The DNA Results Are In

I love my purebred Shepherds, Danes, and Rottweilers, but I'm not a breed snob. I love mutts and mixes just as well and they are generally healthier and have a better temperament. Maya is obviously a mixed breed dog and it's just as obvious that she's part shepherd, but what else?

As a birthday present to me from Clay's mother, we had Maya's DNA analyzed. We went to the vet to draw the blood sample a few weeks back and last night I got an email with the results. It was about what I would have expected, but there were some surprises too.

She's got a strong element of German Shepherd Dog coming from both parental lines. That comes as no surprise. There is also some Husky, Malamute, and Labrador in the mix. Her blond color probably comes from a pretty yellow lab. Her white underbody and legs probably come from Malamute genes. Her stubborn personality is characteristic of both Huskies and Malamutes.

The other major component, coming down to her on both sides, is just identified as "mixed breed." However, they break down the mixed breed into group types, such as terriers, sporting, herding, etc. The most predominant element of this group of genes was identified as coming from "wild canids." That would be undomesticated species such as coyotes and wolves. I had to laugh because this does seem to describe certain characteristics of Maya. In the beginning she certainly seemed barely domesticated. Even now she's distrustful of people unless I approve them. She has always demonstrated a definite aversion to being contained and has no respect for fences. She is and always was my wild child.

The cost of Maya's DNA test was higher than what it cost to analyze my own through ancestry.com, but it was an interesting experience. She's still daddy's little girl and we didn't need a test for either of us to know that.

Below are some screen shots from the report.

The text isn't very clear, but it says that Maya is genetically composed of the following breeds:
German Shepherd Dog, Alaskan Malamute, Labrador Retriever, Siberian Husky, and Mixed Breed.

This page identified Wild Canids as the major component of the "Mixed Breed."
Examples given are Coyote and Gray Wolf

This page identified the likely breed mixes of Maya's parents, grandparents, and
great grandparents. It shows Husky and Lab on one side, Malamute on the other,
Shepherds on both sides and the Mixed Breed consisting mainly of wild canids on both sides.