Kronos is an adorable dog, but I’ve always wondered what else he has in him. While it’s clear he’s mostly Australian Cattle Dog, he does not fit the purebred ACD specifications in stockiness, body structure, or even in ear set and shape. His front feet are also bigger than his back feet, which I’ve heard is common in Terrier breeds. I know Kronos’s mom and she is an Australian Cattle Dog Mix, but have no idea what dad may be since he is completely unkown-I would guess maybe sighthound or terrier based on Kronos’s appearances and behaviors. Kronos LOVES to dig and is very sight stimulated-more so than Bella ever has been or any ACD I’ve met thus far.
We were sent a DNA testing kit from Embark.
Packed neatly in the small package are instructions to collect a DNA sample (cheek swab), tag, Q-tip swab with preservative liquid, and a return mailer.
We waited 30 minutes before doing the test since the instructions recommended doing the test with a window of no food and water prior to collecting the sample.
The swab goes into your dog’s mouth and you twist it and sweep around the cheek.
You can also swab under the tongue. You swab for 30 seconds.
Then the swab goes in the liquid.
Shake and seal. Insert the container in the plastic bag provided.
Put it in the return mailer.
Go online to www.embark.com to activate your kit.
Drop it off at the mailbox and send it off.
Then….
….you wait….
………..and wait….
……and wait……………………………………..
….for a couple of months…
…..for your results……
Finally you’ll get an email from Embark that your results are ready!
We mailed our results at the end of August and got results in early November.
I was so excited to see what the DNA test said about Kronos.
I clicked on the link to see the breed results, and it said………………….
………………..100% Australian Cattle Dog………………!!!………………..
Huh?
I was dumbfounded.
Clicking through the mother and father heritage said 100% ACD on both sides-even the Great-Grandparents.
I must admit, I was a little befuddled and shocked. The results did not seem to make sense-at least not for Kronos. Mom is a mix though dad (possibly dad(s)) is unknown. Were the results for Bella (who is indeed 100% Australian Cattle Dog), I would understand. All the genetic disease markers said Kronos is clear for the diseases Embark tests for.
When Kronos was about 8 weeks old, he had the floppiest, houndiest ears and as he’s grown he has the deep chested long legged build of the sighthound breed group. For a long time his ears didn’t even look like they were going to stand up and were so wonky. He also had a very awkward young stage where his head was humongous and blocky. When Bella was 8 weeks old, she had adorable tiny pinprick pointy ears. And they grew perfectly with her as she got bigger. Bella looked very similar to the ACD pictures shown above at the corresponding ages.
While I’m not entirely convinced on Kronos’s Embark results as there are many breeds not currently included on their list, the Embark DNA test was extremely easy to use and their website is easy to navigate. At this time Embark tested for over 150 breeds. The hardest part was waiting a few months for the results-time could not pass quickly enough.
What do you think? Do you think Kronos is 100% ACD?
Do you have a mixed breed dog? What breed of dog do you think he or she is?
2 thoughts on “#Embark on a Journey to Discover Your Dog’s Heritage”
His ear set is off. Granted, that could be a result of “poor” breeding, but I feel there is something else in there. I have ran DNA tests on two of my dogs. One I was fairly impressed with, but Faolan’s results were disappointing. It is nice to know there are other options out there for DNA testing, besides Wisdom Panel.
Since my dogs are all rescues, we can only guess at their actual breed/combination of breeds. Kenji and Kyoko look to be almost pure Treeing Walker Coonhounds, but my Seiji is definitely a mix with something else. I’ve had people guess anything from Greyhound to a dozen other breeds. I’m guessing perhaps some English Setter. Of the three, he’s the one I’d most like to get tested for breed. The one I really wanted to have done was my deaf hound girl, Ran. She was born deaf and I adopted her when she was just over 3 months old. I only had her for a little over five years before she passed from complications to her autoimmune diagnoses. I’ll never know just what else was in her, but she was definitely mostly hound. It would be fun to get all mine tested.