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Guess Leo’s Breed Profile – Win a DVD!

>> 296 Comments

It’s time for a contest! I’m going to be writing a blog on Friday about the results of a Wisdom Panel® (Professional) test that Katie and I had run on her new mystery pup, Leo, adopted from Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha, WI.

We thought it would be great to fun to ask what your best guesses of what breeds make up Leo’s heritage, and will reinforce the winner with a signed Patricia McConnell DVD of his or her choice.

Below you’ll find pictures of Leo, as well as some physical characteristics. Guess up to three breeds that you think might be represented in Leo’s genetics, in order from greatest to least percentages. Get your guesses in by 11:59pm CST on Thursday, April 11 and we’ll let you know who won, along with the full results of Leo’s breed profile in Friday’s blog.

Here’s what we can tell you: Leo is just over seven months old, weighs in at 46.6 pounds and is 22 inches and the shoulder. (His mother was 17 lbs postpartum. We’ll show pictures of her on Friday.) Happy Guessing!

  Leo 4

Leo 1

Leo 3

 

Comments

  1. There’ s a Schnauzer in there, a Jack Russell (@46lbs?) ok mom is a lightweight, and collie.

  2. Jack Russel Terrier (rough coat)
    Border Collie
    Labrador (because it always says LabX)

  7. Irish wolfhound and Jack/Parson Russell Terrier.

    a 47 lb seven month old came out of a 17 lb mama? Geez louise!

  8. I keep thinking JRT..
    My guess will be: Jack Russell Terrier, Border Collie, Lab

    Tammy

  17. 1. Jack Russell
    2. Shepherd
    3. Border Collie

    Cute little guy for sure!! Definitely some Terrier in there. Something in his eyes says Shepherd but not sure exactly which one (could even be Belgian Malinois). And the Border Collie….total guess with that one!!

  21. Jack Russell Terrier
    Australian Shepherd
    Am Staffordshire Terrier/Pit Bull
    Border Collie

  22. Golden retriever
    Jack Russell terrier / Parson Russell terrier
    Pit bull terrier (something about the grin in the last photo…)

    By the way, I work in the DNA analysis field adn I totally do NOT trust the Wisdom panel. Everybody I know that has had it done gets completely ridiculous results. They’ll adopt a hound-type puppy from a rural Midwestern shelter, and the test will say it’s a mix of: Dogue de Bordeaux, Pyrenean Shepherd, Chinook, and Lowchen. I have yet to see a Wisdom test that shows a dog with a believable mix–say “Labrador Retriever” + “German Shepherd.” Instead, Wisdom always finds several rare breeds in there–and I mean dogs which have maybe 100 representatives in the entire U.S., all of which are in show homes. What are the odds that not one, but several of these dogs, just happened to participate in accidental breedings in a small rural Midwestern town?

    Still, I would probably do the test if I had a mixed breed dog, just for the fun of it…

    Curious to find out the results.

  37. Pitbull (just based on the smile and the ears) & Lab mix for Dad.
    Mum is some sort of rough coated Terrier, possibly a Russell, but might be a Fox or Rat Terrier, I’m leaning Rat Terrier because those are some big ears he’s got and he’s got the same long elegant legs but I suck at guessing dog breeds, he’s very handsome either way.

  53. Golden Retriever
    Jack Russell/Parson Terrier
    American Staffordshire Terrier

  55. In descending order of percentage:
    Jack Russell Terrier
    Lab
    Border Collie

    BTW, my mix came back from Wisdom as 1/4 cocker, 1/8 brittany. I can see these breeds, but there are definitely others…

  57. Leo looks like a Northwestern Farm Terrier, a “breed” I think was developed in Washington state. The original dogs included Airedale and Border Collie and a couple of other Terriers.

  59. wish I knew what kind of dogs are popular in your area as well as see him move and behave :). Well, let’s say something like: PitBull, with some Pointer and Jack Russel 😛 Might as well be a Golden/Fox terrier/ Australian Shepherd ….and twnety other combiantions!

  60. My guess is that Mom is a Westie (West Highland White Terrier), and Dad is a Boxer.

  65. He’s 100% handsome and happy (love picture #3).

    In order of greatest to lowest percentage: 1) Wire haired fox terrier, 2) Lab and 3) fox hound

    At the shelter I volunteer at, I tell prospective adoptors to take the results of the DNA tests with a grain of salt; it is information, but don’t bet the house on it. I also remind them that if the mom was a stray or not secured when she got pregnant, there could be multiple males involved. I think the shelter I volunteer at will DNA test the mom and 2-3 of her pups (not all the pups of the litter).

    These tests are interesting and I think the results make a nice discussion topic at a cocktail party or other such gathering. I haven’t gotten my dog tested though I can say based on her behavior HOUND is very much there and that is good enough for me. If someone gave me a free test, maybe, but I do like that my dog has a bit of mystery about her.

  66. 1) American Pit Bull Terrier
    2) Jack Russel Terrier
    3) Labrador Retriever

    I love that smile 🙂 what a cutie!

  67. 1.Russell Terrier
    2.Boxer
    3.American Stafford
    I had this done on my shelter dog . It was fun and very believable to me.

  76. So I see some with my guess already so I will change the last one.
    Jack Russell/parson terrior
    Pit bull
    Collie

  78. Since so many guessed JRT and there’s not much chance of winning with that pick, I’ll put the terrier part as a Wire Fox Terrier.

    So,

    Wire Fox Terrier
    American Bulldog
    Coonhound

  80. My vote is Jack Russell, Lab and Schnauzer. I’ll probably be something totally out of the blue tho….I *swear* my youngest is Border Collie and Cattle Dog. The results came back as Border Collie with just a hint of German Shepherd.

  83. Jack Russell
    American Bulldog
    Beagle

    This is fun:) I suppose you will be talking about a recent article I read in which people were testing the different dog DNA tests out there against each other using known mixes and purebred dogs? When clients ask, I tell them Wisdom had the most accuracy, but still to take it as a fun exercise, nothing more.

    Dr. M

  84. Westie, lab and Irish setter. Leo looks similar to our Danny, except Danny is smaller (30 lbs) and Danny has some basenji in his mix (curly tail and he has some of the yodel so we believe that is correct). We did a DNA test but used a different brand. Leo’s very handsome!

  97. Well, I will have to say being the previous owner of a tricolor border collie and now the proud mama of another rescue 11 month old black and white border collie.

    Leo looks like he is Border Collie, Wire Hair Fox Terrier and Golden Lab in him.

  103. There could be a Smooth Fox Terrier (terrier face) and a Canaan dog (color of the fur) in the mix.

  108. Jack Russell Terrier
    Border Collie
    Great Pyrenees

    Wonder how big he’ll get – he’s a cutie!

    J.

  109. These DNA tests tend to give you the craziest mix of breeds that look nothing like the dog, so I’m going to go with:

    Great Pyrenees
    Lakeland Terrier
    Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

  130. Fun! I will have to guess:

    1. Pitbull
    2. Schnauzer
    3. Shih Tzu

    I work at a veterinary hospital and I am not a big believer of the DNA tests. It always seems like the breeds are never anything common. They are always rare breeds. It will be fun to see what you come up with though!

  139. Collie/Boxer/JRT is my guess. I’m also curious about the Wisdom Panel results. We’ve seen some bizarre reports from them at the veterinary clinic where I work as well!

  140. Even though visual breed identification (and canine DNA testing) is so unreliable, its still a fun game. Gonna go with some completely different breeds:
    Wheaton terrier
    pit bull
    smooth collie

  143. I have to agree with Virginia as my initial reaction was
    Jack Russell and Anatolian Shepherd…

  147. Dad — Pit bull and border collie
    Mom — Terrier (I know, I can’t win without specifying, but what terrier female weighs around 22 lbs?)

  155. Leo is a mix of:
    Wire haired fox terrier, boxer, maybe a little border collie & stafford

  158. First of all, Leo is lovely!!

    I’m torn between saying what I think Leo looks like and what I know about the potential outcome of a DNA panel. My dog LOOKS LIKE a Border Collie/Shepherd cross and weighs 60 lbs. When we did the DNA cheek swab on him, he came back with the highest genetic percentages in Beagle, Cocker Spaniel and Dachshund. Here’s the fun part: His PERSONALITY does reflect those three smaller hound/sporting dogs!

    I have to go on looks, since I cannot observe his personality. (Although the tennis ball is a great hint!):

    1. Rough/Wire Coat Jack Russell Terrier (tennis ball addicts!)
    2. Great Pyrenees (his tail and big lips are from some big breed – although no sign of double dews!)
    3. Boxer (his ears and smile gave me this idea!)

    This was lots of FUN! Thank you!!

  161. I agree with several who have commented on the DNA testing…definitely don’t bet your house on it is right! I am a dog show conformation/exhibitor & enthusiast and also involved in animal welfare work for close to 25 years now. I see this guy having definite Am Staff/Pit Bull to him, but clearly another breed that was either “coated” and with the possible “short coat” & “long coat” combo produced a wirey/broken type coat. So hard to say…but he could pass for a Am Staff/Parson/Jack Russell Terrier to me..He’s a unuque look, that’s for sure!

  163. Wire Haired Fox Terrier
    English Shepherd
    Spinone Italiano

    (The Wisdom Panel always has some weird rare breed in the results!)

  164. So many of us think JRT/ParsonsRussell but his mom was bigger than breed postpartum …… Somehow I see Smooth Coated Collie and I guess Lab just cuz there are so many out there. JTR/Smooth coated Collie/Lab

  170. Ok. I was thinking jack Russell plus Britney spaniel and lets throw in some cattle dog for fun.

  174. 50% pit/Staffie, 40% Jack Russell, 10% GSD. Hope you get a good result — I got a Wisdom panel for my dog Tawny, and the only things that came up were traces of Akita and traces of Chihuahua. Think about that for awhile!!

  175. My guess is:
    Airedale
    Am Staff
    Border Collie

    But gotta say that’s a tough dog to nail the breeds on, so many of the other answers are things I had to consider as right.

  179. I do not think Wisdom Panels are at all accurate. They have been caught out too many times and often include very rare breeds in the profile, breeds that maybe have 100 representatives in the whole country. I also think that figuring out the mix that goes into mutts is close to impossible if you don’t know the whole line. I’ve seen dogs from confirmed parentage look like something else entirely. That all said, guessing is fun!

    My guess for this dog?
    1.) Boxer
    2.) Italian Greyhound
    3.) Russel Terrier

  180. 1. Border Collie 2. Jack Russell. He a little cutie that looks like maybe the result of a little extra action at an Agility field. Just kidding – it’s anyone’s guess!!!

  182. Border Collie/terrier cross! Terrier possibly JRT or Patterdale?

    Some lurcher in there too??

  186. just cause i’m portuguese, i’m gonna say portuguese podengo with border collie and and big breed for the eyes, maybe a great pyrenees

  187. What a cutie. My guess is:

    Podenco
    Schnauzer
    Australian Shepherd (he has that look in his eyes…)

  190. What a cutie!
    I’d say he really looks like he’s got some Rotweiler in there, with the beauty of his strong, chiseled, massive head… American bull dog may be it also…
    Pit bull
    Yellow lab
    Rotwiler

  191. I have tried to guess a few of these and one thing I have learned is that it’s very hard to guess what’s on the inside by looking at the outside of a dog. But it is still fun to try! I will guess poodle, Staffy and rat terrier. 🙂

  193. Anatolian Shepherd
    Jack Russell Terrier
    American Bulldog
    I take all these DNA breed results with many very large grains of salt though. Seems like a disproportionate number of dogs come back as mixed with some really rare breed. Seems like a whole lot more dogs come back as Tibetan Mastiff mixes or Dandie Dinmont Terrier mixes than Lab mixes or GSD mixes or Yorkie mixes. I find that hard to believe.

  194. I don’t trust the Wisdom Panel at all, so I’m just going to put names out there that I haven’t seen much so far.

    Beagle, Borzoi, Australian Shepherd

  198. My friends and I are having lots of fun with this on Facebook. That topline looks like Great Pyr to me. And that grin could be Pibble. But I have to go with some sort of Shepherd mixed in. Whatever went into Leo, he is a delicious genetic soup!

    1) West Highland Terrier
    2)Great Pyrenees
    3)GSD

  200. While I don’t trust in lab results for determining breed background, and I expect the results will include some random rare breeds out of the blue, just for fun here’s my three breed guesses:

    1) Beagle

    2) English Shepherd
    (A fairly rare breed atm, but seems a more likely result on one of these breed tests than Border Collie)

    … and much as he has that JRT look about him, I have a feeling the third breed result will be something entirely off the wall, such as…

    3) Cardigan Welsh Corgi

  201. My guess is Pitbull, Greyhound or Podenco or some other slim medium-sized hound and Golden.
    He’s very cute.

  215. I did the Wisdom Panel on my stray, and was told that she is pure rat terrier for three generations. Which makes sense, because she LOOKS like a ratite. I did the test mainly to rule out the possibility that there was either JRT or Fox terrier in her, because those breeds are similar to ratties in looks.

    Which is my way of saying that the DNA tests tend to be accurate if you can look at a dog and sort of guess what they are, and become much less accurate as the number of breeds in a dog goes up. So, a dog with 2-4 breeds is probably going to come back with what you expect. But when you get into the real mutts, where mom was a GSD/Lab/Beagle and dad is a JRT/Chihuahua/bichon mix? Then the results in the off-spring are going to be really weird when you run the DNA.

    Just my opinion.

  218. Lab, border collie, and Fox terrier (maybe wire haired?)

    What a cutie, love that smile!

  223. Well, this is just too much fun. After seeing someone else change their answer, I will modify mine also 🙂
    My two strongest hunches are pit bull and some kind of terrier.
    But I’ll change guess for the third part to a lab.
    I think I just had to put in border collie cuz Trisha is my sister 🙂 🙂 🙂

  228. My guess would be Labrador, Parson Russell, and Anatolian Shepherd.

    I happen to believe in the Wisdom Panel based on my one (and only one) experience. My 2nd dog came from the same Cockapoo breeder as my first dog although my 2nd dog looks, acts, and sheds like an English Springer Spaniel (ESS) but grew up to only 26 lbs. I sent my name and e-mail, my dog’s name and age, and a swab of her inner cheek to Wisdom Panel. No pictures, no descriptions whatsoever. I chose WP because their database included the ESS breed which I suspect she is a mix of. The result came back that she is a Cocker Spaniel mix crossed with Miniature Poodle mix which is accurate in her case because both her parents are also Cockapoos (each one also a Cocker Spaniel/Miniature Poodle mix).

  231. Having some computer troublehere.
    I’d also add:
    American Pit Bull Terrier
    Border Collie
    I show UKC, which has long allowed neutered mixed breeds to show in performance events, & one of my favorite hobbies is guessing the mix. It’s LOTS easier when you can also see how the dog moves & behaves.

  233. I exchanged email with the Heritage Breed test folks a couple years ago. At that time, there had been no validation studies on the results of their DNA test. I.E., no testing on known mixes to confirm the results. So, the test may work in theory but haven’t been proven in the real world.

    My personal guess is that the results are probably fairly accurate for a cross between two purebred dogs and maybe OK when three pure breeds are in the mix. After that, it’s probably a crap shoot. Especially when the results indicate a rare breed that hardly anybody has ever heard of before. . . 🙂

  235. Just curious, those who are seeing Irish Wolfhound in this mix, what characteristics are you seeing as Irish Wolfhoundhound-like?

    I’ve had them for many years and wouldn’t have guessed that…now watch it be what Wisdom panel says!

    But, I am sometimes called to shelters for IWs and IW mixes, and am genuinely curious.

  237. Airedale Terrier
    Labrador Retriever
    West Highland Terrier

    I am only guessing for the sheer random luck of it all. Got no clue, really, but cute! And I’m a sucker for the “no clue” mixed breed.

  238. I’m going to guess JRT, Pit/Am Staff, and Aussie.
    Pretty much a walking rocket. He’s adorable though!

  239. Trisha, you should have done up a March Madness bracket with all the possible breeds! 🙂

  242. I’d say that’s a Jack Russell smile for sure. Then maybe a good sized helping of American Bulldog with a pinch of Golden Retreiver.

  246. Australian Cattle Dog, JRT & Brittany- if I could have a 4th breed, maybe border collie – such a happy guy!

    My rescue guy’s Wisdom panel came back as 1/4 Shih Tzu & 1/4 Min Pin – no guess about the other half, although he thinks he’s a bird dog & watches them in the sky & through the windows: an 8 inch, 18 pound bird dog x shihtzu x min pin (yeah, those 2 are believable)

  247. I have done this test on three of my dogs. One came back very accurate for half the dogs family line but the other two were unknown for most of the dogs parentage.

    Wire Hair Fox Terrier
    American Pit Bull Terrier
    Smooth Coat Collie

  248. Leo’s mother I am guessing is a brown & white beagle, something about his facial expression and eyes, so 50% here.
    The father maybe a mix of Irish wolfhound, because of the overall look and coat, and boxer because of the color, long legs, mouth and ears, so 25% wolfhound and 25% boxer.

  251. 1) Russell Terrier (the Wisdom Panel test doesn’t differentiate between Jack and Parson)
    2) Irish Terrier
    3) Corgi

  253. I’m guessing mother beagle 50% (facial expression, colors) and father mix, so Irish wolfhound 25% (overall look and coat) and boxer 25% (ears, legs, mouth).

  257. How fun! If you’ll forgive me, I’ll “think” aloud and reason this out…If he’s 47 lbs at 7 months, I’d guess an adult weight of around 60-70 (it’s tricky, because generally the bigger the dog the longer they take to grow- a toy dog may well be full grown at 7 mos, while a giant won’t even be half his adult size…but then again, he’d still be bigger than 47lbs…) wirehair, dark eyes, little foldy ears, narrowish chest, shortish back, wide-ish face, medium length snoot. Hmm. Dad must be something big if mom was 17lbs… I have NO idea! I’ll just guess some I haven’t seen too well-represented.

    My wild guess:
    Whippet (mom!)
    Deerhound (based on hair, ears, size)
    Boxer (to neutralize the long snoot and back of the Deerhound and whippet I’m imagining)

    This was so much fun!

  259. Ooh, I just love guessing breeds, even though I know I’m likely to be way off the mark. I’ll be curious to see what the panel says, especially because I know of someone who just learned that their 90-pound leggy, double-coated dog is half Dachshund. My first thought was the dog looked like it had some Saint Bernard in it, but then I saw the size. Hmm. My sons and I think it has:

    Fox Terrier (although we also discussed JRT)
    Airedale
    Whippet

    We couldn’t decide what random rare breed was likely to show up (they always seem to!), but we eagerly await the results.

    Katie,

    Leo has the face of a cover dog! He’s just lovely!

  263. German Wire-haired Pointer, smooth-coated Border Collie and Parson Russell Terrier.

    And no matter the mix, he’s lovely example of the kind of great dog you can find at a shelter 🙂

  266. This is too much fun! and I should be in bed, 🙁 as we wait for a middle-of-April-winter-storm-warning
    grrrrrrrr-this is a good distraction though.

    CHOICES:

    Irish terror….oops! Terrier
    Smooth coated Collie
    #3 choice must be a smaller weight breed mmmmm?… bizarrely i will choose Italian Greyhound (don’t ask, I know that’s nuts!)

    HOWEVER betcha there is some Anatolian Shepherd or (my-heart-of-hearts) Labrador Retriever

    oh gosh sorry, can’t stop at 3 (sort of like cookies or chocolates)
    so my other small dog choice would be Shiba Inu, but Leo’s smile seems Samoyed?
    or would be NOT surprised with the Wire haired Dachshund as the mama

    can’t WAIT for the ta-dum >>>>>THAT’S A DRUM ROLL 🙂 *** reveal.

  273. This is tough. I am going to say Schnauzer, Boxer, rough jrt, and yellow lab. Can’t wait to see the results…

  276. Great Pyr crossed with Jack Russel terrier… and lab, because every mixed breed is supposed to have lab!

  277. I would say that he has a combination of Jack Russel (Rough Coat) and Australian Cattle Dog with the possibility of a little Amstaff (or pitbull) thrown in the mix.

  278. Good fun. Hard, though with just photos. Firstly, he’s incredibly cute. But, I have a big soft spot for hairy-faced dogs. I have a rescue lurcher that made that so! So, I guess:

    1. Jack Russel Terrier (wire-haired)
    2. Border Collie
    3. Am Staff/Pit Bull

  279. This is fun! My guess for Leo is: Lab/Airedale Terrier/Beagle.

    I had my own thoroughbred mongrel’s DNA tested by two companies. Tru was a 50 lb brindle guy that I thought looked like a Plott Hound cross. LOL The results came back differently from each company. Canine Heritage came back as: Belgian Tervuren and Beagle and Wisdom Panel came back: Mastiff, Dalmatian, and Lab! I guess what I learned from the tests was that Tru was a very perfectly mixed and a thoroughly unique kind of guy. I already knew he was the best dog ever :>)

  285. I have used the Wisdom Panel and have gotten what appear to be realistic results. Specifically, it said mom was pure bred schnauzer for at least three generations on all sides and dad was 1/2 pure bred German Shepherd for three generations back (grandfather side) and mixed breed three generations (grandmother side). Seeing the dog, it was very believable.

  290. I have no faith whatsoever in DNA tests. They are highly inaccurate, would not waste the money on one. The internet abounds with articles from people who had DNA tests done and the wacky results they got. Whatever this little guy is, he is darn cute!

  291. This was so much fun! It’s Friday. The waiting should be over, so….. Let’s hear the results. I hope we can do this again sometime.
    Love them all,
    Cheri Oughton

  292. Just reread the clues and saw Mom’s size! So changing my guess to Cattle Dog, wire-haired fox terrier, lab!

  293. I am after the date so doing for fun–Jack Russell, Golden Retriever, American Bull Terrier.

  294. Cheri Oughton, I agree with you. The wait was killing me until I saw it come out this afternoon. Oh and yes, the wait for Spot’s lambs is killing me too.

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