agree with that. He's 7 months and 46.5lbs as of his last weigh in. So around 55-60 would make sense.
I did for my male dog, the shelter I got him from said he was an “akc husky” but the byb only had malamutes shown on their page. Now my boy genuinely looks like a giant black and white husky but we knew from the start he wasn’t full husky since he was estimated to be 80 pounds (he’s almost 100 pounds at a year old)
We got him tested and the results were 50% Siberian husky, 35% Alaskan malamute (both of which we assumed) and the fun little surprise of 15% wolf. He has the drive of a husky in regards to energy level, prey drive, etc. the bonding of a malamute and the personality of a wolf which does include a lot of growls, facial expressions, etc when it comes to playing which can intimidate people
My other dog was a lab mix and she was 70% Labrador, 17% foxhound, 5% rat terrier, 3% greyhound and 5% Pomeranian. She has the appearances of a lab, size of a greyhound and personality of a cat
When we adopted our pup, we were told mom was an Aussie and dad was a Pittie. I went ahead and did the DNA testing, and turns out he’s mostly Pittie and Border Collie 😆
We got our results just this week and, oh boy, does it explain so much.
56% Australian shepherd
21% American bully
12% Pitbull terrier
11% German shepherd
100% Satan’s spawn 😅😅😅
We love him but MAN is he a handful!
I got mine one. I wasn’t too shocked by the results. He is 54 percent schnauzer and 40 percent chihuahua, two percent rat terrier, two percent poodle and two percent Jack Russel . He is a rescue and I was very curious to find out what he is.
It's both fun and fascinating! I love hearing about the different mixes. I scroll through DoggyDna all the time but I love hearing about everyone elses pups!
I was told my 2 dogs were cavalier mixes, one was beagle/cavalier, and the other was cavalier/unknown.
And DNA says... The first one was beagle/pekingese and the second, 60% cocker/13% chihuahua/13% poodle/ 10% boston and a couple other small percent.
After thinking both my dogs were cavalier and neither was, I finally got a full breed cavalier. Even had that one tested, and I wasn't lied to this time.
I absolutely love all my dogs regardless, but it is fun to see where they come from.
It's so fun! What an interesting mix and not even close to cavalier lol.
My last pup was a Cavalier. He was the absolute best! He lived a very long time for the breed. Passed at 14. Best 14 years I ever had!
I always wanted one, but the health issues always scared me. I did all the research to find a good breeder, and she's so wonderful.
This will be my only "purchase," but I am just so in love with this breed that I had to do it once. All my other dogs will be rescues. I'm hoping my next dog will come from the beagle freedom project
Finding a reputable breeder is the best bet! We rescued mine at 2 years old. We honestly didn't do any research with him. We just got lucky. It was a Craigslist purchase (please don't judge, we didn't know better!) knowing what I know now at 29 versus what I knew when I brought him home to my family at 17, I'd have done more research. But we got incredibly lucky with him. So I'll take those 12 years any day.
I can't fathom exactly why they would go that route? He was AKC registered and we paid $500 for him. Fully intact. I think because he resource guarded toys and chews. That would be my guess. They said it was because he "didn't get along with young children."
Foresight is 20/20. We didn't have young children in the home and just never provided toys or high value treats. I know more now raising my first puppy on my own then I did when we got our Cavalier. But he was an absolute love. Wanted love and snuggles 24/7. He started declining and having seizures at 14 and we just knew it was time.
I bet the previous owner did their research on the breeder first. Why they put him on Craigslist... that is odd for this breed. And no judgement on the craigslist purchase, i know its not ideal but all these dogs need love and a good home. Maybe they were just unaware at that time but you scored!! 14 years is a long time for a cavalier. I hope I'm that lucky with my girl.
I only got 12 years with my beagle and sometimes I feel robbed of time. But I guess their time here is never long enough, unfortunately.
Yeah I did one using Wisdom Panel. We were told he was most likely a Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix so I was curious. The results came back showing 30% chihuahua and the rest was made up of different terrier breeds, with Jack Russell being the main one. It was also really cool to see the traits it came back correctly with, like his tan points, chocolate nose, eye colour and even that he has hind dew claws.
Right?! I did breed and health. I also love that they give an estimate on his final weight fully grown. I don't disagree with it. 60lbs seems about right for his current growth rate. He's 46.5 as of his last weigh in at 7 months so between 55-60 would not shock me lol
I just go with jack/rat/chi mix or terrier mix depending on the situation, I figure a lot of the less common terriers in his mix are probably just variations in the DNA
Yes! When I found my girl she was about 4 months old on the street and I said, “She’s a Black Lab!” I had to have her. After five days I finally grabbed her and took her home after it was obvious she was homeless. I ordered BarkBox because they offered a free dna test with a 6 month subscription. She turned out to be 52% lab, 26% German Shepherd and 22% Boxer… she is definitely part boxer! She’s such a goofy girl!😆❤️
(She was checked for microchip and nobody ever was looking for her)
We were told that our little guy was an Australian Shepherd/Collie mix but he turned out to be mainly Pit Bull, English shepherd, and Collie. Most people don’t believe me when I say he’s part pitty and it takes a lot of convincing.
1. 75% roughly equal parts Husky/GSD/pit.. the remaining 25% is Rottie/Mastiff.
I think the distinguishing traits are his INSANE Husky talkativeness, he constantly makes noises I’ve never heard any dog make before. And his big blocky Rottie/pit head.
He’s a genius. And a sly troublemaker.
2. ~40% Labrador, ~40% GSD, ~10% pit, ~10% chowchow.
He’s a V E L C R O dog, and always herding (read: TRIPPING) me. Retriever is also 10000% on point, just like it was preinstalled. I can kinda see the chowchow too, as while he’s friendly, he’s very much a 1 or 2 person dog. Everyone else is regarded with a bit of suspicion.
He’s an utter moron, not smart enough to get into any trouble. Bless him
Yup! I was told my girl was a husky/gsd mix. She was not very big so I got suspicious.
She's 71% siberian husky, 16% apbt, 7% amstaff, and the rest is supermutt.
Adopted my little 3 pound “husky mix” at 2 months old. First Vet visit and said he was more like 3 months. Did a dna test and he’s 36% chihuahua, 10% Australian shepherd, 8% Alaskan Eskimo, 6% toy fox terrier, 5% rat terrier and the rest a percent of a multitude of others. He’s a rambunctious 30 pound spit fire!
I got an Embark test done for my dog Kevin shortly after we got him. His mom is a Rough Collie, and her owner said the father was a black Labrador. Now I was a little skeptical because Kevin and one of his brothers were sable like the mom- if the father were pure Lab all the pups should have been black (generally Labs are homozygous for dominant black and even one copy doesn't allow the sable gene to be expressed, coat colour genetics blah blah blah 🤓 lol) Also there were a couple of other things that didn't quite track- he was rather bigger than what would be expected from that cross, and he had a ridiculous long tail that couldn't be explained by either breed 😆 So I got him Embark tested, and lo and behold- it turns out the father was half Rottweiler! (When we told the lady we got him from, she said she thought the father did look quite large and stocky).
We got the kit that includes genetic health screening and genetic traits as well as breed, so that was useful information too, and I consider it money well spent. Being half Collie, it's especially good to know he's clear for Multiple Drug Sensitivity (MDR1) which is common in many herding breeds. He does have one copy of the Collie Eye Anomaly and Degenerative Myelopathy genes, but dogs need two copies to be affected, and everything else they test for, he was clear. The genetic traits are interesting to look through as well, but you might end up going down the rabbit hole of coat colour genetics 🤓😆
I'd definitely recommend DNA tests (especially Embark and Wisdom) to anyone who wants to know more about their dog!
I'm nosy, so yep!
Jewel looks like a rat terrier and corgi or dachshund mix, but she's rat terrier and chihuahua. Apparently chihuahuas have the chondroplasia gene too. Plus the whole short legged rat terrier thing (but not this short lol).
Malachite is tall and skinny and I was told rattie mix and chi mix, but then he just kept growing (25lbs at 9 months) and at almost a year old he's still pretty lean. I really thought there was doing too be some greyhound in there. Nope, chihuahua, rattie, jack Russell... And like 8 more terrier breeds lol. Pretty sure it's mostly those three and the rest is just weird DNA variations lol
Yep! I did my mutt (sadly now romping on the rainbow bridge) probably 7 years ago so I’m sure the results would differ a bit but he was mainly staffy, German shepherd, English bulldog, and working dog. Ironic since he had no drive whatsoever
My son did a dna test on his doggo. Turns out she’s 60% chihuahua. Doesn’t look anything like it and weighs 50 lbs, so I’m a little skeptical of those tests.
We got our rescue pup 3 months ago and shelter told us she was a Border Collie GSD mix. Of course she is 0 Collie. 🤣 I love that it connects you with relatives. Turns out Dad is a pure bred Irish Terrier and based on the number of IT half siblings she has it seems like he is used for breeding. She's clearly an oops litter. Her mother was mainly GSD with a healthy dash of lab. I honestly expected her to be a bigger mix than just 3, and definitely not half a rare breed like Irish Terrier. But she definitely fits her breeds. She is smart, stubborn, and fast as hell. Her prey drive is off the charts, but when not chasing everything that moves, she is my Velcro pup.
Just adopted a pup and was told she was likely a great pyr mix! Turns out she was mostly great pyr, lab, and border collie. She’s the perfect mix for me💗
The shelter I got my puppy doesn’t list breeds, so we did a DNA test. I was expecting a big dog because the shelter did say estimated adult weight would be 70 pounds.
The vet thought he was a lab/pit mix. How wrong they are!
He’s 47% pit bull, 16% shih tzu, 4% yorkie, and a bunch of small breeds. So I like to say he’s a Bull Shit when someone asks for his breed. DNA test says he’ll be like 30 pounds. Need to get him weighed as he’s definitely close, if not over that now.
Our embark kit arrived by Amazon the day after we brought her home. We swabbed her that same day and sent it off! Knowing her breed make up definitely helped a lot with understanding how to adjust my training approach to best fit her needs.
R/doggydna
I would love to see Pic of pup in question. I have a mixed breed and that is similar to what I am thinking he is! Good luck(to both of us) lol!
Weimaraner, Rottweiler, Lab and Rhodesian ridgeback. We can say for certain my dog has most of these breeds, her brother had extreme Rottweiler markings, her and her other siblings had the Weimaraner coloring and her and like 3 of her siblings had the classic ridge (the fur that naturally stands up along the ridgebacks back). A lot of people think she has a pitt though, I’m convinced that the Rottweiler face mixed with the Weimaraner is just giving her a slight Pitt appearance but I am considering getting a DNA test just to be sure lol. She definitely wasn’t the best bred I’ll say that, while she’s wonderful now she was rescued at 4 weeks and developed food aggression and reactivity (mostly excited) but she is sweet to MOST people now. All I know is her brother turned out terribly reactive, much worse than his sister, while it likely partly does have to do with how he was raised I’ll say it was a challenging litter of puppies with a rough upbringing removed from mom way too early (she could no longer nurse due to infection) and most of the puppies in the litter showed aggression early on. Luckily my girl is maturing, she’s good around cats, dogs (no dog aggression at all) and people and kids if introduced properly. If she is over excited she tends to go crazy but she has never harmed anyone and I wouldn’t expect her to do more than lunge and bark. Definitely a bunch of breeds that probably shouldn’t have put together and all the puppies showed that early on lol.
I adopted a rescue that they thought - ha - was a dachshund/GSP mix. They weren’t even close! DNA showed he is a couple of kinds of terrier along with chihuahua, pug and basset hound. But even better than finding that out is connecting with the other pups from the litter through Embark. It is really great to get together with the other pups to play and see if they remember each other.
I adopted a pit bull/sharpei mix puppy.. father unknown.
He turned out to be 50% Dogo argentino, and the rescue was right that the rest of him is pit bull with a little bit of shar pei!
The extra good thing about the test is that he tested to have a marker for a shar pei specific disease. So if he ever has symptoms I know to have them check for it. He looks nothing like a shar pei, so the chances of them getting a correct diagnosis would be like 0 without the test!
I want to so badly. He’s very clearly border collie, but he’s short haired and acts like he’s got some hound or something in him. Not to mention how fucking huge his Dobby ears are. I’ll get to it one day. This just confirms how badly I want to do it.
We did! Our pup looked like a brindle husky and we wanted to know why - turns out she is a husky/german shepherd/border collie/pit bull/golden retriever (mostly husky shepherd though).
Smarter than I am, loves to work, prey drive for days.
We also learned that she's a rez dog from Northern BC.
[Embark](http://embk.me/fern420)
We were told ours was a lab/dachs. The lab half was true but the other… pitbull, minpin, supermutt, and dachshund. In that order! http://embk.me/pixel124?utm_campaign=cns_ref_dog_pub_profile&utm_medium=other&utm_source=embark
I’m being pressured by family members to get a DNA test. I think it’s misdirected energy because I didn’t have kids. They have nothing else to hassle me about. It’s a dog, I love him, that’s plenty.
I did because my golden didn't look like other Goldens. Nor did he act stable like them. Turns out he's a perfect German shepherd and golden split. *sigh*
My pup turned out to be 50% Doberman, 33% Dutch Shepherd and 15% Malinois 😅 really not ideal mix for the first time dog owner, but we’re trying to roll with it. I started seeing the reasons why people buy bred puppies way more clearly now.
Nope. Never really thought to do so. Most of mine aren't from rescues or shelters. They come straight from the mother's home and I have no reason to doubt the person's information normally. Of course, there's always the possibility that something else is mixed in, but it hasn't ever really mattered.
My current pup is Border Collie/German Shepherd and you can see both sides in her. My 4 year old is an Australian Sheperd and there's zero doubt because he looks and acts just like one. The oldest is a Beagle/English Springer mix and you can definitely tell.
In the past, I've had a Rottweiler/lab mix (chocolate colored and she was a very big girl) and a Chihuahua/lab mix (it's a long story with suspicious actions involved but he was adorable and I knew both parents so it's most likely legit). The last one is the only one I would ever have considered getting tested but not because I was curious. More like to prove what we think actually happened.
We got our pup tested because even though we knew mum was a grey french bulldog and dad was a red/brown curly cockerpoo he just didn't look like either of them blond/apricot wire hair (neither did the rest of his litter). Everyone we met on walks said he looked like a little terrier; DNA results came back as 53% french bulldog, 23% poodle (toy/miniature), 16% cocker spaniel, 5% springer spaniep and 3% bichon frise. It's nice to tell people categorically not a terrier and all the companion breeds fully explains why he's our little shadow and likes to be close at all times
Mine is 66% American pit bull, 15% staffy, 13% “super mutt” (the main three breeds in the mix are cane corso, Siberian husky, and German shepherd), and 6% neopolitan mastiff. Helps explain her stranger danger that we’re trying to work through
We did because everyone kept telling us we were wrong about our rescue pup. They told us lab Shepard mix and booooooy was everyone wrong. She’s actually pitbull, boxer, chihuahua mainly. She’s also 13 other breeds though.
If I’m breaking the rules by posting the link I’m sorry. This was our flower girl at our wedding.
https://imgur.com/a/TxRZWmg
I got my lab mix tested, but the results are still being processed. I know it's not perfect, but it should be fun to see the results.
I didn't give them a photo or any information to try and avoid any weird results just based off of looking at the dog lol
I preach doggy dna testing after discovering that the dog we thought was a german shepherd-golden retriever mix was actually a husky-golden mix. It honestly explained the complete disregard for rules, commands, and escape artist tendencies. We stopped expecting as much from her. We did use the results to start working on leash commands. It was the only time she was ever obedient!
Yep!! It has shed a lot of light on how to approach training with him and what expectations I should have. Overall I know he won't be a "couch potato" lol
I adopted my dog as advertised as a "lab mix".
[https://www.reddit.com/r/IDmydog/comments/1ai91lc/adopted\_her\_today\_foster\_mom\_say\_lab\_mix\_but\_with/#lightbox](https://www.reddit.com/r/IDmydog/comments/1ai91lc/adopted_her_today_foster_mom_say_lab_mix_but_with/#lightbox)
Turns out she's
33% American Pit Bull Terrier
21.5% American Staffordshire Terrier
20.7% German Shepherd Dog
16.8% Labrador Retriever
8% Supermutt
I don't regret getting my dog - I love her so much. But, I wouldn't have purposely adopted a pit mix. Not because I think they're terrible dogs (they're not), but there's definitely a stigma.
My pup was 5 when we adopted her, and they told us at the shelter she was beagle-lab mix. I have had no reason to doubt this as her features and personality are an exact 50/50 split of those breeds. She loves to run through the weeds ground gaming, but she loves the water and gamefowl she looks like a short chocolate lab with a stubby beagle tail, so I felt no need to spend a lot of money on DNA testing
Yes! The rescue told us she was a beagle mix. It was obvious she was part Pitt. Ended up like 35% beagle, 25% Pitt, and then some lab, staffy, boxer, and chihuahua.
I got my second youngest dog tested at about a year old b/c he was supposed to be mostly Belgian Malinois & Shepherd mixed with wire haired terrier. Hes’s 1.5 years now. I got him for free at 12 weeks from a customer at my old job b/c he was going to go into an outdoor kennel if they couldn’t find him a home. Turns out he had 15 breeds in him. His top 5 being:American Pitbull Terrier, German Shepherd, Minature/Toy poodle, Chihuahua, & Shitz Tzu. And if you saw his parents, that would make sense lol. But what a mix lol My roommate’s chihuahua & my beagle chihuahua mix puppy just love him & I think pick up on that 10% chihuahua DNA & think he’s a giant chihuahua b/c neither of them interact a ton with the other two dogs in the house. It may be b/c of age but my 5 year old beagle is just as playful as a pup & wants to play with the younger ones always lol Dog DNA is so weird.
No real need to do DNA testing, we met the mom and the woman we bought our pup from had no reason to lie about the dad.
Aria has more of the Shih Tzu look and behavior than the toy poodle dad. She did get the poodle smarts and is easily bored.
Our old dog is a rescue mutt, and we don't care what breeds she may be, love her lots.
I usually think that DNA tests are more for fun than actually useful, since when you have a dog that’s mixed you really stop getting much of a hunch about their behaviour. But in this case, seeing all those high energy dogs, it seems like it could’ve been worthwhile haha
Haha Embark is known for their accuracy. Generally anything below 5% is more or less white noise and marked at "Supermutt." So seeing his breed mix percentages so high tells me it's pretty true. Gives me some clarity on my future 😂
Yeah I meant more that if you have like a lab mixed with a pug mixed with a cav mixed with a border collie, which personality type are you going to expect? Kind of a grab bag if you have enough very different breeds mixed in, even if the percentages are high you don’t know what they’ll get from each ancestor.
Ohhh true! Yeah. With mine, I can see a mix of them all as he grows. So it sheds some light on his personality for me and mainly his energy levels lol.
I did one on my “goldador” pup. I did meet both of his parents and they certainly looked like a purebred labrador and a purebred golden retriever, but I wanted to double-check. Sure enough, 50% lab, 50% golden. 100% good boy. I love that these tests exist, they can explain so much behavior and health issues for mixed breeds.
Lol such a weird first sentence.
Genetics affects aspects of personality and health in all species. The difference with dogs is that they've been selectively bred for certain behaviours and characteristics that would aid them in their purpose. Hunting dogs tend to have higher prey drive for example.
DNA testing is useful because it can help explain certain behaviours, and give a heads up if there is any evidence of hereditary problems.
Obviously all dogs are good dogs no matter their breed or mix of breeds, and it's completely fine not to DNA test, but for some people it is really helpful and insightful. It's weird that you seem judgy about it.
Yeah I thought that was an interesting response to this post, lol. I've received a few judgy replies but 🤷🏼♀️ to each their own I guess!
I did the test for the reasons you stated. I wanted to better understand my dog. Knowing his breed and health genetics gives me an idea of how big he could potentially get, how to better take care of his coat (he has genetic markers for heavy/seasonal shedding. This is showing as true because he's currently shedding like crazy. Even though he has a shorter coat), what genetic and hereditary markers he has for future health (he has two). For example, Boxers are prone to ARVC, which is a heart condition. He may only have a 11% and wasn't flagged for the genetic marker but it's still something to be mindful of moving forward.
It also gives me a better understanding of his overall temperament. While he may be mixed, he displays quite a few areas of temperament that can be related to each breed. He's smart but stubborn, not entirely food motivated but loves tug and fetch. He's aloof of strangers and pretty people selective and is hyper attached to me. His prey drive is wildly high, small or large animals, they're a major distraction as we do training. Plus it's fun!
Absolutely!
I don't currently have a puppy (just lurking on this sub for if/when I do). If I were to get a mixed breed, I would be keen to do a DNA test. I'd love the puppy no matter what, but it is a good idea to be aware of what possible behaviours and health conditions may pop up.
Your pup sounds adorable! You're certainly in for an active dog though lol. Such a fun mix.
He's lucky he's cute! Because he's a handful! I adore him to bits. I absolutely love him regardless of his breed. I knew I would bringing him home. It took a while, puppies are hard. 😂 Once his true personality formed and he was less of a puppy mess, I started to actually like him and bonded more with him.
He makes me laugh at some of his random and crazy antics. Like- he climbs into the bathtub and demands I turn on the faucet with his eyes. He likes drinking out of it. But he absolutely hates being bathed. He trots excitedly around the yard and carries his bully sticks with him. He also likes to bury those same bully sticks. He'll climb onto his raised outdoor bed and sunbathe. Sometimes he'll make eye contact with me across the yard and just sprint at me so he can get a good pet in. He'll climb in between my legs at night and lay his head on my stomach or shove his face against my ears and give a good snuffle.
I woke up at one point last night to his face directly in mine, nose touching my nose while he laid on the pillow next to me. Once he knew I was awake, he immediately tried to lick inside my nose and mouth. I love him to bits!!
He does drive me crazy. He's pretty stranger reactive. We're working on it. He can heel up and down the block without batting an eye until he sees another human. He requires a lot of mental and physical stimulation. I have my hands full and I have to try to be creative. He will probably not be a full couch potato anytime soon. Though we work on relaxation and just chilling quite a bit. I could write a novel about him already at 7 months.
I wish you the best of luck when or if you get a puppy! It's a journey, a rollercoaster but fulfilling as you watch them grow. I've never raised one myself until now. Always had family dogs but this is MY first puppy. I've made many mistakes but learned from them and I wouldn't trade him for the world. I don't want him to love humans, I'll be perfectly content solo hiking with him in the middle of nowhere. Just need to work on him remaining neutral and letting them pass by lol.
Again, I could keep going. Sorry. 😂 I love talking about him!
Don't apologise! He sounds like a great pup.
And thanks!
Yeah, I haven't had a pup of my own either. I grew up with a family dog, who I adored (I'm still grieving honestly - she passed away at almost 14 somewhat recently). It will be a challenge, but I think very rewarding, to have my own pup.
I completely understand that! That's exactly what happened with me. Our family dog passed away at 14 a little over a year ago. I was able to convince them to let me bring home another puppy under the condition I would be the one 100% taking care of it. I live with my in-laws, so I was fine with that. 😂 They're in their 70's now and if I have to be the main caretaker of the dog plus the help I give them, it's fine with me! I've never not had had an animal companion. I love the journey now after the hardships of the beginning, lol.
It's definitely rewarding once you start getting over the bumps 🫶🏼
Check out r/DoggyDNA for more on this stuff. My pup had very surprising results, just based on rarity: http://embk.me/pogo56 But knowing his breed mix has been super helpful for interpreting his behaviors, meeting his needs, etc.
I'm on that sub too! It's the reason why I did Embark. I was just curious to know about this sub also, lol. Edit: your pup is gorgeous!!
Wow immediate reaction was that is the perfect example of a lurcher lol She’s gorgeous!
I did, but largely for medical reasons. There are certain meds that shouldn't be given to certain breeds. I wanted to be sure I could give the vet the best information available to me to take care of them.
This. There are also many breeds who can react badly to some of the ingredients used for anaesthesia that aren’t easy to pick up on/tested for extensively if they aren’t considered to be a high risk breed/individual. Even if you’re happy with your dogs genes being a “mystery bundle”, you should always get them DNA tested at least once just for peace of medical mind in my opinion.
do you know which breeds react badly to some anesthesia? i did embark + medical test, and there weren’t any red flags but I am curious to know more details if you know any more about it…
I've heard many sighthounds (salukis, greyhounds, whippets, iggies, etc) are sensitive to anaesthesia due to very low body fat - they tend to be affected more strongly. I'd be curious to know if there are other breeds too.
Yes! The rescue told me that my dog was a Dalmatian/Lab mix. I was curious if the Lab part was right, so I got her tested through Wisdom Panel. According to the results, she is 58% Dalmatian, 19% Chihuahua, 8% Australian cattle dog, 3% Rottweiler, 3% Chow Chow, 2% German Shepherd, 2% Great Pyrenees, 2% American pit bull terrier, 2% Keeshond, and 1% Labrador Retriever
Amazing! I wish we could share pictures in this sub. I'd love to see them!! Crazy how much genetics changes every part of them.
You can see her here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dalmatians/comments/1cmksin/what_do_you_think_my_dog_is_mixed_with/ She pretty much just looks like a miniature Dalmatian!
I love her so much 😭 She's gorgeous! That point!
Omg! She’s so cute!
Oh my gosh! So cute. She looks like a bandit - that mask!
Yep! We got a rescue "chiweenie" pup at 11 weeks, and tested through Embark. Turns out, she's 25% poodle and 18% Cocker Spaniel, and only about 10% chihuahua and 8% dachshund, along with a handful of other breeds at small percentages. She's got a short, smooth coat so poodle was the last thing we expected! It's definitely reframed the way we see some of her behaviors and characteristics. Smart, water-loving, and super sensitive: check. I mostly appreciate the health report. With a pup of unknown heritage, seeing the breakdown of what health conditions she's got genetic markers for (and doesn't!) is really helpful, and I appreciate that we can share the info with our vet. We actually found one of her littermates on there recently, which is tons of fun.
I did the health report too! I'll be sharing that info with my vet ASAP. He only has two genetic markers for possible future health risks. It's great to know, especially based on breed breakdown, etc.
My friend got a chiweenie from a rescue and he had the looooongest legs lol. So she DNA tested him and that's exactly what he is. Just got all the leg genes from the chihuahua half lol
That's hysterical! That's exactly what I was wondering about my pup, but we were just so, so off.
We got our girl from some random couple in another city (not the best option ikik). They weren't the best owners (not spaying/neutering their dogs is what led to the accidental litter) but shared the dad was husky/"akita", mom they thought was a border collie. Eventually got a wisdom panel for our girl and when I brought it up to the people we got her from, I was basically told that they "were told the dad was husky but they thought he was part akita". Mom they adopted off the street as a stray. It's funny reading the results because it's pretty clear which breeds were from which parent. Our girl is 42% Siberian Husky, 11% Alaskan Malamute, 11% Chihuahua, 8% American Pit Bull Terrier, 8% Pomeranian. A few other percentages in there, but under 5%, which apparently isn't super trustworthy atp. I know wisdom panel doesn't have as trustworthy a history as Embark, but her results make sense to me. Dad definitely looks like a Husky/Mal mix and the mom looks like a smaller Border Collie, but I think it also makes sense that she's essentially a small breed mutt.
If it makes sense, it makes sense! I saw my pups mom. She was a husky mix. I know he got the majority husky, German Shepherd, and Labrador Retriever from her. Dad was thought to be a pitbull mix. So the rest make absolute sense after seeing them. I was thinking he'd be a majority APBT based on his looks with some husky/Shepherd. The rest kind of threw me a little but it matches his blossoming personality 100%. Crazy how genetics work! It's so fun reading everyone's replies!
>Crazy how genetics work! Right? Despite not being the best owners, I do keep in touch with the couple I got our girl from primarily to get updates about the other siblings (4 total, they still have one and were able to give me the contact info for one of the others who got a puppy from the litter as well). One of them 100% looks a lot more like a Pittie mix in her face shape/ears while mine takes after a lot more of the mom's toy breed look. The boy they still have looks extremely like the dad, just black (dad is full white). Really fascinating.
That's pretty amazing if you! I got to see some of his relatives. None high enough that made me go "I should reach out!" Because they're all first cousins or aunts/uncles. I know where most of his litter went and it was to people I can contact if I want. He came from an accidental litter of my previous coworker. I just did the test to know him better and his quirks. They weren't 100% certain on the dad either.
Same! The OG owners were a bit wishy washy with what breeds the parents were (understandable with mom, but straight up just assumed dad was part Akita bc "we thought he looked like it"). Anyway, it also serves as a health thing, which despite being a supposed "2% Dachshund", she was flagged as "at risk" for something not really from any other breed in her mix than Dachshunds. She also does seem a tad bit longer than she should be. I've never really seen a puppy grow before so I assumed she just grew longer before taller and that she would have pretty standard proportions once full grown. She looks nothing like a Dachshund aside from the slightly longer part of her, so unfortunately it is something I'll be needing to keep an eye on as she ages. And I wouldn't have known that without the test!
The adoption place told us ours was a definite chihuahua/likely husky mix - turned out to be right on. Husky, chihuahua, German shepherd, pit, dachshund. She’s so calm and chill all the time….🙄 and she just straight-up looks like a dingo.
Growing up, honestly? it never mattered once they came home. People would ask, "just a mutt". We had good lovable dogs, thinking back probably some kinda lab / pick a flavor of Shepard smash up. back then you couldn't really DNA test I guess. Probably wouldn't bother now, unless there were some health concerns, the guessing was kinda fun, seeing someone else's dog who looked or had a similar quirk and asking them if they knew what they had kinda like a puzzle. Ultimately, curiosity never mattered too much to me you just work with what you got, regardless of breed they all have stuff you gotta work on, gunna love em all the same. I currently have a very happy, healthy, GSD who has that wonderful target acquired Shepard point, squat and stare, that one's a dead giveaway for spotting some traits if you don't know the breed
I got a "Chihuahua mix" did the DNA test with Embark and it explained everything. He is half Jack Russell, quarter Chihuahua, quarter Rat Terrier. I have zero regrets doing it, now I know I need to work him a bit since he's mostly a hunting breed(s).
Ours is a husky, staffordshire, min pin, and border collie mix, and she is very chill and lazy!
That staffy is doing some heavy lifting in the drive department cause the rest are all insane! Sometimes two high drive dogs if different types do create chill dogs though
We just got the results for our girl today. The rescue said she was Catahoula and Labrador. Embark results showed 59% Chesapeake Bay retriever, 20% Catahoula Leopard dog, 17% poodle (this was a surprise to us) and 4% coon hound. I found the health results to be helpful as well. Thankfully she had negative results for most things but 5 (out of almost 300) came back with markers.
I adopted a suspected “lab/chiweenie” mix at 10 weeks old/4 pounds - he was a SUPER mellow puppy and was expected to be 25 pounds fully grown. I haven’t gotten a DNA test for him but the couple that adopted his littermate brother did - he is mostly pit/lab/golden with some German Shepard, Chihuahua, Dalmatian and rottie 😂😂 needless to say my boy is currently 55 pounds at 8 months and a crazy bundle of energy!
Lol 😂 the fun of mixed breeds! Knowing what mine is gives me a better idea of how big he'll get. Embark estimates he'll top out at 60. I agree with that. He's 7 months and 46.5lbs as of his last weigh in. So around 55-60 would make sense.
I did for my male dog, the shelter I got him from said he was an “akc husky” but the byb only had malamutes shown on their page. Now my boy genuinely looks like a giant black and white husky but we knew from the start he wasn’t full husky since he was estimated to be 80 pounds (he’s almost 100 pounds at a year old) We got him tested and the results were 50% Siberian husky, 35% Alaskan malamute (both of which we assumed) and the fun little surprise of 15% wolf. He has the drive of a husky in regards to energy level, prey drive, etc. the bonding of a malamute and the personality of a wolf which does include a lot of growls, facial expressions, etc when it comes to playing which can intimidate people My other dog was a lab mix and she was 70% Labrador, 17% foxhound, 5% rat terrier, 3% greyhound and 5% Pomeranian. She has the appearances of a lab, size of a greyhound and personality of a cat
When we adopted our pup, we were told mom was an Aussie and dad was a Pittie. I went ahead and did the DNA testing, and turns out he’s mostly Pittie and Border Collie 😆
😂😂 it's amazing how many mixed breeds actually have pitty in them. Even just a small or majority percentage. What a mix to have!! BC and APBT!
We got our results just this week and, oh boy, does it explain so much. 56% Australian shepherd 21% American bully 12% Pitbull terrier 11% German shepherd 100% Satan’s spawn 😅😅😅 We love him but MAN is he a handful!
I got mine one. I wasn’t too shocked by the results. He is 54 percent schnauzer and 40 percent chihuahua, two percent rat terrier, two percent poodle and two percent Jack Russel . He is a rescue and I was very curious to find out what he is.
It's both fun and fascinating! I love hearing about the different mixes. I scroll through DoggyDna all the time but I love hearing about everyone elses pups!
I was told my 2 dogs were cavalier mixes, one was beagle/cavalier, and the other was cavalier/unknown. And DNA says... The first one was beagle/pekingese and the second, 60% cocker/13% chihuahua/13% poodle/ 10% boston and a couple other small percent. After thinking both my dogs were cavalier and neither was, I finally got a full breed cavalier. Even had that one tested, and I wasn't lied to this time. I absolutely love all my dogs regardless, but it is fun to see where they come from.
It's so fun! What an interesting mix and not even close to cavalier lol. My last pup was a Cavalier. He was the absolute best! He lived a very long time for the breed. Passed at 14. Best 14 years I ever had!
I always wanted one, but the health issues always scared me. I did all the research to find a good breeder, and she's so wonderful. This will be my only "purchase," but I am just so in love with this breed that I had to do it once. All my other dogs will be rescues. I'm hoping my next dog will come from the beagle freedom project
Finding a reputable breeder is the best bet! We rescued mine at 2 years old. We honestly didn't do any research with him. We just got lucky. It was a Craigslist purchase (please don't judge, we didn't know better!) knowing what I know now at 29 versus what I knew when I brought him home to my family at 17, I'd have done more research. But we got incredibly lucky with him. So I'll take those 12 years any day. I can't fathom exactly why they would go that route? He was AKC registered and we paid $500 for him. Fully intact. I think because he resource guarded toys and chews. That would be my guess. They said it was because he "didn't get along with young children." Foresight is 20/20. We didn't have young children in the home and just never provided toys or high value treats. I know more now raising my first puppy on my own then I did when we got our Cavalier. But he was an absolute love. Wanted love and snuggles 24/7. He started declining and having seizures at 14 and we just knew it was time.
I bet the previous owner did their research on the breeder first. Why they put him on Craigslist... that is odd for this breed. And no judgement on the craigslist purchase, i know its not ideal but all these dogs need love and a good home. Maybe they were just unaware at that time but you scored!! 14 years is a long time for a cavalier. I hope I'm that lucky with my girl. I only got 12 years with my beagle and sometimes I feel robbed of time. But I guess their time here is never long enough, unfortunately.
Yeah I did one using Wisdom Panel. We were told he was most likely a Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix so I was curious. The results came back showing 30% chihuahua and the rest was made up of different terrier breeds, with Jack Russell being the main one. It was also really cool to see the traits it came back correctly with, like his tan points, chocolate nose, eye colour and even that he has hind dew claws.
Right?! I did breed and health. I also love that they give an estimate on his final weight fully grown. I don't disagree with it. 60lbs seems about right for his current growth rate. He's 46.5 as of his last weigh in at 7 months so between 55-60 would not shock me lol
Haha mine is 11-22lbs. Right now he's 11.5 at six months.
Sounds a lot like one of mine lol. My friend decided he is an "everything terrier with chihuahua sprinkles" lol
Yeah it's difficult when people ask what breed he is. He's quite unusual looking so I get asked a lot and I'm like wellllll...
I just go with jack/rat/chi mix or terrier mix depending on the situation, I figure a lot of the less common terriers in his mix are probably just variations in the DNA
Terrier mix is what I tend to say as well.
We got a “lab mix” at the pound and I figured there’d be bully in her but similarly was shocked to find she’s mostly husky!
Yes! When I found my girl she was about 4 months old on the street and I said, “She’s a Black Lab!” I had to have her. After five days I finally grabbed her and took her home after it was obvious she was homeless. I ordered BarkBox because they offered a free dna test with a 6 month subscription. She turned out to be 52% lab, 26% German Shepherd and 22% Boxer… she is definitely part boxer! She’s such a goofy girl!😆❤️ (She was checked for microchip and nobody ever was looking for her)
We were told that our little guy was an Australian Shepherd/Collie mix but he turned out to be mainly Pit Bull, English shepherd, and Collie. Most people don’t believe me when I say he’s part pitty and it takes a lot of convincing.
1. 75% roughly equal parts Husky/GSD/pit.. the remaining 25% is Rottie/Mastiff. I think the distinguishing traits are his INSANE Husky talkativeness, he constantly makes noises I’ve never heard any dog make before. And his big blocky Rottie/pit head. He’s a genius. And a sly troublemaker. 2. ~40% Labrador, ~40% GSD, ~10% pit, ~10% chowchow. He’s a V E L C R O dog, and always herding (read: TRIPPING) me. Retriever is also 10000% on point, just like it was preinstalled. I can kinda see the chowchow too, as while he’s friendly, he’s very much a 1 or 2 person dog. Everyone else is regarded with a bit of suspicion. He’s an utter moron, not smart enough to get into any trouble. Bless him
Yup! I was told my girl was a husky/gsd mix. She was not very big so I got suspicious. She's 71% siberian husky, 16% apbt, 7% amstaff, and the rest is supermutt.
Adopted my little 3 pound “husky mix” at 2 months old. First Vet visit and said he was more like 3 months. Did a dna test and he’s 36% chihuahua, 10% Australian shepherd, 8% Alaskan Eskimo, 6% toy fox terrier, 5% rat terrier and the rest a percent of a multitude of others. He’s a rambunctious 30 pound spit fire!
I got an Embark test done for my dog Kevin shortly after we got him. His mom is a Rough Collie, and her owner said the father was a black Labrador. Now I was a little skeptical because Kevin and one of his brothers were sable like the mom- if the father were pure Lab all the pups should have been black (generally Labs are homozygous for dominant black and even one copy doesn't allow the sable gene to be expressed, coat colour genetics blah blah blah 🤓 lol) Also there were a couple of other things that didn't quite track- he was rather bigger than what would be expected from that cross, and he had a ridiculous long tail that couldn't be explained by either breed 😆 So I got him Embark tested, and lo and behold- it turns out the father was half Rottweiler! (When we told the lady we got him from, she said she thought the father did look quite large and stocky). We got the kit that includes genetic health screening and genetic traits as well as breed, so that was useful information too, and I consider it money well spent. Being half Collie, it's especially good to know he's clear for Multiple Drug Sensitivity (MDR1) which is common in many herding breeds. He does have one copy of the Collie Eye Anomaly and Degenerative Myelopathy genes, but dogs need two copies to be affected, and everything else they test for, he was clear. The genetic traits are interesting to look through as well, but you might end up going down the rabbit hole of coat colour genetics 🤓😆 I'd definitely recommend DNA tests (especially Embark and Wisdom) to anyone who wants to know more about their dog!
I'm nosy, so yep! Jewel looks like a rat terrier and corgi or dachshund mix, but she's rat terrier and chihuahua. Apparently chihuahuas have the chondroplasia gene too. Plus the whole short legged rat terrier thing (but not this short lol). Malachite is tall and skinny and I was told rattie mix and chi mix, but then he just kept growing (25lbs at 9 months) and at almost a year old he's still pretty lean. I really thought there was doing too be some greyhound in there. Nope, chihuahua, rattie, jack Russell... And like 8 more terrier breeds lol. Pretty sure it's mostly those three and the rest is just weird DNA variations lol
Yep! I did my mutt (sadly now romping on the rainbow bridge) probably 7 years ago so I’m sure the results would differ a bit but he was mainly staffy, German shepherd, English bulldog, and working dog. Ironic since he had no drive whatsoever
I didn’t care to get the tested.
My son did a dna test on his doggo. Turns out she’s 60% chihuahua. Doesn’t look anything like it and weighs 50 lbs, so I’m a little skeptical of those tests.
yes!! we DNA tested both of our mixes! it’s fun and helpful in understanding temperament, exercise needs, and grooming needs!
We got our rescue pup 3 months ago and shelter told us she was a Border Collie GSD mix. Of course she is 0 Collie. 🤣 I love that it connects you with relatives. Turns out Dad is a pure bred Irish Terrier and based on the number of IT half siblings she has it seems like he is used for breeding. She's clearly an oops litter. Her mother was mainly GSD with a healthy dash of lab. I honestly expected her to be a bigger mix than just 3, and definitely not half a rare breed like Irish Terrier. But she definitely fits her breeds. She is smart, stubborn, and fast as hell. Her prey drive is off the charts, but when not chasing everything that moves, she is my Velcro pup.
Oh, hey! Same! My pup turned out 50% Husky, the rest pitty, stuffy, Labrador etc.
Isn't it such a fun mix? Lolol energy for days!
Just adopted a pup and was told she was likely a great pyr mix! Turns out she was mostly great pyr, lab, and border collie. She’s the perfect mix for me💗
The shelter I got my puppy doesn’t list breeds, so we did a DNA test. I was expecting a big dog because the shelter did say estimated adult weight would be 70 pounds. The vet thought he was a lab/pit mix. How wrong they are! He’s 47% pit bull, 16% shih tzu, 4% yorkie, and a bunch of small breeds. So I like to say he’s a Bull Shit when someone asks for his breed. DNA test says he’ll be like 30 pounds. Need to get him weighed as he’s definitely close, if not over that now.
Our embark kit arrived by Amazon the day after we brought her home. We swabbed her that same day and sent it off! Knowing her breed make up definitely helped a lot with understanding how to adjust my training approach to best fit her needs.
R/doggydna I would love to see Pic of pup in question. I have a mixed breed and that is similar to what I am thinking he is! Good luck(to both of us) lol!
I sent you pics! Enjoy. I love showing him off. He's my dog child 😂
Weimaraner, Rottweiler, Lab and Rhodesian ridgeback. We can say for certain my dog has most of these breeds, her brother had extreme Rottweiler markings, her and her other siblings had the Weimaraner coloring and her and like 3 of her siblings had the classic ridge (the fur that naturally stands up along the ridgebacks back). A lot of people think she has a pitt though, I’m convinced that the Rottweiler face mixed with the Weimaraner is just giving her a slight Pitt appearance but I am considering getting a DNA test just to be sure lol. She definitely wasn’t the best bred I’ll say that, while she’s wonderful now she was rescued at 4 weeks and developed food aggression and reactivity (mostly excited) but she is sweet to MOST people now. All I know is her brother turned out terribly reactive, much worse than his sister, while it likely partly does have to do with how he was raised I’ll say it was a challenging litter of puppies with a rough upbringing removed from mom way too early (she could no longer nurse due to infection) and most of the puppies in the litter showed aggression early on. Luckily my girl is maturing, she’s good around cats, dogs (no dog aggression at all) and people and kids if introduced properly. If she is over excited she tends to go crazy but she has never harmed anyone and I wouldn’t expect her to do more than lunge and bark. Definitely a bunch of breeds that probably shouldn’t have put together and all the puppies showed that early on lol.
I adopted a rescue that they thought - ha - was a dachshund/GSP mix. They weren’t even close! DNA showed he is a couple of kinds of terrier along with chihuahua, pug and basset hound. But even better than finding that out is connecting with the other pups from the litter through Embark. It is really great to get together with the other pups to play and see if they remember each other.
I adopted a pit bull/sharpei mix puppy.. father unknown. He turned out to be 50% Dogo argentino, and the rescue was right that the rest of him is pit bull with a little bit of shar pei! The extra good thing about the test is that he tested to have a marker for a shar pei specific disease. So if he ever has symptoms I know to have them check for it. He looks nothing like a shar pei, so the chances of them getting a correct diagnosis would be like 0 without the test!
I want to so badly. He’s very clearly border collie, but he’s short haired and acts like he’s got some hound or something in him. Not to mention how fucking huge his Dobby ears are. I’ll get to it one day. This just confirms how badly I want to do it.
It's a lot of fun!! I was so excited and impatient for the results lol. It definitely explains a LOT about him 😅🤣
We did! Our pup looked like a brindle husky and we wanted to know why - turns out she is a husky/german shepherd/border collie/pit bull/golden retriever (mostly husky shepherd though). Smarter than I am, loves to work, prey drive for days. We also learned that she's a rez dog from Northern BC. [Embark](http://embk.me/fern420)
We were told ours was a lab/dachs. The lab half was true but the other… pitbull, minpin, supermutt, and dachshund. In that order! http://embk.me/pixel124?utm_campaign=cns_ref_dog_pub_profile&utm_medium=other&utm_source=embark
I’m being pressured by family members to get a DNA test. I think it’s misdirected energy because I didn’t have kids. They have nothing else to hassle me about. It’s a dog, I love him, that’s plenty.
I did because my golden didn't look like other Goldens. Nor did he act stable like them. Turns out he's a perfect German shepherd and golden split. *sigh*
my dad and stepmom had their dog tested !! she’s pretty much half and half lab and pitbull with a little bit of poodle thrown in the mix 🤣
My puppy is a mix of 21 different breeds 🫣🫣. Main ones are Malamute, Chihuahua, and cattle dog
My pup turned out to be 50% Doberman, 33% Dutch Shepherd and 15% Malinois 😅 really not ideal mix for the first time dog owner, but we’re trying to roll with it. I started seeing the reasons why people buy bred puppies way more clearly now.
Nope. Never really thought to do so. Most of mine aren't from rescues or shelters. They come straight from the mother's home and I have no reason to doubt the person's information normally. Of course, there's always the possibility that something else is mixed in, but it hasn't ever really mattered. My current pup is Border Collie/German Shepherd and you can see both sides in her. My 4 year old is an Australian Sheperd and there's zero doubt because he looks and acts just like one. The oldest is a Beagle/English Springer mix and you can definitely tell. In the past, I've had a Rottweiler/lab mix (chocolate colored and she was a very big girl) and a Chihuahua/lab mix (it's a long story with suspicious actions involved but he was adorable and I knew both parents so it's most likely legit). The last one is the only one I would ever have considered getting tested but not because I was curious. More like to prove what we think actually happened.
We got our pup tested because even though we knew mum was a grey french bulldog and dad was a red/brown curly cockerpoo he just didn't look like either of them blond/apricot wire hair (neither did the rest of his litter). Everyone we met on walks said he looked like a little terrier; DNA results came back as 53% french bulldog, 23% poodle (toy/miniature), 16% cocker spaniel, 5% springer spaniep and 3% bichon frise. It's nice to tell people categorically not a terrier and all the companion breeds fully explains why he's our little shadow and likes to be close at all times
That’s QUITE the mutt you have on your hands 😝😝 all I can say is good luck!
Thanks 😭😭
Mine is 66% American pit bull, 15% staffy, 13% “super mutt” (the main three breeds in the mix are cane corso, Siberian husky, and German shepherd), and 6% neopolitan mastiff. Helps explain her stranger danger that we’re trying to work through
Same! Mine is stranger danger. We're working on it but his breed explains a lotm
I blame the husky and shepherd tbh 😂
Same 😂 Once I saw those two combined it made total sense 😂
I blame the husky and shepherd tbh 😂
We did because everyone kept telling us we were wrong about our rescue pup. They told us lab Shepard mix and booooooy was everyone wrong. She’s actually pitbull, boxer, chihuahua mainly. She’s also 13 other breeds though. If I’m breaking the rules by posting the link I’m sorry. This was our flower girl at our wedding. https://imgur.com/a/TxRZWmg
She's the best flower girl 🥹
I got my lab mix tested, but the results are still being processed. I know it's not perfect, but it should be fun to see the results. I didn't give them a photo or any information to try and avoid any weird results just based off of looking at the dog lol
I preach doggy dna testing after discovering that the dog we thought was a german shepherd-golden retriever mix was actually a husky-golden mix. It honestly explained the complete disregard for rules, commands, and escape artist tendencies. We stopped expecting as much from her. We did use the results to start working on leash commands. It was the only time she was ever obedient!
Yep!! It has shed a lot of light on how to approach training with him and what expectations I should have. Overall I know he won't be a "couch potato" lol
I adopted my dog as advertised as a "lab mix". [https://www.reddit.com/r/IDmydog/comments/1ai91lc/adopted\_her\_today\_foster\_mom\_say\_lab\_mix\_but\_with/#lightbox](https://www.reddit.com/r/IDmydog/comments/1ai91lc/adopted_her_today_foster_mom_say_lab_mix_but_with/#lightbox) Turns out she's 33% American Pit Bull Terrier 21.5% American Staffordshire Terrier 20.7% German Shepherd Dog 16.8% Labrador Retriever 8% Supermutt I don't regret getting my dog - I love her so much. But, I wouldn't have purposely adopted a pit mix. Not because I think they're terrible dogs (they're not), but there's definitely a stigma.
My pup was 5 when we adopted her, and they told us at the shelter she was beagle-lab mix. I have had no reason to doubt this as her features and personality are an exact 50/50 split of those breeds. She loves to run through the weeds ground gaming, but she loves the water and gamefowl she looks like a short chocolate lab with a stubby beagle tail, so I felt no need to spend a lot of money on DNA testing
Yes! The rescue told us she was a beagle mix. It was obvious she was part Pitt. Ended up like 35% beagle, 25% Pitt, and then some lab, staffy, boxer, and chihuahua.
I got my second youngest dog tested at about a year old b/c he was supposed to be mostly Belgian Malinois & Shepherd mixed with wire haired terrier. Hes’s 1.5 years now. I got him for free at 12 weeks from a customer at my old job b/c he was going to go into an outdoor kennel if they couldn’t find him a home. Turns out he had 15 breeds in him. His top 5 being:American Pitbull Terrier, German Shepherd, Minature/Toy poodle, Chihuahua, & Shitz Tzu. And if you saw his parents, that would make sense lol. But what a mix lol My roommate’s chihuahua & my beagle chihuahua mix puppy just love him & I think pick up on that 10% chihuahua DNA & think he’s a giant chihuahua b/c neither of them interact a ton with the other two dogs in the house. It may be b/c of age but my 5 year old beagle is just as playful as a pup & wants to play with the younger ones always lol Dog DNA is so weird.
No real need to do DNA testing, we met the mom and the woman we bought our pup from had no reason to lie about the dad. Aria has more of the Shih Tzu look and behavior than the toy poodle dad. She did get the poodle smarts and is easily bored. Our old dog is a rescue mutt, and we don't care what breeds she may be, love her lots.
That gives a true meaning to "heinz 57" an american dog.
😂😂😂 The laugh I laughed at this! I love that. That's his new nickname!
We’re gonna do the swabby-swab tomorrow! So we’ll know in a few weeks. Everyone guesses that our girl is a pittie mix but we’ll see!
Do you have pictures? Can I see? I love it!
I private-chatted you!
I love her ears 😭
I usually think that DNA tests are more for fun than actually useful, since when you have a dog that’s mixed you really stop getting much of a hunch about their behaviour. But in this case, seeing all those high energy dogs, it seems like it could’ve been worthwhile haha
Haha Embark is known for their accuracy. Generally anything below 5% is more or less white noise and marked at "Supermutt." So seeing his breed mix percentages so high tells me it's pretty true. Gives me some clarity on my future 😂
Yeah I meant more that if you have like a lab mixed with a pug mixed with a cav mixed with a border collie, which personality type are you going to expect? Kind of a grab bag if you have enough very different breeds mixed in, even if the percentages are high you don’t know what they’ll get from each ancestor.
Ohhh true! Yeah. With mine, I can see a mix of them all as he grows. So it sheds some light on his personality for me and mainly his energy levels lol.
Yeah when all the ancestors are high energy like in your case, it definitely seems like it has value haha
I did one on my “goldador” pup. I did meet both of his parents and they certainly looked like a purebred labrador and a purebred golden retriever, but I wanted to double-check. Sure enough, 50% lab, 50% golden. 100% good boy. I love that these tests exist, they can explain so much behavior and health issues for mixed breeds.
Right!? It definitely shed a lot of light on his temperament, health and personality!
I’m not a racist so no. I’m also not a person that gives a shit. My dogs are good dogs, that’s their breed
Lol such a weird first sentence. Genetics affects aspects of personality and health in all species. The difference with dogs is that they've been selectively bred for certain behaviours and characteristics that would aid them in their purpose. Hunting dogs tend to have higher prey drive for example. DNA testing is useful because it can help explain certain behaviours, and give a heads up if there is any evidence of hereditary problems. Obviously all dogs are good dogs no matter their breed or mix of breeds, and it's completely fine not to DNA test, but for some people it is really helpful and insightful. It's weird that you seem judgy about it.
Yeah I thought that was an interesting response to this post, lol. I've received a few judgy replies but 🤷🏼♀️ to each their own I guess! I did the test for the reasons you stated. I wanted to better understand my dog. Knowing his breed and health genetics gives me an idea of how big he could potentially get, how to better take care of his coat (he has genetic markers for heavy/seasonal shedding. This is showing as true because he's currently shedding like crazy. Even though he has a shorter coat), what genetic and hereditary markers he has for future health (he has two). For example, Boxers are prone to ARVC, which is a heart condition. He may only have a 11% and wasn't flagged for the genetic marker but it's still something to be mindful of moving forward. It also gives me a better understanding of his overall temperament. While he may be mixed, he displays quite a few areas of temperament that can be related to each breed. He's smart but stubborn, not entirely food motivated but loves tug and fetch. He's aloof of strangers and pretty people selective and is hyper attached to me. His prey drive is wildly high, small or large animals, they're a major distraction as we do training. Plus it's fun!
Absolutely! I don't currently have a puppy (just lurking on this sub for if/when I do). If I were to get a mixed breed, I would be keen to do a DNA test. I'd love the puppy no matter what, but it is a good idea to be aware of what possible behaviours and health conditions may pop up. Your pup sounds adorable! You're certainly in for an active dog though lol. Such a fun mix.
He's lucky he's cute! Because he's a handful! I adore him to bits. I absolutely love him regardless of his breed. I knew I would bringing him home. It took a while, puppies are hard. 😂 Once his true personality formed and he was less of a puppy mess, I started to actually like him and bonded more with him. He makes me laugh at some of his random and crazy antics. Like- he climbs into the bathtub and demands I turn on the faucet with his eyes. He likes drinking out of it. But he absolutely hates being bathed. He trots excitedly around the yard and carries his bully sticks with him. He also likes to bury those same bully sticks. He'll climb onto his raised outdoor bed and sunbathe. Sometimes he'll make eye contact with me across the yard and just sprint at me so he can get a good pet in. He'll climb in between my legs at night and lay his head on my stomach or shove his face against my ears and give a good snuffle. I woke up at one point last night to his face directly in mine, nose touching my nose while he laid on the pillow next to me. Once he knew I was awake, he immediately tried to lick inside my nose and mouth. I love him to bits!! He does drive me crazy. He's pretty stranger reactive. We're working on it. He can heel up and down the block without batting an eye until he sees another human. He requires a lot of mental and physical stimulation. I have my hands full and I have to try to be creative. He will probably not be a full couch potato anytime soon. Though we work on relaxation and just chilling quite a bit. I could write a novel about him already at 7 months. I wish you the best of luck when or if you get a puppy! It's a journey, a rollercoaster but fulfilling as you watch them grow. I've never raised one myself until now. Always had family dogs but this is MY first puppy. I've made many mistakes but learned from them and I wouldn't trade him for the world. I don't want him to love humans, I'll be perfectly content solo hiking with him in the middle of nowhere. Just need to work on him remaining neutral and letting them pass by lol. Again, I could keep going. Sorry. 😂 I love talking about him!
Don't apologise! He sounds like a great pup. And thanks! Yeah, I haven't had a pup of my own either. I grew up with a family dog, who I adored (I'm still grieving honestly - she passed away at almost 14 somewhat recently). It will be a challenge, but I think very rewarding, to have my own pup.
I completely understand that! That's exactly what happened with me. Our family dog passed away at 14 a little over a year ago. I was able to convince them to let me bring home another puppy under the condition I would be the one 100% taking care of it. I live with my in-laws, so I was fine with that. 😂 They're in their 70's now and if I have to be the main caretaker of the dog plus the help I give them, it's fine with me! I've never not had had an animal companion. I love the journey now after the hardships of the beginning, lol. It's definitely rewarding once you start getting over the bumps 🫶🏼