[allison miller]

How great that you are adding more breeds! I tell everyone I know with dogs about this project.

[allison miller]

Jennifer,
That’s very interesting. I received one of my dog’s results and awaiting the other. I hope they address my second dog because her Wisdom panel results were only definitive for half of her ancestry. She came from a Navajo reservation and it would be fun to see if this study can identify that missing 50%. She’s an incredibly interesting dog and rarely a day passes without someone asking what she is.

[allison miller]

Maybe your Pippi is showing traits of more distant pug ancestors? I read an article recently about how breeds have changed in appearance over the last several decades–selective breeding to make noses shorter etc. maybe she looks more like an old timey Pug!

[allison miller]

I also have waited 2 years and honestly, I already have Wisdom panel results for one of my dogs so I didn’t join Darwin’s Dogs just to see their DNA. I am sincerely curious about findings in the original study. That said, it was a bit of work to fill out 21 surveys for two dogs so yeah an update would be nice. I worked in nonprofit and education orgs for many years and do understand funding issues. Additionally I wasn’t aware that the group became a nonprofit and changed its name—maybe my message got lost. I was a bit surprised to open my dog’s records and see a suggested $1000+ donation. Perhaps cut off registrations until you can handle your current sample.

[allison miller]

Both of my dogs are rescues and neither barks nearly as much as any other dog I’ve owned. They don’t bark at the doorbell, knocking or strangers. It’s kind of nice but odd.
My lab has terrible night terrors, however, and will bark, whine and howl loudly in his sleep.

[allison miller]

I had a bit of a laugh at some of the activities–they are all great suggestions, don’t get me wrong–I just haven’t found many activities my Labrador will do. I have had him checked out a the vet numerous times, and run tests, x-rays etc., to rule out any health problems or injuries, and the only activities he seems to like are going for walks, lounging (he’s a pro), meeting people and (very) occasionally digging under our tree. He really doesn’t play with toys, he doesn’t retrieve, swim or play with other dogs he doesn’t even bark at the doorbell (my little dog doesn’t either–it’s actually kind of nice 🙂 I wonder how much of his behavior is nurture rather than nature? We don’t know his history, but we wonder if he just wasn’t exposed to a whole lot when he was a pup.

My initial response to utilizing his personality was that he would make an excellent therapy dog, but he has this terrible pawing habit where he smacks you for attention, and we’ve had a devil of a time trying to un-train this habit so that he is safe with seniors and little ones.

[allison miller]

Well, we did do a DNA test on our reservation dog through Wisdom Panel. They were able to detect two specific breeds at 25% each, but the remaining 50% was not pure enough to say what the remaining ancestors were.

[allison miller]

My little dog often refuses to go on the same route twice in the same day.

[allison miller]

I will be very interested to see both of my dogs’ results. One is kind of like a “village dog”–picked up off the streets of a reservation where the dogs tend to run free. The other dog appears to be purebred, but he was picked up as a stray with no known history and shows no inclination for any of the traits that his breed is known for (other than a sweet disposition).

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