The DOGGIE DNA TEST that could help explain your pooch’s personality
Wherever I took my dog, red, people would stop me and ask what breed he was. I never knew what to say.
ever since I brought him home from a dog sanctuary in Thailand, I had wondered where his gloriously ginger coat came from? he was the spitting image of a border collie, but what gave him his colour?
Luckily, I had science on my side. Just as humans can have their DNA tested to discover ancestors across the world, so too can dogs. The test can reveal which breeds your pet is made up of, unlocking the secrets of their looks and personality. And it’s becoming particularly popular among owners of rescue dogs.
So, I sent off for my kit from dog DNA testing company Wisdom Panel. When it arrived, I had to swab inside a surprisingly accommodating red’s mouth, then post the stick back.
When I got the results a few weeks later, I was stunned. Far from being a collie cross, there wasn’t a hint of sheepdog in red’s DNA.
Instead (and quite obviously) he was mainly a mixture of three eastern breeds: chow chow and shar pei from China and Japanese akita.
I now know he got his colouring from the chow chow, his body shape and fur is pure akita, and there is a hint of the shar pei’s famous folded facial skin about him.
As I researched these breeds, I began to understand the real value of the DNA test — it helped unlock the secrets of red’s personality.
each type of dog has been bred over centuries to have certain traits, and I was puzzled why my ‘collie’ didn’t race off and instead never left my side. It’s because all three of red’s breeds are guard dogs. And his absolute refusal to do what I wanted also became clear. It wasn’t me, it was him. All three breeds are known as stubborn nightmares to train.
More than one dog behaviourist has heard the mix, looked at me sympathetically and whispered: ‘Poor you.’ Something I try to remember when I call him and he ignores me.
And that, for me, is the true value of the DNA test: being able to laugh at his foibles rather than get annoyed, because I understand what makes him tick so much better.
here, three dog owners take the test to find out the personality traits of their pooches...