My long awaited return & DNA..?

Long time, no see. 

Well, I'm back. With a new vision for the blog, and a renewed sense of..uh..purpose. So let's give this a try. I'll also be editing some older posts and reworking a few of the blog pages and hope to get things spiffy-ed up again as soon as possible. In my absence I see that blogger has been nice enough to make some changes to their setup as well.

One of the only things I asked for specifically this past Christmas was a Wisdom Panel test for Isabella. My last post was this one regarding her supposed breed(s). Before I had the test done I posted to Facebook asking friends & relatives for their opinions. I received the obvious, Labrador and Border Collie. One odd Dalmation, and an overwhelming amount of American Pit Bull Terrier. (APBT)

After grabbing the test at a local store (I really suggest Amazon for it, their price is more reasonable. I just didn't want to wait on the test to arrive) I got home and immediately dumped everything out on the table. After reading the directions twice, I began the process. The kit includes 2 "collection kits" that you are to use  to collect DNA from your beloved furry one. Isabella was generally patient with me, despite seeming a bit confused by the new ritual. The directions say no treats or food for two hours prior to collecting the sample, bee-tee-dubbs. - I dutifully swabbed the inside of Isabella's mouth, in between the gum and cheek. Trying not to hit any teeth, which I am certain I did with one of the swabs as she moved her head, but hey that's what the second kit is for? AmIright?
I registered my kit online and packed everything up. (The envelope you send them back in is postage paid, no extra time or money there.) After dropping it in the mail the next day, I waited. And waited. And waited. Okay, in reality the total time, with shipping, was about 3 weeks, but it felt like an eternity. The kit includes a unique number to check the status of your test results and I did. Frequently. What can I say? I was excited.

The results came in -- and I was shocked. Turns out, her father was seemingly the less "mutt" like of her parents. The two most identifiable breeds were... Miniature Pinscher and Boxer. Yeah, I re-read that a couple times, too.
Boxer? Sure. Okay, I buy that with no argument. But Min Pin? Boy, that was not one that I saw coming.
(I immediately shared these results with the parents of Isabella's mom and brother, who I believe shared it with several of her other sibling's human parents.) Isabella, coming from a large litter, has a variety of siblings. Some smaller than her, some a great deal large. (With her weighing in around 65lbs, she has siblings over 100lbs.) Colors ranged from black, predominately black with white markings, the reverse of that, chocolate, brindle... Talk about a mixed litter.

Mom (Isabella's, I mean) turned out to be quite a different story. The markers in her were a bit more scattered. Although Isabella appears to be very much a Lab, it turns out, there are few markers in her DNA to match a Labrador. In fact, she has more markers of a Leonberger than a Labrador!
The whole process was a lot of fun for me, and I am excited to share it with out veterinarian(s) since we've all speculated for some time about her breed mix.
If you have a few spare bucks (or maybe you want to ask for it as a gift, like myself) and you're interested - I'd recommend giving the Wisdom Panel a go! If nothing else, it's interesting. And for me, it was a shock.

Has anyone else used, or is planning to use a Wisdom Panel? I'd love to hear some other stories from fellow doggie DNA seekers!
And now..for the visual aides..

Isabella's family tree. 

Some other breeds detected on Mom's side.

Categories: breeds, dna, dogs, isabella, wisdom panel