Dog DNA Testing

[alfie2244]

Can anyone recommend a company?

In short:

We got rescue dog 2 yrs ago and was told he was X-Breed Alsatian / Leonberger.

Put into fun dog show today........lady next to us had identical dog but female and little smaller.

After lots of research and phone chat with UK club it now turns out there is a very big chance he is actually not a X-Breed at all but a very rare Portugese Estrela Mountain dog.

Not that it matters one little bit but we think it would be nice to know.

Thanks in advance

[bexVN]

I know several whippet owners who have tried Wisdom DNA tests (via Amazon) some seem very confused by the results but others seem happy!

[SGirl]

We tried a Wisdom test from Amazon on our rescue lurcher. Quite happy with the results - if I remember correctly they emailed the basics to us and followed up with a more detailed letter in the post.

[Jasandjules]

Show me some pics.....

Does he have rose ears?

[alfie2244]

Just received an email from the 1st person ever to have an Estrela, and a litter in the UK:

"He's an Estrela almost certain, 99.9%...........................I will try to find out more a a bit later and let you know the outcome. "

Sturtmoor Estrela Mountain Dogs......Hon Secretary EMDC (UK)

There are already a few pics of him on here but here's one of him guarding the MIL.

[alfie2244]

Thanks Bex & SG...not researched properly yet but a couple of thoughts - Does it need comparing with other Estrela's DNA andis there an existing database to compare his with?

[Jasandjules]

Yes he looks like an Estrela from that picture. He is not carrying his ears correctly but I expect in motion he folds them into a rose. Does his tail move up as well in motion? Does he have a hook in his tail?

Did you by any chance get him from Plymouth/Portsmouth area?

Are you au fait with the requirements of an LGD? They are a LOT different to other dogs...

[alfie2244]

Jasandjules said:

Yes he looks like an Estrela from that picture. He is not carrying his ears correctly but I expect in motion he folds them into a rose. Does his tail move up as well in motion? Does he have a hook in his tail?

Did you by any chance get him from Plymouth/Portsmouth area?

Are you au fait with the requirements of an LGD? They are a LOT different to other dogs...

Having undertaken a lot of research it is clear he exhibits most if not all the traits / requirements of LGD / Estrela and explains much of his behaviour.e.g. what I sometimes perceived as jealousy (pushing in) may actually be him protecting.

Plymouth / Portsmouth has been discussed and think I know why you ask...... having come from rescue we don't know and this is being investigated at the moment.

Whatever the outcome he will still be the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, happiest dog anybody could ever want.

[Buzz84]

Funnily enough I yesterday I was going to start a post on this subject but didn't get round to it.

We're in the process of adopting a cross breed rescue dog and if it all goes through alright, we'd be interested in finding out out a little more about her and her mix. It won't change anything but it would satisfy our curiosity.

when googling the wisdom kits do seem to come out high on the search results, but I was curious to know if they were any good or if people recommended another type/brand of kit

[Jasandjules]

alfie2244 said:

Whatever the outcome he will still be the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, happiest dog anybody could ever want.

Indeed. However should a threat arise, you will see a complete change...... Do feel free to PM me for more info on LGDs and living with them.

It appears you are already socialising him well, which is very important with this breed too.

[bexVN]

Jasandjules said:

alfie2244 said:

Whatever the outcome he will still be the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, happiest dog anybody could ever want.

Indeed. However should a threat arise, you will see a complete change...... Do feel free to PM me for more info on LGDs and living with them.

It appears you are already socialising him well, which is very important with this breed too.

Would definitely recommend this alfie2244. Jasandjules are really knowledgeable on LGD's and I know will offer great advice.

[alfie2244]

Jasandjules said:

alfie2244 said:

Whatever the outcome he will still be the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, happiest dog anybody could ever want.

Indeed. However should a threat arise, you will see a complete change...... Do feel free to PM me for more info on LGDs and living with them.

It appears you are already socialising him well, which is very important with this breed too.

Will PM you later......just to add publicly I am very experienced with large dogs so fortunately I recognised he had particular traits but attributed them more to being an insecure rescue rather than his inherent behaviour.


He seems to have a wonderful relationship with cows who run across the fieldd to see him

Edited by alfie2244 on Monday 22 August 14:45

[PositronicRay]

We had a Wisdom test done, when Amazon had an offer, I think there's only one dog data base, held in Canada.

Quite happy with the results, some of which I'd never have guessed but kinda makes sense.

[Robatr0n]

Jasandjules said:

alfie2244 said:

Whatever the outcome he will still be the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, happiest dog anybody could ever want.

Indeed. However should a threat arise, you will see a complete change...... Do feel free to PM me for more info on LGDs and living with them.

It appears you are already socialising him well, which is very important with this breed too.

I could not agree with this more.

A LGD is so very very different to a normal dog and need to be treated accordingly.

We have a Kangal and although a different breed, by and large they have very similar breed traits. He's a sweet boy that is a huge softie but if he feels 'his' family are being threatened then this changes very quickly indeed.

A beautiful dog and I'd love to see some more photos.

[alfie2244]

Robatr0n said:

Jasandjules said:

alfie2244 said:

Whatever the outcome he will still be the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, happiest dog anybody could ever want.

Indeed. However should a threat arise, you will see a complete change...... Do feel free to PM me for more info on LGDs and living with them.

It appears you are already socialising him well, which is very important with this breed too.

I could not agree with this more.

A LGD is so very very different to a normal dog and need to be treated accordingly.

We have a Kangal and although a different breed, by and large they have very similar breed traits. He's a sweet boy that is a huge softie but if he feels 'his' family are being threatened then this changes very quickly indeed.

A beautiful dog and I'd love to see some more photos.

Thanks for the replies gents.....not sure I made it clear but we have had him 2 years now but only just found out he was, potentially, not a Leonberger X Alsation but an Estrela Mountain dog, which now having contact with clubs and breeders he almost certainly is.

Inquiries are ongoing (possible siblings) and will update if / when anything is confirmed.

In the meantime here's a couple more pics of this gentle, lovable fella and another of his predecessor (Alfie) sadly missed and another gentle big fella.

ps Kangal awesome how did I reach this age without knowing about these wonderful large breeds?

Edited by alfie2244 on Tuesday 23 August 21:22

[Robatr0n]

Two very handsome dogs.

Oh I see! Sorry for trying to teach you to suck eggs. You've obviously very aware of his nature amd traits by now. Out of interest, how do you find him off the lead? Ours starting treating the local park as an extension of his garden which, as you can imagine, was bad news. The icing on the cake was him bullying two big Dogue De Bordeauxs after they picked on his friend. Sadly we have to lead walk him in the park and now take him to an entirely fenced off park where we know it'll just be him and his friends there if we wish to let him off.

I don't have many recent photos of the hound on my Phone, only on the camera and I haven't lifted those images yet. I'll try and get some of him this weekend and will post them up.

[alfie2244]

Robatr0n said:

Two very handsome dogs.

Oh I see! Sorry for trying to teach you to suck eggs. You've obviously very aware of his nature amd traits by now. Out of interest, how do you find him off the lead? Ours starting treating the local park as an extension of his garden which, as you can imagine, was bad news. The icing on the cake was him bullying two big Dogue De Bordeauxs after they picked on his friend. Sadly we have to lead walk him in the park and now take him to an entirely fenced off park where we know it'll just be him and his friends there if we wish to let him off.

I don't have many recent photos of the hound on my Phone, only on the camera and I haven't lifted those images yet. I'll try and get some of him this weekend and will post them up.

No need to apologise.......yes very aware of his nature and traits which all makes perfect sense now we know it's in his genes....can honestly say he never ever shown a single sign of aggression despite getting attacked on a regular basis. The MIL's collie saw off both chocolate labs that seriously attacked him while he just stood there looking at them.

Only thing not tested yet - he has growled a couple of times at dogs that have been possible threats to his little sister (no action but growl seemed sufficient) However I do think his aggression may come out if she, my OH or grandaughter was threatened - just hope we never find out.

When we 1st got him he was terribly on and off the lead (Pulled or ran off and would not recall).

He now doesn't pull on lead very much but must be in front at all times.

Off the lead he is now 95% under my control (not so much others in the family being honest). I have to stay on top of him, don't let him off when we're are too near people - this is not because of what he may do but the response either from other dogs or their owners - he just cant accept not everybody / animal wants to be his friend. A gap of about 50 metres is about enough but I make it 100 to be on the safe side.

If we directly meet others he goes on lead (as does his yappy sister) once contact established if other owners ok we let them off the leads and they play chase for a few minutes.I then walk off - call them and off we go our walk...... should stress it has taken a lot of time to get to this stage without feeling stressed.

The other 5% will be when he becomes stubborn, decides he wants to do or not do something at which I have to re-assert myself firmly but fairly and he then stays on lead for the rest of the walk whilst his sister runs around........ doesn't happen very often I must be honest and say but it is there in him and have no wish to break his spirit so accept it.

Love to see the pics of your dog and good luck with the walking..........sorry I cant help though.


eta Hope I'm not rambling too much but like to add the rescue centre had 2 very stressed /scared ex Rumanian fighting dogs but only calmed down when Archie was put next to them.he really is bomproof bless him.

Edited by alfie2244 on Tuesday 23 August 23:00

[Output Flange]

Both we and our friends have just used the Wisdom Panel DNA test kit on our Romanian rescue dogs.

Ours came back as half GSD, half other stuff - basically as expected.

Theirs came back without a trace of the Serbian breed they were told she is (they met the parent dogs). Apparently they didn't have that breed, or a bunch of other Eastern European ones, on their database.

So you may not get the full picture, depending on what dog it is.

[alfie2244]

Swabs taken and will be in post in the morning......few weeks wait until we discover a bit more about his ancestry - or not as the case may be........either way he will still be a lovely fella.

ps Used Wisdom thanks for advice

[alfie2244]

Well I wasn't expecting that - 75% Alsatian + 25% Japanes Akita...........he might be a mongrel but he's one lovely fella