DNA for Dogs?
It’s very revealing!
When we adopted Ripley from the Broward Humane Society we were told that she was a Beagle mix. You could see it even when she was a wee little pup. She has the Beagle ears and eyes with the fabulous eyeliner!
As we got to know her, we realized she DEFINITELY has the Beagle nose. She tracks everything and can smell a discarded chicken bone a block away.
When she was a bit older, many people speculated that she must be mixed with a Jack Russell because of her body shape, though she’s bigger than a Jack Russell. Although there is the Parsen’s Jack which is taller, so maybe she was part Jack Russell. That would make her a “boutique” dog called a Jack-a-Bee if she were pure bred Beagle and Jack! But it didn’t seem right. Ripley has none of the temperaments of a Jack Russell. She is protective but doesn’t bark at everything that walks past us.
Curiosity finally got the best of us, that and a sale on the DNA kit we ordered on Amazon.
The DNA Results
We ordered the DNA test from Wisdom Panel, swabbed her cheeks (then put her in a lineup!), sent them off and waited for the results. The lineage results were a bit surprising, yet made perfect sense.
American Eskimo
Ripley’s seemingly innate ability to easily do tricks comes from the American Eskimo in her. The American Eskimos are the circus dogs that jump through hoops and wear tutus… NO, we’re not going there! Despite its name and appearance, the American Eskimo dog is not from Alaska; the dog’s heritage is traced back to Northern Europe, a descendent of the German Spitz. They gained popularity in the 1930s and ’40s as circus performing dogs and was in fact the first dog to walk a tightrope. No, we’re not doing that either!
The Beagle in her was obvious from the beginning, but as you can see from the chart, there’s quite a bit of Beagle going on in both sides of her family. You can also see from the Beagle/American Eskimo line that they were deliberately breeding the two, which we discovered is a dog that goes by the moniker, American Eagle.
The Soft Coated Wheaton mix explains the many allergies Ripley has. Early on we had to have an allergy test conducted because she seemed to be allergic to everything, and that’s basically what the results showed. More on that later.
We thought the DNA testing might turn out to be a frivolous way to spend some money on our beloved dog, but the information turns out to be quite helpful. If you have an unknown mixed breed dog and have always been curious what is in the mix, this test might be helpful to you. We know certain health issues to look out for and the best way to train her. We were lucky that Ripley has a lot of pure bred ancestors. Many dogs might be so mixed with different breeds that a predominant breed may not be identified.
She’s our little Beagle/Eskimo/Wheaton Terrier/Unknown Mix family member.