May I suggest that this study bears on Americans' beliefs about human "races" as taught by the USCB. We citizens are assigned to "races" black, white, Asian even though at least somebody at the USCB knows each of us is a mutt. American sociologists do the same seeing individuals as "bi-racial" as if all such had two parents each belonging to a "purebred" race.
Get your genome done and you will be told you have lines of descent tracing back to many different geographic areas, not "races".
Genome researcher David Reich recently noted in a "reply to readers column" that he had erred in his preceding article where he tried to hang on to "races" conceding that there is no scientific basis for USCB or neo-Nazi designation of "races".
But Times columnists faithfully use "race" instead of ethnicity or description.
Maybe this dog article will open a mind or two. Let's hope so.
Only-NeverinSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
18
I have a black purebred miniature schnauzer from a top breeder... so she looks like (and is groomed to conform with) what a miniature schnauzer is supposed to look like. The number of people who compliment me on my "Scottish Terrier" shows that you don't have to look at a mutt to not know what you are looking at.
3
I have been involved in shelter work since 1989. I've seen the most incredible mixes of dogs. Dachshunds mixed with chows, poodles mixed with who knows what, it's an amazing experience. I've adopted or found strays of various heritage that I've been pleased to bring home. One dog I paid $2.00 for when I worked as a social worker in the Bronx, when it was a shambles. I was on the way to a meeting. I ended up with Maxine. I still cry over that dog sometimes. Rescued dogs are the best breed. I no longer live in NY but the rescue work continues. Visit a shelter and save one of these incredible dogs.
29
We adopted our dog, Lynn, from a shelter in Prague, but she was rescued from Slovakia, near the border with Ukraine. She looks like a Dachshund-Border Collie-Jack Russell mix (although after reading this article, I’m no longer so confident!). Interestingly, most of the mutts in Prague look a lot like Lynn—short, black, and shaggy. In fact I have found that in all the places I’ve visited, the stray dogs tend to have a particular look common to them but not to dogs anywhere else. It’s a kind of genetic regression to the mean. When people ask what kind of dog Lynn is, I just say that she is a purebred Slovakian Village Dog.
32
Not too different in the USA.
There are many black, shaggy
small to medium sized mutts,
some have some streaks of white
hair, pointy or overturned ears
with a possible terrier strain.
There are also many Pitt Bull mixes
which are often not adopted.
I would love to read a study of
mutts in different parts of the world.
The street dogs in India have a unique
hound-look, there is a mutt mix called
Sato in Puerto Rico.
9
My “rescue” is pure mutt and
pure love. How often does pure
love walk through the door and
stay? And who is rescued? The
human more than the canine.
Rescue, rescue...
Don’t overthink it.
15
Seems to me that this idea that mutts are all somehow descended from so-called purebreds is a a dubious idea to start with. How many of these mutts, or any mutts out there, actually have any "purebred" ancestors in their own family trees, let alone how many are made up of genes that all were once contained in some recognized purebred somewhere? Very few I suspect. We often see what we expect to see, not what is really there. These wonderful creatures are mostly just plain dogs that have some physical similarities to some others that we humans have designated as purebreds, and who actually came from the same long-ago ancestral gene pool. And there is nothing wrong with that, bless their hearts. They love us either way, as we love them, and that's what matters.
26
Breed inquisition is the dog version of racism. It's a dog. Try asking a co-worker, "what breed are you"?
7
There is no “dog version” of racism. Racism is a uniquely human problem, and diminishing it by comparing it to discernment of dog breeds is bizarrely off the mark.
5
This *was* a really hard survey! I made it through 10 dogs before my head started spinning. Every dog started to look like the same few breeds to me, and I knew it wasn't right. Reading my results was painful...and humbling.
p.s. I've worked in animal welfare for years and used to think I was good at identifying mutts!
9
The Mutt Mix Survey is a component of the Darwin's Dogs study and the DNA element is both fun and ultimately informative. There are several things I love about the Darwin's Dogs study: First, they are looking at the intersection of human and dog disease including chronic, infectious, environmental disease including mental health. Results should benefit both man and beast. Second, they've done a great job of cataloging traits including appearance, behavior, health, allergies and living environment. And third, I LOVE that dogs are studied while living in homes and are not subjected to vivisection. Research I can support all the way around!
13
Sorry, but it's hard to put much faith in the testing results when anywhere from 20 to 41 percent of each mutt is "unknown." Add to that many physical traits are shared by more than one breed -- and behaviors and personality weren't considered -- and it's easy to see why experts and amateurs alike had a hard time guessing correctly.
All but two of our rescue dogs over the years have been listed as a "Black Lab mix" -- even though some hated water and could not have cared less about retrieving. After spending time with them, their true ancestry usually reveals itself -- like our current Lab-Dachshund mix we've dubbed a "Weinador." We love them all regardless!
11
Purebreds were bred from mutts, not the other way around. So, I doubt it's safe to assume that the mutts in the pictures have any detectable purebred ancestry at all.
15
Not 1 person in 12 years ever guessed correctly on the breed of my rescue dog. In fact, I was TOLD by our local dog enforcement person what breed she was and that lady was wrong. I was wrong, the rescue personnel were wrong. Once we did genetic testing, shortly before she died, we were blown away. That was exactly what she was! It explained her personality and exercise habits. To see what she really was, we had to shave her down and see under her coat (german shepherd black spots), observe her stubby legs (English bulldog) compared to her body, and notice that she had a laidback personality (bulldog). Her smarts came from her heeler side. Her double coat came from her chow-chow and Bundhund. What did everyone guess? Australian Shepherd.
6
How fun. We know Lucy! Participating in the Darwin Dogs project has been terrific.
1
Can I put my puppy in this contest? Maybe somebody can give me an approximation on his breed composition. His name is lazy boy, and I named him that because when he was very little he was too impatient to bury His do-doo after he made them, And instead just pawed at them hurriedly, then ran out to play. He is all gray, but when i took a photograph of him in some kind of low light situation, the apple camera caught some very Calico striping!
1
You must be confusing dogs with cats?
4
We make up "breeds" and mixes for our rescues, just for laughs. We've had a 17lb white girl that "was" part Norwegian Elk Hound (no she wasn't!); a super protective Porky - Pit Bull inside, Yorkie outside: and our current, WHATEVER! terrier. Or, the Useless Bay Clamming Terrier - we live on Useless Bay and there are clams here. Done!
5
How did you get the “scientific” results? After we rescued a mixed-breed dog off the street in Santa Cruz, we had her DNA-tested by two different companies. I won’t name them but one is American and one is Canadian. They came back with quite different results. Two months later we rescued another mixed-breed puppy. This time we had a good idea of his breed background but we had him tested anyway. To call the accuracy of the results mediocre would be generous. I hope that you had some controls.
14
Dogs are so genetically plastic that most anything can crop up at any time. The whole idea of ‘purebreds’ as a closed breeding pool is pretty recent; before that dogs were kept (and sometimes specifically bred) for an occupation - lapdog, fighting dog, hunter, herder. ‘Breeds’ were some noble family’s (or sometimes, a community’s) dogs, the ‘breed’ dying out with the family. It was the rise of dog shows in the 1800s as a hobby for the affluent and the middle class in Europe that led to today’s closed studbooks and disease-riddled inbreeding for appearance alone.
10
I hear all the time about the make-up of various neighbors "mutts" but as a scientist I would really like more information concerning the actual genetic data that determines a Golden Retriever vs. a Labrador Retriever.
2
I think anyone would do far better if they were physically with the dog. Going by photos is very limiting.
1
@JustInsideBeltway Absolutely! Many breeds share similar physical traits, but an individual dog's behavior and personality speaks volumes. (BTW, if the researchers want to repeat the study with actual person-and-dog interactions, I'm happy to volunteer!)
1
I wonder how well some applied machine learning would do?
I find it interesting that many of the mutts' pedigree has been very mixed for many generations (although, "many generations" in dogs can be just a century). It's as if the owners don't care who the dog breeds with (although veterinarians have told me that pure breeds tend to be healthier).
@Bob
Purebreds can be healthier only if you already know
their inherent genetic problems.
4
@Bob That's odd. Every veterinarian with whom I've spoken has said the opposite: that mutts tend to be healthier than purebreds.
18
I have sent the DNA of two dogs for such testing. In one case, the results were possibly correct, but in the other case, the results were not credible. The one mutt, Rex, not only has the appearance of a small Rottweiler, he has the teeth strength of one. (Rottweilers are able to chew through toys that no other dog can - Rex is able to chew at the Rottweiler level). My guess is that the DNA tests that this article are based on are not close to 100% accurate. The best way to verify the breeding history of dogs versus DNA analysis would be to have actual parental lineage details - as in - extract DNA swabs from several generations of mutts that came from the mating of purebreds. (Rex also has other Rottweiler characteristics, like hip weakness. Neither this or the above mentioned tooth strength are incorporated in any of the breeds the DNA test listed). Perhaps the reason so many do poorly at predicting the DNA paternity results is because the DNA paternity results are not particulalry accurate.
5
We were adopted by a lovely lady who had been dumped near us and ran around for a good 2 weeks before she decided we were her new family. (Being a total city girl who moved to the country I was appalled to learn that it’s common for animals to be dumped.)
For fun we did a DNA test and decided if the results were true she had quite the international background—including court dogs from ancient China!
The vet says she’s mostly spaniel with a good dose of mutt stuff in her. He was kind enough not to roar with laughter when he saw the DNA results.
She’s a lovely friend, loving and gentle and still doesn’t understand that she can’t catch a rabbit when she stops to poop in the middle of the chase. But she can tell time: she knows exactly when it’s time for the humans to put out her meals.
44
@Mimi ...And when it's time for her walk? I would swear our dogs watch the shadow in the kitchen, and know when it reaches a certain point, it's time for their second daily walk. (We walk first thing in the morning, too.)
I'm so glad your pup found you and wisely selected you as her new family!
6
I am terrible at this.
5
I agree that the breed or mix matters not at all, but this was fun to read and I loved looking at the pictures of the beautiful dogs. Lucy looks just like our Lucy (who died 10 years ago). She was an Australian Kelpie - a type of sheep dog. Not a common breed in the US. I can't tell how big this Lucy is. Our dog was about half the size of German Shepard with very large ears. She was such a happy girl, she skipped (really!) every time we took her out for a walk. Still miss her.
33
@Terri McFadden
Breed doesn't matter at all in how much we love them, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to have a little insight into what you've got.
We were told our adopted beauty was Rhodesian Ridgeback (no zipper, but her back went up a lot), crossed with a mastiff.
But she's not as big as would be expected, nor is she heat-tolerant, as you'd expect of a dog of African origins.
Turns out she's actually as much as 70% boxer (explains the bounce, the love of play and the use of her paws) and as much as 30% German Shepherd (hello, having her back up), which thankfully has given her a pretty face with expressive eyes, but none of the boxer breathing difficulties.
Boxers are notoriously not heat tolerant and both boxers and shepherds are prone to a particularly bad kind of cancer, both of which are good to know about when looking out for out girl.
8
You are so right I cannot understand how someone could pay so much money or maybe none at all or maybe just a little to find out the bread that’s why I mockingly put my “puppy” in this column (And noted that he had curious calico striping’s in a Curious off angle photograph)
2
The people of Thailand have the perfect name for mutts: One Thousand Ways--- I used to volunteer at the Humane Society and I was instructed to inform prospective adopters that the dogs they were looking to adopt were labrador and shepherd mix unless the appearance said otherwise, for example, a golden retriever. Pun (1,000)-taang (way) is perfect!! no mistake!
3
@montatip
I can't see that as being the way American rescues would do it, though.
My US home insurance requires that I report any presence of German Shepherd (among other breeds), presumably because they're considered an insurance risk.
2
@Michele K
Many shelters and rescue groups have stopped labeling dogs by breed because we really don't know what they are and breed labels only hurt the dogs. There are many home insurance companies (hello State Farm in all states and Farmers in most!) that provide insurance breed-neutral policies because they know the truth -- dogs of any and all breeds can bite! It's about the dog's behavior, whether s/he is altered, socialization, and other factors.
2
@montatip Actually the exact translation is Dog of a Thousand Sperm, which is even more perfect.
2
Great story! And very enlightening. It’d be great to have something similar for horses!
2
So adorable! But, what about Moggies? (That's Mutt for cats.) Did you know that a female cat can fertilize the eggs of several different males, and have a litter of cat confetti kittens, all of whom have different fathers?
6
I, of course, meant that the sperm, from several males, can fertilize the eggs of one female. Got that all mixed up. Sorry.
13
Researchers hope the results will help them better understand how “people evaluate and perceive mixed-breed dogs.”
Why?
3
@chrigid Perhaps because so many mixed breed dogs end up in shelters, waiting for adoption or euthanasia. I think the author of the article means that if people can spot recognizable breeds in their mutts, the mutts might stand a better chance of having permanent, loving homes. Whether that is true or not .... who knows?
I love my healthy, 10 year-old mixed breed mutt, Lucy. When people ask what she is I tell them she's an American Staffordshire Terrier-Labrador-Border Collie-Dalmatian-Rat Terrier-Pointer mix.
20
you forgot shepherd!!
2
@Susanna
Glad you love Lucy, because you'll probably be loving her for another 5 or so years. While you're fortunate if you get 10 years from a purebred, all that genetic diversity in a mutt tends to make them healthier, and adds perhaps 50% to their longevity. From your description, Lucy is certainly "diverse".
9
@Rich - unless Lucy has been carelessly bred by crossing dogs of various breeds carrying hereditary diseases of those breeds. Then you'll have a few expensive years of heartache. It's true that there is such a thing as hybrid vigor - but it's equally true that careless owners (most who allow their dogs to breed at their whim with whatever is available) do not health test and often pass along some heartbreaking genetic inheritance. If the genetic defect is recessive, the dog might be fine. If it is dominant, you're going to have heartbreak.
I wholeheartedly support rescue and adoption - but don't pump sunshine up people when they really have no idea what their pup will be when from dubious breeding.
1
All the dogs are really quite handsome.
Knowing the genetic background of a dog is as irrelevant as knowing the genetic background of a person. I like good dogs and good people - both make for great companions.
That's all that counts, really.
68
@Jack be Quick,
It can be useful when dealing with diseases that tend to occur in certain breeds (like hip dysplasia in retrievers and schäferhunds). Also it can explain certain behaviors (like why my one of my Lurchers jumps up on and tried to climb telephone poles (she's half Australian Kelpie and I have no sheep for her to demonstrate her herding skills).
11
@Jack be Quick
Yes:
race...a social construct!
"breed"... a social construct!
2
My childhood Dalmatian, short haired, white with black spots, terrifying deep bark, highly protective of me an my brothers, had a little cocker spaniel for a mother.
We can all learn something about our concept of “race” from our dogs.
42
@Michael c "We can all learn something about our concept of 'race' from our dogs."
Truer words have never been written, Michael!
6
The web site of the Broad institute offers this as its mission statement: “In 2001, the decoding of the human genome sparked a revolution in how we understand human health and disease. Three years later, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was founded to fulfill the promise of this revolution: to reveal the fundamental basis of disease and catalyze rational treatments.”
How does this work ... do that?
Hi @Mark Edington , good question! The MuttMix Project branches off from existing research at the Broad Institute on canine health and genetics, especially through the citizen science project Darwin's Dogs. We already look at ancestry in our genetic analyses, and found this to be a fun and interactive question to explore using that ancestry data.
2
Extrapolate to humans. Those who see only one’s ethnic origin or “breed” will miss the beauty of the person himself.
34
Bella was the cutest!
3
This is my favorite news of the day!
14
Do you remember that old shoe, "Mom was a cocker spaniel and Dad was a traveling man?" That describes my shepherd plus. When I would walk in the front door after work, he would be so excited to see me he'd pee on my shoes. Now that's a dog!
16
My twelve year old daughter had this answered as soon as she saw the picture and she was spot on. What's in that dog? Her words: "A lot of love."
81
This would be my answer to those searching for breeds:
1) who cares? and/or
2) "rescued" is my favorite breed
98
Mixed breed dogs are much healthier that pure bred dogs.
Puppy mills and breeders are doing Nature a real disservice and are promoting animal cruelty!
56
@john michel please don't lump small breeders, like I was, with puppy mills & breeders churning out dogs like warm $ signs. So as to fit into our 'pack' of about 4 dogs, I bought each female as a puppy & waited thro 1+ years in one case, to rule her out for breeding ~ start again, wait 2 years for final hip clearance, then I researched each perspective male, their titles (intelligence) & their health certificates for as many generations back as possible.. as I did my female - singular. If the breeding didn't take, add another 6 months. If yes, bringing up puppies is no easy thing if you're doing it right. Between the time & the cost -- we never made a dime. We were 'German Shepherd breeders' for 35 years & had a total of 3 litters. We did it purely hoping to increase the intelligence & health of the breed - made zero $ & suffered a lot of heartbreak. Small time breeders such as ourselves is where the future of pure bred dogs lie -- and you have to look for us -- and you have to be willing to wait for a puppy. A good breeder will have a waiting list & will check you out as thoroughly as you will check them out. Adopting is a great option.. AND, we just got our first rescue shepherd, a girl from S.C.
18
@john michel please don't lump small breeders, like I was, with puppy mills & breeders churning out dogs like warm $ signs. So as to fit into our 'pack' of about 4 dogs, I bought each female as a puppy & waited thro 1+ years in one case, to rule her out for breeding ~ start again, wait 2 years for final hip clearance, then I researched each perspective male, their titles (intelligence) & their health certificates for as many generations back as possible.. as I did my female - singular. If the breeding didn't take, add another 6 months. If yes, bringing up puppies is no easy thing if you're doing it right. Between the time & the cost -- we never made a dime. We were 'German Shepherd breeders' for 35 years & had a total of 3 litters. We did it purely hoping to increase the intelligence & health of the breed - made zero $ & suffered a lot of heartbreak. Small time breeders such as ourselves is where the future of pure bred dogs lie -- and you have to look for us -- and you have to be willing to wait for a puppy. A good breeder will have a waiting list & will check you out as thoroughly as you will check them out. Adopting is a great option.. AND, we just got our first rescue shepherd, a girl from S.C.
1
@john michel
Hogwash. My purebred lived 15 years 2 months. She had a wonderful temperament. Puppy mills and irresponsible owners who do not spay or neuter their dogs are what fill shelters and pet stores. Purebred dogs are a passion and hobby or profession and deserve the respect they earn at shows. To each his own. Get a life.
1
Should we open a 23AndMe / Ancestry DNA testing service for people's pets/dogs ? Maybe it is a revenue opportunity for Eli Broad's center in Cambridge?
18
There are multiple genetic testing services for dogs. Just scan the internet.
The Wisconsin Humane Society stopped listing breeds for dogs up for adoption. Too many conflicts. The society listed certain breeds and the adopters vet gave others. Now you can adopt a ----year old, spayed/neutered dog that weighs ---pounds. They are all full of love.
5
These totally exist already
1
My dog has the blocky head and coloring of a pit bull, with the short, downy fur and scrawny, deep-chested body of a greyhound. She couldn't be a more obvious pit/greyhound mix.
The genetic test told us she was a German Shepherd/Shiba Inu.
Canine genetic tests have a ways to go.
3
Just a comment on the use of the French subjunctive.
Although reasonably competent in French, I will never be taken for a native speaker. Some years ago, I had an interesting French conversation in Dijon with a sales person in a shoe store. He told me that he had always wanted to visit the US, but had never done so. I told him that he should not hesitate, but should visit in the near future. He smiled, said that perhaps he would, but also said, "you know, you really should have used the subjunctive there".
59
Ah, the French. I'll stick with my rescue, thanks.
3
@Chasseur Americain, maybe he was just saying his chances of visiting the US were pretty slim. And actually, since your French is pretty darned good I bet, he was giving you a helpful hint to up your game. (Look on the bright side.)
3