SUMMARY: Biggest part is as expected, but then --
... much unexpected!
My guesses were, in order: 1. Cattle Dog 2. Rat Terrier 3. Border Collie 4. Basenji.
And here's the big reveal:
- To the ACD, I say, well, duh!
- Beagle: OK, has a non-ACD bark, I've always thought.
- But Chihuahua? One friend said, while guessing her own breeds, "Including Chihuahua because around here these days *everything* probably has chihuahua."
- And I expected terrier, but Boston Terrier? I don't know enough about BT traits to say, "no way," or, "well, THAT explains it."
- German Shepherd Dog: I sometimes wondered whether those were Shepherd ears. Should've added to my guesses.
- Supermutt: Additional breed ancestry so diluted that all they can do is make guesses. "We cannot be sure, given how little of their DNA has carried down to Zorro, but we thought you might like to know our best guess anyway!"
- Smooth Fox Terrier
- Shetland Sheepdog
So much for his original rescue posting as "Border Collie Mix"! Not a whit of that.
It also includes
a list of physical traits. Here's the summary:
- Coat color: Gives a fairly broad range, but not incorrect so far--I'll have to wade thru the "but if the dog has xxxx gene, then..." material. It is correct that he is not merle.
- Coat qualities: Short or medium fur, straight not curly, sheds a lot seasonally. Yep.
- Other: "Likely to" have medium or long muzzle, normal-length tail, normal muscling. "Unlikely" to have hind dew claws or blue eyes. Yep.
- Genetic diversity: Inbreeding 0%. Well, that's pretty interesting!
Relatives?!
They list 30 dogs whose DNA makes them "Close relatives: As related as human first cousins." They are ALL listed as ACD, while Zorro is Mixed Breed. All those who have photos are clearly ACD as claimed. And although 2 are named Truckee and Cali, almost all of them live on the east coast except for an enclave in Nebraska. Intriguing.
As long as we're here--I also asked for the
health screening. They tested for 181 things, and he's all clear except:
Carrier for "Progressive Retinal Atrophy, prcd" and "Progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRCD Exon 1)"
No worries about him ever carrying that anywhere. I'll have to look up what breeds commonly carry that. Later.
Now can hardly wait for Chip's to arrive, because I had no confident guesses at all!
And here they are!
