Since the day Zeus (my Labrottie) arrived on my doorstep as a puppy, we have been wondering about what his exact breed is? Well, today, I am excited to share that we received a Wisdom Panel Dog DNA Test Kit!
We were delighted that Wisdom Panel sent us a test kit for a review! In case you have not heard of them, they are one of the worlds leading canine DNA testing companies.
Wisdom Panel Test kit gives you seven clear and simple instructions on how to properly swab and then ship off your dog’s DNA test kit, which we’ve listed below here. We have a video at the bottom of this article as well.
How to Use the Wisdom Panel Test Kit
- 1 – Peel the swab sleeves down to about 2 inches.
- 2 – Obtain the cheek cells by rolling the bristles between the cheeks for about 15 seconds.
- 3 – Place swab handles into the holes in the carton box to dry for 5 min. Repeat steps 1-3 for the remaining swabs.
- 4 – Log onto Activatemykit.com and activate your test using sample ID
- 5 – Write the activation code on to the swab packet.
- 6 – Reinsert dry swabs into the protective sleeve, DO NOT RESEAL.
- 7 – Place sleeve with swabs into the main carton and ship it off.
- You must activate the tester before you ship off the box.
How Long Does the Wisdom Panel Dog DNA Testing Take?
The Wisdom Panel company takes two weeks to test and get the proper results to you. So in the second week, Zeus test results arrived by email. That night the whole family gathered around the computer and read the results.
The Results Are In… (Drum Roll Please!)
But before you look at the results, what is your best guess on Zeus’s lineage?
Shocking Results
We’d love to hear your guesses as to Zeus’s heritage.
What we found out was quite shocking. In fact, my family and I were in disbelief for a while. Not that this changes any thing about my dog! We still loved him just as much as when I first decided to keep him!
According to the Wisdom Panel Dog DNA Test Kit, Zeus’s lineage is:
- 25% Chow Chow
- 12% Boxer
- 12% Cocker Spaniel
- 12.5% Collie
- 12.5% Mini Poodle
- 12.5% White Swiss Shepherd
- and… 12.5% unknown
The Wisdom Panel test results include an excellent visual chart that breaks down the breeds by percentage.
We were scratching our heads in puzzlement over these results. I mean we just don’t see Zeus’s resemblance to most of these.
He looks nothing like a Chow Chow, Boxer, Collie, Cocker Spaniel, or Mini Poodle (!!!) On top of that, he doesn’t have any Lab or Rottweiler!
We do see that some resemblance to the Shepherd in Zeus.
- Zeus has two extra whiskers near his eyes.
- He has two striped bars of golden fur above his angel wings.
- Zeus also has a very long body.
That night I thought over the results and decided to ask Wisdom Panel if they somehow got the test results mixed up. It did not take them very long to reply with a very good and thorough response.
Excerpt from the Wisdom Panel Response
“With each tested dog’s DNA, approximately 18 million comparisons are made. The algorithm scans the 1,800+ genetic markers collected for matches to breed signatures, providing a certainty score for each breed match. The computer then selects the single best combination of breeds and relative amounts of breeds detected that best match the tested dog, as well as the dogs in our extensive database of more than 15,000 purebreds.”
“Zeuss unique genetic signature was compared to our database of 350+ different breeds, breed subtypes, the three ancestral groups, as well as wolf and coyote. Our breed database was developed using genetic markers from American Kennel Club (AKC) breeds and some breeds from the Kennel Club in the UK. Additionally, our tests algorithm is able to detect the presence of pure breeds in a dog’s ancestry up to the third generation back, or to the great-grandparent level.“
Conclusion on Our First Wisdom Panel Dog DNA Test Kit
In spite of the shocking results, we were impressed with everything that came with the the Wisdom Panel Dog DNA Test kit. If you have an unknown mixed breed, discovering their heritage can be fun, surprising, interesting and well worth it!
Where to Buy the Wisdom Panel Test Kit?
The Wisdom Panel DNA testing kits can range from $80-180 dollars and are available from Amazon, or of course directly from the Wisdom Panel website. You can also get them from Chewy’s, Walmart, and Petco, though they’re all basically the same price at each location.
Meanwhile, we’re also curious about other dog DNA test kits and hope to soon review another one, such as this one by a top rated company, Embark. It would be very interesting to do a side-by-side comparison of the results.
And we will, of course, share that here if we do so you’ll know what to expect, what to love, and what to be wary of.
Meanwhile, About Zeus… ahem… the NOT-Labrottie
Zeus, the Honorary Labrottie
Once we got over our dismay and shock, we had to laugh. I mean, after all, I created this Labrottie website after rescuing the lost and scared puppy, “Zeus, the labrottie”, LOL. So friends and fans… sorry… forgive us, we didn’t intend to be posing here.
But don’t worry, we still love the breed, AND… Zeus is determined to be an honorary labrottie no matter what! So we’re sticking around and will continue to publish good labrottie info here on our website!
Wisdom Panel Dog DNA Test Kit – How-to Video
If you have any questions let us know. Also, if you’ve done a dog DNA test, we’d love to hear your experience and results. We can publish them here too if you’d like.
Our Take on Mixed Dog Breeds
The main benefit of a dog DNA test is to satisfy curiosity. If you have the budget for it, it’s fun and awesome to do. But the most important thing is s/he’s a dog to love and care for, and who loves you unconditionally. 😊
Whatever you decide, we wish you and your precious pup many happy years to come.
The Story Of Zeus
Hey! That’s me, Nikolai, with my beloved dog, a labrotties named Zeus. I was born in Russia (native Russian, of the Koryak tribe), and my family adopted me when I was two. I’m proud to be an American living with my family in North Carolina, USA.
Now… here’s the story of Zeus!
Lost and Scared
On January 26th, 2017 Caspian, my sister’s Maltese was yipping and yapping at something outback. My mother and sister went outside to investigate the source of excitement. They discovered a black puppy with brown markings lurking at the corner of our house.
They tried coaxing the puppy to come, but while it wagged its tail a little, it retreated further. The puppy cowered until it was out of sight we’d never seen this puppy around before.
They played this game of approach and retreat for several hours of trying to coax him with dog biscuits and sweet talk.
By the time my father and I got home a couple of hours later, it was dusk, and the puppy was hiding under our deck. But he wasn’t just under the deck. He was under the section with the lowest crawl space, of only approximately 18″, hiding as far back under, and tight as he could go.
The Rescue
I stepped out of the house with a flashlight and shined it down under the deck, to see Zeus the puppy shivering. I tried to coax him to come out with food, water, and treats. Unfortunately, he still remained determinedly stuck under the deck.
After almost an hour of trying to tempt him with food, I sucked it up, got onto my belly in the wet frozen ground, and low crawled about 15 feet back. Of course, I had to creep along gradually because I had to make a little trench so that I could get out and not get stuck.
I Cautiously approached the puppy, I was shivering in the damp but, the poor, terrified puppy needed help. I slipped the leash around his head praying he would not try and take a bite out of my arm.
When I tried pulling him out, he wouldn’t budge. Because I was afraid of a dog bite, I called for reinforcements. My family sent me a few more leashes by way of Zoya, a King Charles Cavalier, she kindly walked under the deck and dragged the extendable leashes to me.
When Zoya came Zeus became a bit active, he sniffed the air and then stuffed his head back down. I attached the leashes together and then gently pushed Zoya back out. Where dad, mom, and my sister assisted me in pulling/pushing him out. After 40 minutes or so of trying, we slowly dragged him out from under the deck.
He was a terrified puppy, and came out kicking and screaming digging his feet in and growling. We were amazed at how incredibly strong he was for just a puppy of about three months.
Eventually, we got him inside, where we rubbed him down and cleaned him up. He was dirty from being lost and then getting wedged under the deck in damp dirt following a rain. Plus, he’d peed and pooped himself out of fear — poor little guy.
Taking Care of the Little Guy!
With so much love and attention focused on him, he stopped struggling so much.
We placed him in a dog bed over a heater in a small powder room in the corner. He shoved his face into the corner and stayed in that position. We placed towels over his body to help him feel warm and feel secure and left him food and water.
Since it was getting late, we let him sleep in the powder room, where he was working hard at keeping his nose buried in the corner. We call this “ostrich syndrome.” You know, “If I don’t see you, you don’t see me.”
Zeus remained that way for the rest of the night and into the next day, he would venture out after the next couple days for short periods of times always subservient. He would dash back to his corner if he heard a loud sound or heard someone say “hey what are you doing.”
Finding a Home for the Lost Puppy
Now we’ve got a puppy, we were not looking for a new dog, I mean, I really wanted one but knew that it was a big responsibility and it just wasn’t the best timing.
But, we could not find his family; we received not one response to postings, flyers, and or adoption. We found no identifying chip, and the veterinary staff didn’t recognize him.
So we decided to foster him until someone decided to take him, Zeus the Labrotties stayed in the bathroom. He ate and drank nothing, not a sip of water for at least three days. When we took him outside, we had him on a leash, but he did not do anything but try and dig himself a hole to hide in.
We took Zeus, Zoya, and Caspian on several walks throughout the entire week. For the first four walks I had to carry him up a huge hill and back down.
Because if I set him down he would lay down and not move an inch. Once he got used to us Zeus would walk a certain amount and then lay down and I would need to be carried all the way back home.
One night I was laying about when my mom called me asking me to take Zeus out. Zeus had gotten out of the bathroom and was whining at the door.
I attached a leash to a collar and took him out, and he peed and peed for a good two minutes before happily wagging his tail and trotted up the steps and back into the house.
The Vet
The next morning we took him to the vet to get a full examination, the people at the vet said he was most definitely a Labrotties.
Showing us pictures of other labrotties, we took Zeus back home after the vet gave him the A-okay. And Zeus was literally a different puppy that morning forwards.
Constantly following mainly me about inside and out, I, of course, had a leash on him just in case there was a sound that scared him and he chose to run off again.
Which nearly happened it was a good thing I was near by and was able to dive for the leash as he bolted away as a tree crashed down near by.
Zeus was, of course, a bit shy towards his foster family members, but learned quickly that our house was filled with nothing but love.
A few weeks had passed with not a single person asking for Zeus! Well… Except for me. During that time he and I built a very strong relationship, soon enough Zeus was following me about and was following every command I gave him.
The an Encounter with the Cat Mystique
I had found my cat back in October of 2014, she was skin and bones, and it was just about to become winter.
She walked right up to me, and I picked her up and took her inside. Where I feed her raw chicken and my sister and I gently played with her, or should I say tried to.
Mystique was too interested in food at the moment, that very night I slept on the laundry room floor with Mystique curled around my head.
When Zeus came, she was defiantly not amused or tolerant of the new addition to our household. Zeus’s very first encounter with the cat did not end very well.
Their first encounter was under our couch; it was a rainy winter night, with my Grandmother visiting us. We were watching a movie with Zeus under the sofa hiding from the “scary sounds and thumping.”
When the cat walked under the couch not expecting anything, for the first two seconds, it seemed as if everything was going to go off without a hitch.
Then the cat hissed Zeus gave a loud bark of excitement and the cat skidded out from under the couch right in front of Caspian who though it would be a good time to bite her tail.
With a quick jab, she smacked Caspian on the nose and was off with both Zeus, (who had been wiggling about trying to get out from under the couch and Caspian who had stood they’re stunned) now in hot pursuit.
And then there is me chasing after all three of them, all three animals dashed through the dog door and were whipping around the corner of the house.
Meanwhile, I was still trying to put on my shoes, and once I had them on, I was off to the races. It must have been one funny sight the cat, two dogs, and the human all running after each other!
Deciding to Keep Zeus
With no one asking for Zeus… well actually that’s not true because I was constantly asking daily or hourly to keep him, and finally, after two and a half weeks of hard work.
I was able to keep Zeus the Labrottie, from that moment forward we became best buddies, and he’s an awesome dog. I named him Zeus, Goobers, Z-man, and a few other nicknames.
Zeus gives me a great daily workout, and it gives him a good run around too. The family loves him, the cat tolerates him, and Zeus puts up with the bullying of pipsqueak aka Caspian, my sister’s Maltese.
Howling to sirens is something that Zeus taught Caspian how to do, and Caspian loves it. It’s one of the main times they really bond. Singing together brings them together! You can find a video of our dogs howling here.
I’ve fallen in love with my labrottie. A lady who raises German shepherds said he also has some German shepherd in him.
Then, when we did the DNA test, and we were incredulous. The results were none of what we thought, but… he did end up having some White German Shepherd in him, so that lady knows her shepherds!
Conclusion of The Dog DNA Test Kit Article!
So after doing the Wisdom Panels Dog DNA test kit, I can say that this dog test kit is perfect! Their price range is much better than Embark’s more expensive dog DNA test kit.
Check out a video of Zeus the labrotties and I playing in the snow. We also have other installments of our adventures of Zeus the Labrotties and I. Here are several other Labrotties related articles that you will enjoy!
For those of you who have or are going to get a new puppy! We have several dog name articles just for you.
CBD Oil for Pets and for People
Got pets with problems? CBD oil may help. It completely eliminated tremors in our aging dog.
Happy Tails!
Labrottie team!