You adore your dog and want to learn more about her. For many, this is akin to having a bond with a family member. This makes the long wait for your findings, as well as the excitement of eventually learning more about your dog, nearly intolerable. When the findings do not come back as expected, pet owners’ reactions are equally emotional. What is the reason for this? There are several elements at play, but let’s start with the science. Your puppy may have a complicated ancestry of several breeds in a long line of ancestors that were also mixed breeds or “Mutts.” He may also be the result of a more basic mix of simply two breeds, with both parents being purebreds.
Many of your puppy’s characteristics are hereditary.
The wolf is the ancestor of all dogs. However, over the past 15,000 years, they have been developed to serve as guardians, hunters, herders, and companions for humans. Our canine companions have inherited a variety of morphological, intellectual, physiological, neurological, and behavioral characteristics as a result of selective breeding. Here are some typical instances.
Temperament Traits Inherited
The temperament of your dog is mostly influenced by her neurological composition, which is decided from conception. Responsive, non-responsive, energetic, passive, shy, and aggressive temperaments are all hereditary traits laid out by your dog’s DNA. Socialization, training, and other external variables can help to modify or alter her temperament, but they cannot totally change it.
Physical and behavioral characteristics that are inherited
The AKC recognizes over 120 purebred dog breeds, each with distinct physical and behavioral characteristics. Border collies are tiny dogs that weigh 35 to 40 pounds and are black or brown and white in color. This dog is renowned for having a strong urge to collect and herd objects such as sheep, calves, children, or shoes. The Labrador retriever is a unique breed, measuring 60 to 80 pounds and coming in black, chocolate brown, or yellow. With its oily hair and webbed feet, this dog has an innate propensity to swim long distances to retrieve hunting birds, drowning victims, or thrown tennis balls. The vast majority of border collies will avoid your lawn sprinklers like the plague. Though it is unsurprising that a dog’s physical characteristics are inherited, it is clear that some behavioral characteristics are impacted by heredity.
Intelligence that is inherited
Breeders and trainers typically assess intelligence based on a dog’s ability to learn and retain teachings with little repetition. A dog with a lower intelligence level will be considerably more difficult to teach than one with a higher intellect level. Border collies, poodles, German shepherds, golden retrievers, and doberman pinschers are among the top breeds with the genetic capacity to rapidly and consistently understand and follow directions, according to obedience tests. If your Pumpkin is not among this exclusive group, remind her that beautiful looks and personality always triumph over brains.
Inherited Issues
Unpopular hereditary issues plague popular breeds. Hip dysplasia is more frequent in larger canines such as great Danes, German shepherds, and golden retrievers. Pugs and beagles are two breeds that are prone to eye abnormalities. Toy breeds such as Chihuahuas, Lhasa Apsos, and Yorkshire terriers are prone to inheriting certain cardiac problems. These hereditary genetic diseases are caused by recessive genes, which means that a good gene from one parent will outweigh a poor gene from the other. Responsible breeders are aware of this and take appropriate action.
In the event of a more complicated history, the breeds within that ancestral line may range in size from extremely big to very tiny. A tiny dog may have mated with a medium dog, and the medium dog may have bred with a larger dog at some point in its history. The offspring might be a bigger dog with a very little mother. Take this complicated genetic soup and multiply it by many generations.
You submit in your dog’s test, which you know is a Great Dane, and your level 5 result is a toy poodle. When you receive your findings, you exclaim, “How is this possible?” The solution is found in the complicated realm of genetics and the complexities of dominant and recessive genes. Have you ever seen a brunette, 5’2″ human woman strolling about with her 6’4″ blonde son and thought to yourself, “How did that happen!” The answer is genetics, and it applies to your pet just as much as it does to you.
According to studies like the one conducted by Dr. Julie Levy at the University of Florida, it is extremely difficult to visually distinguish the breeds within a dog. Even specialists can only correctly identify all of the breeds present in a dog’s genetic make-up around 25% of the time!
Nature’s rules are just unavoidable. We cannot modify the rules of nature simply because we believe something should be different or because we want an outcome to be what we expect, no matter how much we wish we could. Take a look at your own family and notice the diversity; some individuals will be visible, while others may be less so. It’s the same with dogs. The best explanation is as follows:
Chromosomal crossover and genetic recombination – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic recombination
Genetic recombination (also known as genetic reshuffling) is the generation of children with characteristics that differ from those seen in either parent. Genetic recombination during meiosis in eukaryotes can result in a new collection of genetic information that can be handed down from parents to children.
The majority of recombination occurs spontaneously.
Crossover of chromosomes
Chromosome crossover promotes recombination during meiosis in eukaryotes.
The crossover process results in children with different gene combinations than their parents, and it can occasionally create novel chimeric alleles. Genetic recombination causes gene shuffling, which results in greater genetic variety. Puppies get roughly a quarter of their entire genetic make-up from their grandparents and a quarter from their great grandparents. Because genes are handed down at random, siblings may have variations in the breeds discovered (or the location of the breeds) in their family trees.
This can and frequently does result in quite surprise findings, which should be part of the pleasure in having your dog tested rather than a source of worry and disappointment.If you already knew your dog’s history, there would be no sense in getting the test done in the first place. Enjoy the procedure and put your faith in science! But I’m quite sure my dog is an Australian Shepherd! Only 2% of your dog’s DNA are responsible for their physical features. This is why understanding dominant vs recessive genes is critical.
Recessive Gene: These criteria include the form of the head and ears, as well as the kind of coat. A recessive gene is one that can be silenced by a dominant gene. To have a characteristic exhibited by a recessive gene, such as blue eyes, you must inherit the gene from both of your parents.
Dominant Gene – A gene that, whether or not its allele is identical, generates the same phenotype in the organism. However, dominant qualities like these, just because they are dominant, can be assigned to literally hundreds of breeds other than the ones you believe may apply to your cat. Recessive feature, such as a short coat, floppy ears, or spots associated with a certain breed, on the other hand, may not make it beyond the dominant ones and so cannot be observed.
Finally, we all adore our dogs.
This love is accompanied with deep connection and great aspirations. Like a result, when it comes to our dogs, just as it does with our children, parents, and siblings, it is all too easy to let our emotions cloud our judgment and prevent us from believing the scientific truths derived from your pet’s DNA.
Beyond the amusement of receiving quirky or surprising findings, there are more significant genetic facts that may help you better care for your dog in the future by understanding probable breed specific ailments to look out for in your pet. This is the most important advantage of utilizing Find My Pet DNA.
Wrapping up
Is it feasible to get incorrect results when DNA testing you pet? Yes, however it is rare if you follow the instructions included with your kit: Within hours after taking the sample, your dog cannot come into contact with other dogs or anything else that other dogs have used, such as toys, food, water bowls, beds, or feces. If this is the case, the sample will be contaminated, and the DNA from these other dogs will be detected in your findings.