Tonight is the SPA AGM so instead of refuge news we have a guest blog by Tracy, a lady who adopted a ‘labrador cross’ from us as a pup. I too have cross breeds or just ‘mutts’ and I have to say that I find this subject really interesting!
So here is Tracys blog…enjoy!
You only need to look around the refuge to appreciate the number of different crossbreed dogs there are waiting to be adopted. Some will have such distinctive markings or characteristics that you will easily be able to identify the mix of breeds but others are just a mystery to all of us.
Having adopted our “Labrador Cross” Rudi from the refuge at the age of 5 months we often tried to second guess his mix of breeds and it was the topic of many discussions. We were certain that Labrador was the more prominent breed due to his gentle, laid back nature and as he had a docked tail we could only assume there was something like Rottweiler/Doberman/Beauceron in him too. We were delighted when we found out that it was possible to have our dog’s DNA tested as we wouldn’t have to speculate any longer. We purchased a Wisdom Panel Dog DNA Testing Kit from Amazon UK who were able to deliver it to us here in France. At the time this kit was on special offer at £44. The kit contains full instructions, two cheek swabs and a return envelope.
Well now for the dilemma – how were we going to get a sample from the inside of our dog’s mouth without him trying to eat the swab? There was no need to fret as it was so simple. It wasn’t necessary to open Rudi’s mouth at all, we just lifted the side of his lip and rolled the swab’s bristles between the inner surface of his cheek and gums for about 15 seconds – first one swab, then the other. We then returned both swabs to the original seller (Mars Veterinary, Leicestershire) in the envelope provided and they then forwarded them to the USA laboratory for testing. The only other information we provided about our dog was his age and weight. We received an email confirming that the samples had arrived and three weeks later we were emailed the results – it couldn’t have been simpler.
We were amazed at the level of detail in the results with a family tree showing the mix of breeds going back three generations to both sets of great grandparents plus additional information about each breed of dog contained in the results. What we found more amazing though was that we didn’t have a Labrador Cross at all. What we had was a Rottweiler/Vizsla/German Shepherd Cross with a hint of Brittany Spaniel. It wasn’t at all what we expected but we love him just the same.
Thank you Tracy, a fascinating subject and I am betting that quite a few of us will be buying these kits for our ‘mutts’!
Rudi – Rottweiler/Vizsla/German Shepherd / Brittany Spaniel.
Rudi’s DNA results!