What Kind of Dog is That?
With my terrier mix, Oscar, I used to love that question. When he was a little puppy, I made up all kinds of cool-sounding names. As a fan of alliteration, I was particularly proud of my Tibetian Tiger Terrier and my Spanish Spider Spaniel. As he grew up, it was too obvious to ignore his pitbull-ish roots. Then I’d make up different crosses: pit bull mom and husky dad, or pit bull and boxer cross mom with a white German Sheppard dad…Maybe a greyhound uncle in there somewhere…
Now we don’t have to guess. DNA testing in dogs can help us identify the most prominent breeds in our mutts. This information can be used for fun, for shock value (yes, your 100-pound hound mix is ¼ dachshund) or for a heads-up on potentially pertinent medical predispositions. Our hospital uses the Wisdom Panel™ MX Mixed-Breed Dog DNA Test. The test can be purchased online and brought to your veterinarian for blood sample collection or just purchased from the hospital itself. A lot of the questions and details on the specific accuracy of the test can be found at www.wisdompanel.com.
The price is pretty affordable and it can make a fun gift!
--Dr. Olson
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Dr. Olson practices small animal medicine in Denver, CO and is a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.
Dog on March 31, 2009 at 04:48 AM
maybe we can give it to our dogs for a birthday gift.
joesen on December 24, 2010 at 10:28 PM
Now we don’t have to guess. DNA testing in dogs can help us identify the most prominent breeds in our mutts.