Boo!

Our story....

We got Boo at the Greater Birmingham Humane Society in Homewood, AL in August 2009. He was sharing a run with his litter mate. They were the last of a litter and he was listed as a 7mo Border Collie mix. He obviously had the markings of a border collie but was a bit smaller and didn't have the same facial features. My husband, three daughters and I started guessing as to what other breeds he might be related to. We heard about the DNA test offered by HappyDogDNA and Biopet which led to "The Bet." So after careful, and most definitely, wasted time flipping through dog breed books, everyone took their guess. Everyone had to pick 5 breeds. My 11yr old daughter came up with the best guess. She picked Border Collie, English Springer Spaniel, Shetland Sheepdog, Lab, and Jack Russel Terrier. Considering he was related to 8 different breeds, guessing 3 was quite a good guess.

The final results BioPet found were:

• German Shorthair Pointer (level 3)
• Border Collie (level 4)
• Cocker Spaniel (level 4)
• Weimaraner (level 4)
• Collie (level 5)
• Dachshund (level 5)
• English Springer Spaniel (level 5)
• Shetland Sheepdog (level 5)

Thank you for the entertainment and family fun your service provided.

Devery
Birmingham, AL

Thanks so much for the photo of Boo and for sharing your family bet with us! It sounds like your daughter really knows her dogs. Perhaps she'll be the next generation Dog Whisperer!

Duncan

Thank you so much for telling me exactly what my dog is. When I adopted him last year the SPCA told me that he was a Silky X (which I completely disagreed with). Everyone always asks me what kind of a dog he is and I always respond promptly with Heinz 57, now I can tell people what kind of dog he is. Thank you again for providing such a great service!

• Level 2: Poodle
• Level 3: Chihuahua
• Level 4: Golden Retriever
• Level 4: Saluki
• Level 5: English Setter

Lindsay
Chino Hills, CA

Katie

Attached is a picture of my dog, Katie. We adopted her 6 years ago as a wildly energetic puppy. The foster agency thought she was a Basenji mix, but we knew that was wrong since she has a very loud bark. We thought she was closer to a Pitbull mix and she weighs over 50 pounds. We were very surprised at the results from the DNA test, since she doesn't seem to have anything in common with the breeds that came back. I think we can continue to call her a Heinz 57 mutt!

Here are the results of the DNA test:

• Level 3: Boston Terrier
• Level 3: Miniature Pinscher
• Level 4: Chihuahua
• Level 4: English Setter
• Level 4: Irish Setter
• Level 4: Italian Greyhound

Thank you, Julie, for sending in Katie's photo and for sharing her story. As we tell our customers whose dogs don't seem to look like any particular breed, with this many breeds at low levels, she's not likely to share too many visual indicators with the breeds present in her mix.

Contest Winner!

www.HappyDogDNA.com held a contest for all of our customers who sent in photos of their dogs and shared their stories. From all the entrants, we randomly selected Kiley from Washington, DC for sending in photos of her dog, Lucky, and for sharing his story.

For her effort, Kiley will be receiving a copy of Michael Schaffer's book, One Nation Under Dog. Thanks to all of our customers who sent in their photos and stories.

Congratulations, Kiley! Your book will be arriving soon.

See Lucky's original blog post.

Cooper

Hello. We adopted our lil guy from the MD SPCA on July 18th. We were told he was Lab/Terrier/Poodle mix.

The DNA results were astounding to us.

Cooper is :

• Level 2 Poodle
• Level 3 German Shepard
• Level 4 Schnauzer
• Level 4 English Setter

No Lab, or Terrie at all.

So, attached pleas find photos of our now 6 month old mixed puppy Cooper.

Thanks,
Carrie Frazier
Baltimore, MD

Thanks, Carrie! You'll be entered into our giveaway contest for Michael Schaffer's book, One Nation Under Dog: www.happydogdna.com/Blog.html

Kobe

Good morning! I was so excited when I saw the envelope from Bio-Med Vet Lab in my mailbox on Saturday! I so wanted it to be true! I had to chuckle at the results though.

I adopted my four-legged hairy kid when she a bit of nothing....she was found on a country road, dodging traffic. I thought she would be small--turns out she's now 60 lbs! Although she is a mix, I strongly believe her to be a lot of Bordie Collie (please see blonde border collie).

Looks just like my kid in full coat. I've attached a couple of photos of my kid as well.

The test results came back as:

• Level 3 Afghan Hound
• Level 4 Chinese Shar-Pei
• Level 4 Chow Chow
• Level 4 German Shepherd Dog
• Level 4 Schnauzer
• Level 5 Parson Russell Terrier
• Level 5 Poodle

Thanks....this was fun at least!

Bobbie

Thanks for sending the photos and the results for your beautiful blonde, Bobbie. When a mixed breed dog has as many breeds as Kobe, it's not likely that s/he will look much like any of the breeds present.

Lucky

I knew my mutt was part Dalmatian. That much was clear. The spots are a dead giveaway and his neurotic behavior sealed the deal on the Dalmatian front. When people see him on his walks they often say: "Ooohhh, he is so cute. What is he?" I usually say Dalmatian/Hound mix. After a year of wondering what he really was, I bought the kit and swabbed the little guy's cheek to find out. Anxiously awaiting the results, I began guessing what his other half could possibly be. My final guess: Beagle and Pointer. Wrong and wrong. My boyfriend's guess: Pit Bull. Wrong. People on the street said: Blue Heeler, Boxer, and Coonhound. Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

Here are Lucky's results:

• Level 3: Dalmatian, Mastiff(!!!)
• Level 4: Collie
• Level 5: American Eskimo Dog, Boston Terrier, Papillion

Huh? Mastiff? He is only 35 pounds - and the vet told him he could stand to lose a few pounds. Collie? He has short black and white fur with spots! So now when people say "Ooohhh, he is so cute. What is he?" I get to respond: "Dalmatian/Mastiff mix!!" and wait for the reaction.

Thank you Happy Dog DNA!

Thank you, Kiley, for sharing Lucky's photos and his results. As we've noted before, the dominant characteristics of a particular breed are not always evident, particularly when they are present at Level 3 and lower. And since Dalmation is pretty clear, it's a safe bet that BioPet Vet Lab correctly identified the other breeds as well.