The Nuts and Bolts of Layla

[nightdog_barks]

So I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it here, but back in March I decided to pull the trigger on an Embark DNA test ... for Layla. We were curious, what can I say? I'd thought about doing it sooner, but I always held off because we had a truly pants result from a test on our previous dog, Chango (an obvious Chow/Border Collie/something mix that the testing people interpreted as ... Pekingese). But that was many years ago, and surely, I thought, canine genotyping has improved since then! Plus Embark has really good reviews! So I stuck a cotton swab in her mouth (she bit it), swabbed it around to get a lot of saliva (she was very baffled), and sent it off.

The results came back this afternoon.

50.0% Golden Retriever
36.1% Labrador Retriever
13.9% ... Belgian Malinois

:D

For what it's worth, I think they're pretty much on track with what we'd suspected. Two thumbs up, 10/10, would rec Embark.

Comments

[silverjackal]

LOL, the GoldenXLabrador I could buy because Labrador is so prepotent that if you cross it with anything you end up with a very Labrador-y dog and Goldens are nearly related*. The Malinois? Uh... maybe? I should test my two for a lark and see what I get. Poodle X Pug, no doubt! And Bernese Mountain Dog X Maltese. Clearly! Which one is which I'll let you decide**.

*If someone asks you could say that Layla is a mis-marked St. John's waterdog and not be lying. The St. John's waterdog was the Ur-retriever that gave rise to the rest, and the landrace persisted into the 1970s.

**Mostly because I have no fucking clue myself. ;D

[topaz_eyes]

Oooh, DNA testing, that is so cool. 13.9% is a bit higher than the expected 12.5%, but not by much, so maybe it's within the error of the test. Or perhaps one of Layla's other ancestors wasn't a full Lab or Golden, and also had a bit of Malinois.

I've always wanted to test the accuracy of human DNA testing services like 23andMe. We know what to expect for at least one marker. But, I'm not so keen on the life insurance companies' attempts to demand those results for their nefarious purposes. (Or on our current Liberal government, which tried to quash a bill to rein in said companies' attempts.)