Aero says, "There are millions of dogs like me in shelters all around the
USA. Please don't perpetuate the "designer breed" myth by breeding new breeds like the Afghan Collie,
Afollie or Afghan Retriever. Rescue my friends instead! Like me, they are good dogs who deserve good homes!
Why is the "designer breed" a myth? Because they're mutts like me, and there are plenty more
in every shelter in every town. Adopt your best friend from rescue!"
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| Aero's big ear decision... Up or down? Or one of each? |
Aero's Latest DNA Breed ID Results from Bio Pet Vet Labs.
After I sent a
photo of Aero to Bio Pet Vet Labs when I received his previous Boston Terrier results, they offered to test again agaist their
new and enlarged data base.
Those results say:
Level 3: (20% to 36% of DNA found)
Border Collie
Level 4: (10% to 19% each)
Collie (Smooth or Rough)
Afghan Hound
Bulldog
Chinese Shar Pei
Basenji
Level 5: (Less than 10%)
Australian Shepherd
Because of his appearance
I've been saying simply that he's a Border Collie Afghan Hound mix. When I say that people say, "Oh, yeah...
I can see that!" One person actually guessed that before I said anything.
To my dismay I found
online that people are breeding Afghans and Border Collies (Afghan Collies), and Afghans and Collies (Afollies) intentionally.
It makes my heart sad. Because great dogs like Aero are euthanized every day due to homelessness it breaks my heart
that people are intentionally breeding more mixes. When I was a kid we had a cockapoo. He was from an accidental
breeding. Today they're called Designer Dogs. That's not breeding... that's irresponsibility.
Want to be involved with wonderful, delightful animals? Devote your time and energy to rescue!
Want to have the joy of raising cute, adorable puppies? Volunteer to be a foster home for a local rescue!
Aero at almost 9 months
Taken on July 4, 2008 in
Lindale, Texas.
Pat of Click-L_ABAT writes, "It's quite obvious that Aero is a 100% purebred
North Texas Shepard dog,
aka the Sniderhund. Like the Jack Russell
terrier and other breeds that don't hold closely to physical
attributes the NTSD/Sniderhund is most characterized by it's
personality traits. She/he does tend to be
fair, but some leeway is
given with this trait. Above all else the dog is affable, smart,
generous and always
beautiful. Aero, in fact may be the prototype of
the breed.
The actual origins of the breed are
in dispute, some say Boston
Terrrier, Collie, Pomeranian. Others may suspect Terveren or GSD.
Regardless
the personality traits are indisputable."
|
| Boston Terrier? Really? Looks like a shepherd to me! |
Aero at 6 months
Scroll down
for Bio Pet Vet Labs DNA breed results
The written report said that
Aero has between 25 and 49 percent of each of the breeds listed (Boston Terrier, Collie and Pomeranian). Uh huh.
However, the fine print said that if the main breed isn't on their list the breeds farther back in his history may look
more prevalent.
I sent a photo of Aero to them. They said, Hm. It does seem peculiar.
So they've offered to retest him against their new, larger data base at no charge.
In the meantime I sent
a sample to Canine Heritage before I learned that Bio Pet Vet Labs would offer to retest. It will be interesting to
see how the two companies compare. It took two months to get the first results from Bio Pet (from the day I mailed it
to the day I got the initial results via email) so I'm not holding my breath.
| Near 6 months old |
|
| Lower canines are coming in, hasn't lost uppers yet. |
| Aero 4-12-08 |
|
| Click to enlarge. |
4-13-08 - Aero is close to 6 months old now.
| There is at least a bit of GSD in there! |
|
Aero
Silver Plush German Shepherd Mix???
DNA Breed Results
from Bio Pet Vet Labs
Sit down for this, and make sure you're not drinking any beverage that you don't want
spewed across your computer screen.
In order with the most prevalent breed first:
1)
Boston Terrier
2) Collie
3) Pomeranian
Below you can read some of the guesses
we had earlier. Honestly, in the last couple of weeks I would have sworn he had a whole lot of Aussie. Huh. Go
figure.
And, yes, we are thinking of having it tested again through another lab!
We've added a new member to our family. Aero was adopted from the SPCA of Texas, Dallas shelter, on March 22,
2008.
Breed guesses:
5/29/2008 I sent off for his DNA Breed ID results in April and
due to being unable to extract enough DNA from some defective swabs the company is now sending a new swab so we can try again.
I'm currently guessing that Aero has a goodly amount of Australian Shepherd in him. Maybe an Aussie GSD mix.
We'll see if I'm completely off base! It appears he may not get as large as originally thought. he weighs
about 40 pounds now.
3/30/08 Okay, we think we've got it. He's a German
Shepherd. (We're brilliant, I'm telling you! But hey- I've never had a GSD pup!) The color
threw us, but after looking at some long haired GSD puppy photos online, those are his people. The silver color isn't
common nor accepted by the show folks... but their loss! He's a beauty... and every bit as smart and wonderful as
his proper cousins!
3/24/08 Looking pretty much like a large Australian Shepherd. Not like
a puppy Aussie, but like an adult Aussie. In other words, he's an American Mongrel who just happens to be beautiful.
3/23/08 Seemed
pretty much like a Great Pyrenees puppy.
3/22/08 Guesses ranged from German Shepherd mix to some
sort of Borzoi Anatolian Shepherd something or other.
Size:
3-23-2008 Weight: 26 pounds.
He's a lean puppy, but not underweight.
Age at time of adoption: About 4.5 months.
3-30-08 -
Has his adult top center incisors and nubs for about half of the others.
Click photos to enlarge.
