Looks may be deceiving...

My dog, Arlo Guthrie, is a mutt. I adopted him from a local rescue and they guess he was a standard schnauzer/poodle(schnoodle) mix. I have animal allergies, so basically all my life I’ve only considered breeds with hair, like schnauzers, poodles, etc. I don’t react to non-shedding dogs. So when I was looking for a dog, I specifically looked for schnauzer or poodle mixes. Here is a photo:

He’s proud of me for voting!

I grew up with miniature schnauzers, and had another one when I adopted Arlo (she has since passed), so I am familiar with the breed and that they don’t bother my allergies. However, once I got Arlo home, I felt like had more to him than just schnauzer and poodle. I’m really interested in DNA testing, so I asked for a Doggie DNA test for my birthday last year.

I did the cheek swab with the dog (not as hard as I expected!), and sent in the materials by mail and had my results about two weeks later.

My schnoodle was no more.

According to the Wisdom Panel DNA test (which is just an estimate, based on the breed information in their database), my dog is mostly YORKIE! This dog is about 25 pounds and a little bigger than a miniature schnauzer. Here are the full results:

A Yorkshire Terrier

Arlo:

           

It cracked me up to see the results because he really doesn’t present as a Yorkie at all! However, he does share the barky-yippy trait (you may notice, all of the breeds he seems to descend from are quite vocal - lucky me!). I wasn’t surprised by the Beagle - I thought there might be some beagle or even a border collie because of the size and some of his scent behaviors. The Pomeranian I just don’t even know what to say.

Anyway, it was fun to see what the DNA results came up to be. I realize they may be different with another company, but I know now that I truly have a lovable mutt (who is cuddled next to me on the couch right now).