Darwin's Dogs

Have you heard about Darwin's Dogs yet? This is an amazing and ambitious project to search the canine genome for small differences that correlate with changes in behavior. They are tracking dog evolution by tracing when those changes occurred.

The dogs got mail.

When did Obsessive Compulsive Disorder first show up in dogs? Is there a sitting-on-people's-feet gene? Why are some breeds more prone to cancer? There are so many questions that could have answers in DNA. This is definitely a long-term project, and we're not expecting answers anytime soon. Still, it's a wonderful project to be a part of.

So far my favorite part of being a participant is filling out the surveys about my dogs. It was basically an opportunity to geek out about my dogs, and really think hard about their behavior. Now I can go back and see how their results measure up to the rest of the 7,000+ dogs in the study. Are my dogs less dog-friendly than average? Are they more comfortable with people than most dogs? Of course, our entire living situation has changed dramatically since I filled out those surveys back in December. I would probably answer some of the questions differently now.

DNA kit unboxing

About six months after signing up for the study, Brisbane, Sisci, and Ru all received DNA swab kits in the mail. Yes, the kits came addressed to the dogs. I found that absolutely hilarious.

Inside each cleverly-designed box was a collection swab with storage tube, a wonderful little tape measure, a return label, a questionnaire about physical attributes, and a Darwin's Dogs pen. Those tape measures are particularly awesome.

I swabbed and measured all three of my dogs, sent their answer sheets and samples back, and am waiting for whatever results the team finds someday. Want to contribute to a huge, broad, glorious understanding of dogs, genetics, behaviors, life, the universe, and everything? Go sign up and join Darwin's Dogs!

The Wisdom Panel DNA Test

When Brisbane was a deceptively adorable puppy, dog breed DNA tests were just beginning to hit the market. When I first heard about them, there were only two available. The Canine Heritage DNA test was done with a cheek swab, but only tested for the 20 most common breeds at the time, and did not include Australian cattledog, border collie, Australian shepherd, Shetland sheepdog, or any other breeds we thought Briz might contain. The other product on the market was the Wisdom Panel, which required a blood sample but could detect over a hundred breeds. The test kit itself cost over $100, and a vet appointment for a blood draw was an additional cost.

I knew Brisbane's mother, Sally, was a working Australian cattledog, but his father was a huge mystery. His breeder had been intending to produce a litter of purebred cattledogs, but on the way back from visiting the stud dog at the next ranch over, Sally jumped out of the back of the truck. A different neighbor returned her the next morning, apologizing for letting his beagle mix get to her. She produced a litter of seven puppies, two short-haired and houndy-looking, two tri-colored curlies including Brisbane, and three white fluffies with markings only on their faces.

I have been collecting breed guesses on Brisbane his entire life. Corgi fans often suggest his dad was a corgi mix. Sheltie-lovers are sure he's a sheltie mix. When he was a bitey little monster we joked that he was a land-shark.

The only sure thing was that he was half Australian cattledog, and that he has inherited 100% of the heeler temperament from his mother. I've always thought of him as a funny-looking ACD. Experienced herding trainers have watchied him work sheep and said that he is an absolute natural and needs very little training or direction. He's better at herding than a lot of purebred herding-breed dogs. I had always figured that his dad must have been a hodgepodge of other herding breeds.

By the time I finally got around to forking over the money for a DNA test last year, the technology had improved tremendously. Mars Veterinary had bought out pretty much all of their competitors, and had grown their database to over 200 different breeds. Ongoing research means their product just keeps getting better. I followed their instructions for carefully collecting a cheek swab, and mailed it off.

I also made this for Brisbane's fans when I announced I was getting him tested:

After three weeks I got the results, which were...unlikely.

I was ready to write off the DNA tests as amusing but obviously inaccurate. However, I noticed that on Amazon.com every bad review was followed up with a reply from the company requesting that the customer contact them. I sent them a picture of Brisbane and also this picture of his mother, asking them to tell me with a straight face that she was actually half bullmastiff.

A month later, an actual geneticist from Mars Veterinary called me and geeked out about dog breeds with me for nearly an hour. I learned that the sample dogs used to develop the breed algorithms were all AKC registered. Sally was from working lines and not a perfect match with the AKC dogs, so the computer came up with bullmastiff as a false positive. The geneticist was able to look at all of the possible results, and gave me a new analysis with the breeds that showed up in every projection. She said the bullmastiff genes were very strong, and that the Cavalier King Charles spaniel showed up in every projection. Here is Brisbane's official result:

I am very happy with this result, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is definitely the piece of the puzzle that I was missing. Brisbane has very spanielly ears and a perfect spaniel tail as well. AmStaff and mastiff is a very common mix. The best part is that the geneticist thinks Brisbane's dad was a mid-sized, short-haired, stocky, tri-color dog with big floppy ears. Sounds like a beagle to me! Here's what that "mixed breed" could mean.

According to the geneticist, the Xolo shows up as a false positive for a lot of pitbull-type dogs. I was hoping it meant "Mexican street dog", but apparently the Xolo genes cluster pretty tightly with European terriers. I see two spitzy-type breeds on there, which could explain why Brisbane carries his tail curled over his back instead of straight like all the identifiable breeds in the mix. Patricia McConnell, one of my favorite authors and behaviorists, has a great explanation of some of the finer points of interpreting breed DNA tests if you'd like to read more.