No, he did not drive the truck. We took away his keys.

[the_deep_magic]

Don't know if I mentioned it, but a few weeks I broke down and bought one of those cheek-swab DNA testing kits for Plato, in the hopes that knowing what unholy combination of specific breeds went into his design might give us some insight into training him.  (Pause for laughter.)  Incidentally, do you know that dogs do not like to have the inside of their cheeks swabbed, not even if you explain the reasons patiently?

Anyway, the report came back today, and it was, well...  I'll let you decide for yourself.  Just to refresh your memory, this is the dog in question:

Fig. A: The Dog

Remember, I was told he was a dachshund/terrier mix.  These are the results that came back:

Fig. B: The Results

I'm sorry... WHAT?  The Aussie cattle dog, I'll buy, simply from a few pictures and a description of the breed ("May be suspicious or cautious around strangers requiring careful socialization with rewards to prevent or reduce fear-based defensive aggression") and the fact that they're descended from dingoes (everybody, keep a close eye on your babies).  And possibly Plato's coloring could come from the Aussie shepherd.  But if he is 25% labrador retriever, then I'm 25% Angelina Jolie (and I'm not).  I'm pretty sure the lab techs were just guessing, because their HAS to be some terrier in there somewhere.  That's the only explanation for the ?-shaped tail.  Not to mention the fact that Plato is on the small end of the Aussie cattle dog spectrum and much smaller than either the shepherd or the lab.

So... I'm out an embarrassing $60 and more confused than when I started.  Can I complain to someone about this if I have no way of proving them wrong?  I feel like writing SOMEBODY a very stern letter.

Comments

[vee-dub.livejournal.com]

Well, whatever he is, he's stinkin' CUTE.

(I didn't even know they could do DNA tests on dogs like that! Maybe I'll do it for my dog [who may be a Lab/Rott mix, or he may be a Lab/Mastiff mix] for Xmas.)

[perdiccas.livejournal.com]

Maybe further back in his family tree there's a terrier, and the ? is a recessive gene...? /knows nothing about biology

He's 100% adorable though! :D

[ewinfic.livejournal.com]

...

All I can say is, if you mix a lab with an Australian Cattle Dog, you get one fuck of an energetic, annoying dog, who needs a LOT of attention.

Actually, the lab part is believable if you look at his muzzle. Terriers have narrow muzzles, as do the other dogs on your chart. The lab has that square-ish muzzle with the soft overhanging upper lips, built for carrying just-shot waterfowl, etc. without damaging it (hence retriever). Plato appears to have a duck-toting mouth.

[ewinfic.livejournal.com]

I would buy you being 25% Angelina Jolie, but not TOO much AJ, because she looks like an alien, and you don't...

[ewinfic.livejournal.com]

The more I look at web images, the more plausible this seems. The Australian Shepherd seems to be expressed most blatantly, both in coloring and body shape. The shepherd has a slightly softened muzzle, too, which I failed to see at first... and I'm wondering whether the lab part dictated his coat, which is flat and shiny. The cattle dog's coat looks very rough; the shepherd's is quite hairy/fluffy and long. Plato has a lab-like coat. (And terriers if not intensively groomed tend to be scruffier than he is around the face.)

[zjofierose.livejournal.com]

i know nothing about dogs. at all. but having a 17lb cat, i can imagine just how much fun you had swabbing his cheek. :D

congratulations on keeping your fingers.

[orphica.livejournal.com]

How did he get such short legs without daschund?? I've heard these tests can be unreliable, too.

[ranka-lee.livejournal.com]

I guess it must be further back he's a terrier??

He's so cute though!! :D

[greenteaduck.livejournal.com]

...Hmm...

I guess if all of his ancestors were shorter than the breeds usual are... Still...

BUT HE IS SO CUTE~!!<33

[littleboycalico.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm, like someone mentioned above, maybe the genetic markers they're using are recessive? Or masked?

BUT LOOK AT HIS FLOPPITY EARS!!!

[fatty-fat.livejournal.com]

lj ate my comment. i said 'blah blah genes', like everyone else did. it'd be cool to see back further.

he is still adorable. maybe he'll calm down like labs do as he gets older (lolright).