I seriously can’t stop laughing, you guys. This is pretty hilarious.
Okay, so there were a lot of solid guesses when I posted about DNA testing Cooper with the Mars Wisdom Panel 3.0. Here’s that original post.
The majority of the votes were for a Ridgeback, some pittie, maybe some lab, and my two favorites, a Jack in the Box suggested by Mayzie’s mom, and a Golden Resneezer suggested by my friend Erik. Those two made me laugh…
But not as much as his REAL results!
Cooper is… {{drumroll}}
…an American Staffordshire Terrier Mix!
Helpful, huh? 🙂 And, actually, duh because we already knew who his mom was!
On the Mixed Breed Signatures page, it suggests that his mixed ancestry most likely includes members of the herding group followed by a smaller signature from members of the terrier group. There were much smaller signatures from the sporting group and from the Asian group. I guess his dad was just an all-around all-American mutt!
The good news, though, from this test, which I do think made it worth it: He tested normal/normal for the multi-drug sensitivity mutation. What that means is, “These dogs are not at increased risk for experiencing side effects from drugs that are pumped by P-glycoprotein.” Sort of amazing for this dog! But definitely nice to know!
There you have it! So hilarious and not all that helpful!
Lucas’ results, if you recall, were super specific and explained so much. I guess that’s the luck of the draw when it comes to genetics!
Have you had your dog DNA tested? Were the results helpful like Lucas’ or vague like Cooper’s? If you haven’t, would you consider doing it?
Back when we first adopted Ducky, I thought about using one of those DIY DNA tests, but the vet advised me to save my money because the results are usually not all that accurate. And, considering we didn’t (and still don’t) have money to waste, I took the advice. The shelter had her guesstimated as part Cardigan Welsh Corgi and part Lab. So, I read up on Corgis. And most of her personality traits are identical. And the rest are definitely Lab-like. The more I read, the more I decided the shelter was at least 75% right and that’s good enough for me. Besides, she was/is so sweet and so cute that it doesn’t really matter. Since her sisters are purebred Golden Retrievers, I’m a bit paranoid about ANY lumps, bumps, and other abnormalities anyway; so what’s one more to check constantly when you already check two?
Results like this are why I’ve been hesitant to test Boca. With the isolated island gene pool of extremely mixed dogs, I expect she would come back completely like the one side of Cooper’s results. When I look her I can’t even pick out any specific characteristics. She looks like…a dog!
I think it is important that one side is correct for Cooper, though! I know some people claim they’ve had results come back wrong when they knew the parents. Ruby’s and Lasya’s results were pretty spot on, I always thought, but you’re right that it’s the luck of the draw.
Good thing weren’t counting on the Wisdom Panel for something really important. Does it have a disclaimer on the box that states it’s “for entertainment purposes only?” 🙂
i’ve had a couple of dog people who knew their dogs’ background several generations back buy tests just to see how it would work. Both of those people advised everyone to save their money because the results were a crapshoot that had nothing to do with the reality of their dog’s ancestry. That has been my only experience.
We did our rescue dog Lucy about 6 years ago (I’m sure they’ve come a LONG way since then) — she looks like a smaller Lucas but her legs are shorter than his, proportionately. We KNEW her Mom was a purebreed Belgian Malanois … and they did’nt even list that as one of the 6 mix of breeds she was! So uh yea, that went in the garbage and we gave up. I hope they can get the science right — it is fun. obviously the more they can fill their database the better … well, i guess only if they are getting it right!
I’ve not had any of mine tested because of worry about blowing money to get results like Cooper’s!
Hershey I’m pretty sure is a Chocolate Lab/ ‘Pit’ mix. Her white toes and chest are similar to a pit’s, while parts of her coat and the white tear drop shapes on the back of her feet indicate Lab.
Graham is some sort of Chihuahua (crazy big ears) mixed with something….leggier.
Marsha is a lot like Graham in stature but isn’t very chihuahua-y in temperament.
I am certainly no expert when it comes to wisdom panel results but that’s certainly the most one sided image I’ve ever seen on one. Oh dear I’m glad it was for fun because it certainly gave me a laugh. Cooper’s results make me thankful for the ones I got back on Laika – at least every ancestor except one was filled in with a breed rather than just saying mixed 🙂
That’s so funny! We just got Cheiss’ DNA results in to and they actually were helpful (you can read them here: http://petsweekly.com/en/all-about-dogs/61-dog-stories/1162-whos-your-daddy-the-case-for-knowing-your-dogs-dna)
But, I really want to get Brock and Bree done!
Your results are stunning!! LOL…..I’ve considered getting Justice done, but every time I read someone else’s results, I rethink. If I have the extra money, I may get it done simply for amusement. He is truely a unique dog from Craig’s List whose owner thought he was a Border Collie. He clearly isn’t a Border Collie, but I might be totally wrong 🙂
I so want to do this. I’m pretty sure Daisy is a spaniel/WPG mix (I’ve seen pictures of identical “designer dogs”) but it would be nice to have a firm answer when people ask me on the street. “She’s a pound puppy,” just isn’t cutting it with complete strangers. They think I’m holding out on them!
Hahaha! Pretty funny and not very helpful. 🙂
I’ve not heard many stories about these tests being worth taking, seems like most of the results end up pretty vague and not very accurate. But funny anyways! And it can potentially help many dogs who have no bully in them, be allowed in places with breed bans – so maybe its a good thing for some dogs.
Very interesting test. Wonder if it will prove fruitful over time though. I think this data will help in the long run, but would be nice if it had immediate effect.
So many things wrong with breeding these days- bulldogs, displasia with Goldens, etc etc/
I had no idea you could dna test a dog?!! that’s awesome
You can DNA test anything with DNA..
It’s just unfortunate this data means almost nothing at this time
🙁
Great to get the information. Did they include other results in terms of what Cooper could be genetically pre-disposed to?
I don’t know about these DNA tests sometimes! Well, at least you confirmed what you already knew! I suppose that some dogs may have so many mixed genes maybe it is impossible to really tell.
I don’t know if you remember but our DNA test for Luke confirmed the Lab we knew, but then added in silly stuff like Pomeranian and Miniature Dachshund. He does have a hound dog nose, so maybe….but it was just hard to believe there were two such tiny breeds in our 60+ pound dog!
We’ve done the wisdom panel dna tests with mixed results on our five. Some, like Buddy (American bulldog mix) and Lady (lab/husky/collie) made sense, others like Missy (shepherd and ??? mix) and Summer (Chinese crested/chow/?? mix) were just comical. Summer looks like a blond border collie and 50 pounds of furry love and Missy was so mixed, she’s our Memphis “mutt” 🙂
And then there’s Jack (aka, Jackson and the “booger”). Jack came back as american staffie, bull terrier and great Pyrenees?? he’s our Mississippi ditch dog with tiger stripes and tellie tubbie tail and way too smart for his own good.