Learn the Ancestry of your Rescue Puppy
Many of you know that my daughter’s dog, Amity, was a rescue. When we adopted her we had no idea what breed mix she was, but we knew we loved her anyway. That’s why I was so excited when I got the opportunity to partner as an ambassador for the Wisdom Panel® Canine DNA Test.
When we rescued Amity, we were told she was Blue Heeler and Lab mix. But we knew that many large breed rescues are labeled “lab” because they are known to be family friendly. The reality is that guessing a dog’s breed (even by professionals) by its physical traits is only correct about 25% of the time.
Amity is my constant side kick while the children swim in the lake, keeping sharp eyes on them. Sometimes I watch her pace the dock and it truly seems the she is counting heads in the water.
When we travel, she loves to jump into the car to come along. But if my daughter, Rebekah isn’t in the car, Amity will not get in. I can almost hear her saying “Not without my Mama!”
At home, Amity spends her time playing with ‘her kids’ or herding the cows in a nearby pasture.
I’m so proud of the fact that Amity is a rescue. We know she came from a very awful home, and we loved teaching that tiny, timid puppy to love and trust again. However, there is a downside to owning a rescue pup. Knowing a dog’s breed really aids in knowing how they might behave, what makes them tick, what training is likely to work best. A dog’s family background is also important from health, training, and nutritional standpoints.
When the email came, with Amity’s DNA results, the entire family came running to hear the news. As I suspected, she has Australian Cattle Dog (often known as Blue Heeler) in her ancestry, as well as American Staffordshire Terrier (commonly known as Pitt Bull). No Labrador ancestry showed in her family tree, as I also suspected despite what we were told when we adopted her. The surprises were Chow Chow and Cocker Spaniel- I never would have guessed those breeds from her physical traits!
What we learned from Amity’s Wisdom Panel test, was so much more than just satisfying a curiosity. Now we understand her behavior better, and we can apply that to her training. We also have a background when the time comes to make nutritional and health decisions for her.
Wisdom Panel DNA Testing is easy to use with just two cheek swabs. The test will show your dog’s ancestry all the way to great-grandparent level, plus give a predicted weight profile, trait analysis, as well as Exercise-induced Collapse and MDR1 mutation screening. Wisdom Panel has the largest breed database with 250 breeds, types, and varieties of dogs. Breed and disease detection is tested using 1,800 markers, and the test uses a proprietary algorithm with more than 18,000,000 calculations before determining a final family tree. If you have a rescue dog, I highly recommend Wisdom Panel Testing, so you can chose the best nutrition, training, and health care for your dog.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Mars Veterinary
I have been looking in to do this with my two dogs that have been adopted. Thanks for sharing your story and I’ll be sure to check out Wisdom Panel Canine DNA Test.
Oh how cool is that!
I think this would be really neat! What a difference between what you thought your pup was and what your pup really is eh!
This is so cool! I always love DNA or ancestry things, humans or dogs. You can definitely see the obvious in her Australian Cattle Dog and Pitbull. Amity looks like the sweetest thing!
What a special addition to your family! I have often wondered about my dog, who is a Yorkie. She is HUGE and often mistaken for a silky or another terrier. I wonder what her true ancestry would be?
I think it is really smart to check to see what the lineage of a dog is. When you have children it is really important to make sure children are safe around dogs. I love the photos of your dog and daughter. They have a great relationship.
Amity is one of the most gorgeous dogs I’ve ever seen, I absolutely love her markings and coloring. I love the point you make about the proper nutrition for each breed since that can be really important for the dog’s health. What a fun way to celebrate your rescue pup!
Thank you! We agree 🙂
My neighbor did a genetic test with their rescue and it said it was part Golden Retriever. We think its because he is always licking my dog!!
I had no idea that this was even an option. My sister has 2 rescue dogs. I’ll have to let her know.
What a fun thing to find out about your fur baby! I would love to do that with my cats too!
This is really awesome that you can find out this info!! Adorable addition to your family.
What a great addition to your family!I have always wondered about my sister’s dog. I will share your post with her!
LOVE this post, as I am so all about taking care of animals and especially rescues! I have a sweatshirt that says, “Hurt an animal and I’ll kill you” – haha… But, its kinda true. . Love the connection you all have with this amazing dog!
My best friend adopted a rescue dog and she’s always wondered what breed he is! I’ll have to pass this on to her, I know she’d love to find out!
Puppies are so much fun and so loved! My nephews adore their new puppy!! I wish they stayed little forever though!
We have a westie that looks like he has some bulldog in him. It would be nice to know if he is a pure blood or not.
Knowing your dog’s ancestry is super cool. I wish I had done this when our dog was still with us.
I wish they could do that for cats too! We don’t have any dogs, but we do have what we suspect to be a siamese mix. He is a rescue too. In our home we #adoptdon’tshop 🙂 I love that!
My son really wanted to have puppies, I know he would love it. Puppies are so lovely and needs families too.
This is a great idea that I would have loved to have done with our rescue years ago. Unfortunately he is no longer with us.
What a cute puppy! I never knew you could do a ancestry test on animals, but so very neat.
I don’t have any pets anymore, but I wanted todo this for my dog. DNA and family history of pets is so important and fun to find out more.
Our sweet love Gus is from a Rescue and we have always been curious of his breed. He is definitely Labe, but not sure where his light colored eyes come from!
Omg what a cute fur baby!!!!! So neat that you found out about your doggies family!!! Crazy the thing ha you can do with science these days!
Wow look how far technology has came. I love you can learn the full family background of your pup.
This is so amazing! I wonder if this could also be done for a cat? I’d love to know more about my friend!