We’ve had Dani, our beloved rescue pup, for 7 years.
She started out as our daughter’s dog but soon ended up mine – although Dani definitely adores our whole family.
And for all these years, we’ve wondered about her breed makeup.
Is Dani part Shih Tzu, with her long body, underbite and big eyes? Is she part Yorkie, with her silky fur, habitual yapping and insistence on fiercely protecting us? Is she possibly even part gargoyle – I mean just look at her scraggly little face!
This year, in honor of Dani’s 10th birthday, I finally decided to bite the bullet and invest in a doggie DNA test so we can find out more about her genetic makeup.
After doing some research, I went with Wisdom Panel’s Premium DNA test. I had a 30% off coupon or I probably would have gone with the Essential version, which is $50 cheaper. But with the coupon, I figured what the heck – let’s go big. It’s for our sweet Dani, after all!
The Premium panel gives you the usual breed breakdown and tests, including screening for 365+ breeds and 50+ physical traits and letting you know if any of her relatives have registered with the service.
Plus, this level of DNA testing provides additional extensive veterinary health insights with 265+ health tests and the ability to discuss any ‘at-risk’ health findings with a vet. I’m interested not just out of curiosity, but also to see if we can get ahead of any possible health concerns that may be coming our way.
After our tragic and sudden loss of our sweet Goldendoodle Autumn at the end of 2020, I found myself wishing that I could have known more about what health conditions to look out for as she aged. With the insights from this Wisdom Panel, perhaps we’ll have more of a heads-up about how to care for our little Dani into her old age.
The Wisdom Panel DNA testing kit came pretty quickly via the mail. I read the instructions, activated the kit online and we prepared to wrap Dani up in a burrito so we could swab the inside of her cheek for DNA samples.
You might think “She’s a small dog, how hard could this be?” But trust me when I say Dani has the heart of a lion. She fights like a Tasmanian devil when she thinks her autonomy is being threatened. I had to roll her up in a towel and tuck in her little paws before we could attempt the process of gently swabbing the inside of her cheek.
Once we had her wrapped up tight, she surrendered and actually seemed to enjoy being held like a baby burrito – but if we hadn’t swaddled her first, it would have been rough. I wondered if something in her breed results will tell us why she’s so darn feisty?!
We let the samples dry, packed them back up in the box and mailed them off. It only took about three days for Wisdom to get our sample – and then we waited patiently to get the email with our results. I have to say, the company communicated super well with us during every step in the process and I love that.
Wisdom said it might take two to three weeks to get our DNA results back, but we were delighted to hear from them in just under two weeks. And now, drumroll please… are you ready for this?
Our amazing Ms. Dani is:
- 28% Poodle (Toy and Miniature)
- 27% Shih Tzu
- 23% Pug
- 22% Yorkshire Terrier
We were blown away by this! My best guess was always Shih Tzu/Yorkie mix. It’s wild that she has poodle in her – and as for pug, that really seemed to come out of nowhere. But I guess it all makes sense now!
The other thing I was delighted to learn is that Dani does not have any genetic predispositions for health concerns or conditions that we should be worried about. I guess with all that genetic diversity (yay mutts!), she dodged the bullet on some of the issues those breeds are known for. I’m super happy to know this.
I highly recommend Wisdom Health’s canine DNA test. It was a lot of fun for our whole family to experience together and now we have so much more insight into our sweet rescue pup that we never could have had any other way. Let me know if you’d like to see her full report and I’ll be happy to share it.
This is a great gift lover for the mixed breed or rescue dog lover in your life! Get $30 off when you use my special link and code.
