this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2025

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138

Ducky got his DNA test back. What do you think? (lemmy.zip)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by W3dd1e@lemmy.zip to c/dogs@lemmy.world

35 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Ancestry.com Pet DNA test results day Ducky is:

53% Dalmatian
37% American Pit Bull
10% American Staffordshire Terrier

What do you think he is?

Here’s more info about him and some pictures! (For research… but also because he’s a cute boy!)

Always knew he was a Dalmatian Mix. I have a pure bred Dal too. I’m really surprised to see the other breeds, maybe to the point of skepticism. I don’t mind if he was a Pit or Staffy but I just don’t see it in him. Not in his looks or behavior.

He's a natural hunting dog. Stalks his prey and waits for my mark before jumping. I never taught him that.

He’s always spying on the neighbors.

He doesn’t mind letting strangers or kids pet him. And he loves to cuddle with my nephew.

Or sit on my mom. He thinks he is funny.

And he loves to have chats but barking doesn’t come through pictures so well.

all 37 comments

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[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 53 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Dog?

[–] adhocfungus@midwest.social 22 points 7 months ago

That was going to be my guess, but I didn't want to look dumb if I was wrong.

[–] vikingtons@lemmy.world 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

agreed

[–] thagoat@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 7 months ago

Definitely dog

[–] Lighttrails@sh.itjust.works 37 points 7 months ago

Looks like 100% good boy to me

[–] smuuthbrane@sh.itjust.works 19 points 7 months ago

I'm glad he got it back. Terrible that someone would steal it from him.

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 14 points 7 months ago

100% good boy

[–] chefdano3@lemmy.zip 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Definitely a percentage of duck in there.

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 4 points 7 months ago

If it quacks like a duck….

[–] KanadrAllegria@lemmy.ca 10 points 7 months ago

I think he's 100% handsome boy.

[–] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

100% derp. Like all good doggos.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

His face shape looks more like a lab than a pittie or staffy, but who knows? You could try getting a test from a second company. I've read that dog DNA test results tend to be inaccurate.

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 6 points 7 months ago

I thought about getting another, out of curiosity but tests are a bit expensive. I got this one free with a BarkBox.

Personally, I think he looks a bit like a Dal/Blue Heeler mix. That’s what I thought he was before the results because he looked so similar to others in the image search. He doesn’t have habits of a Heeler though.

I love him either way!

[–] Elextra@literature.cafe 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yayyyy!! I got it right before I clicked into it!! 50%/Dalmatian and 50% some sort of pibbles!!

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You’re the first one of anyone I know to guess right. Not me or my friends/family/neighbors guessed right!

[–] Elextra@literature.cafe 6 points 7 months ago

Its the head and the eyes for me!! Head is a little wide at the top, the eyes, and i can see a bit pit in the smile :)

[–] WeirdyTrip@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 7 months ago

He reminds me a lot of my childhood dog, a Dalmatian and German Shorthaired Pointer cross. My old dog had the same fully black ears and did a very similar crouch/point when he was waiting for us to throw a tennis ball

[–] madeinthebackseat@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I have a half sheepadoodle, half pitty/staffy.

The dna came back 25% of each.

My dogs head shape is virtually identical to yours.

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 4 points 7 months ago

That’s interesting! Thanks for sharing. I haven’t heard back from many others who did DNA tests too

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

what a great spotted boy.

[–] cybervseas@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

I bet Ducky would love a duck or chicken toy.

[–] numnetta@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

What kind of dog is that? What kind of dog is that? Mm, that's a good boy

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 4 points 7 months ago

He had one of each! He and his brother wrestle and play tug of war until they toys die.

We still have the duck, but it’s missing eyes now.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] mobotsar@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

If I did have to guess, I would guess that the test is right. I might guess that even without having known before hand, but who can say, of course.

[+] whaleross@lemmy.world -7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

He is a beautiful good boy with some bad elements in his family tree.

Please be responsible. Dogs with Pitbull and Amstaff genes will always have risks of triggering. Just like my dog will always have hunting in his genetic set up and it is my responsibility to keep him safe for what his mind may trigger as prey. Or like his best friend can't help trying to herd everything in packs larger than one.

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I don’t think Pits are any worse temperament than other dogs, behaviorally.

The difference with Pits is that when they snap at someone or something, it can be deadly. Luckily, my boy isn’t built with jaws like that.

I’m actually a bit skeptical that he is a Pit because he doesn’t behave or look much like one. He has natural hunting instincts and a strong prey drive.

[–] whaleross@lemmy.world -1 points 7 months ago

That's good to hear, I'm glad to hear that you seem aware of inherited dog traits and the issues to know about mixed breeds with problematic dogs in them.

I think it is awful how many people nowadays ignore to do any research about the type of dog they have, how they behave and what they need. It's like many people see a dog as a thing that they can shape into what they want and believe that because they don't want to recognize particular genetic traits they will go away.

Best of luck to all of you. Give him some pets from me.

[–] Elextra@literature.cafe 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I am not aware of any common or adverse behaviors from pitbulls and staffies? They're nanny dogs and are known to have great temperaments with other breeds. I say this as someone who has a half pit mix. His pit side is the highlight so much so that were considering a pure pit next pup.

Admittedly, Dalmatians are more protective in general (vs loyal) and can come off a bit less friendly than other breeds but you brought up Pits which I found interesting. But general comment, I understand. We need to be mindful of what our dogs are and how some innate behaviors can come up.

[–] whaleross@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You are not aware of problems with pitbulls and random muscle dog backyard mixes or you do not want to recognize them?

Or are you just being argumentative for the sake of argument, fishing with nanny dog and all that?

[–] Elextra@literature.cafe 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

There's problems with neglected pitbulls in backyards but that wouldn't be a genetic thing. That's an owner and sometimes abuse thing. So no, I'm still not aware of any negative or adverse traits as I stated in my original comment. Im genuinely curious what negative or adverse traits because I really do not know any.

They aren't known to have a prey drive, aren't guard dogs, aren't more reactive than the next dog, etc.

Not fishing. The only con is that they're super big and buff so if something like a bite happens, its more lethal like OP said.

[–] whaleross@lemmy.world -2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Trying to understand what sounds like contradictory pick-and-choose arguments, please humour me;

Are genetics and inherited traits in different dog breeds real?

Besides being nanny dogs, what are pitbulls and muscle dogs known for?

What have been the uses for this type of dogs, except nanny dog etc, and what have a they been bred for?

You are really honest to whatever deity of your choosing not aware of any negative or adverse traits of said dogs?

[–] Elextra@literature.cafe 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I really am not. So I am asking. Genetics and inherited traits I believe are real and I believe that was what your argument was too.

My baby heeler pitbull mix knew to nip at ankles even when he was as young as 2 or 3 months. Its his herding behavior. Of course dogs can be different. I mean even us as humans are dynamic and all unique.

They were bred to fight sure but they aren't known to be human or animal aggressive. They... Arent inheritly aggressive. Some breeds like German Shepard's tend to be more human and dog aggressive plus have more of a prey drive for example. So yes, I still don't know what risks you are talking about especially if we are talking about behaviors or temperament. They aren't known for separation anxiety, prey drives, resource guarding, etc. Some dogs just don't exhibit any negative tendencies in their breed and that's fine?

If you don't have any answer it's okay. That's why I asked.

[–] whaleross@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

So you keep implying that you have never heard of what in media is called "pit bull attacks? I find that very hard to believe. That's why I keep asking.

And you maintain you don't know of any negative or detrimental traits in pitbulls and mixes like, lets see, orthopedic problems, cardiovascular issues, allergies, neurological problems and so on that are typical for these dogs?

This is the kind of research you need to do on your own about the dog you are getting or the one you have got. All dogs and all dog breeds have a multitude of issues that a responsible dog owner is aware of. But then again, not everybody is interested in being a responsible dog owner.

From my personal anecdotal experience, it is depressingly common with people that own muscle dogs and to lesser extent other dog breeds that are colloquially considered dangerous. People that want dangerous dog to feel cool about themselves but don't want any of the responsibility of owning a dog and even less the responsibility of owning a dog that might actually be dangerous. Dangerous, as you claim to not be aware in the slightest, as in pitbull and other muscle dog mixes being successfully bred for fighting by having a superior capacity to snap and fight until death with exceptional jaw strength at the expense of their health profile and the psychological predictability you normally aim for in a healthy dog breed of any kind.

What are your thoughts on this?

[–] Elextra@literature.cafe 2 points 7 months ago

I think we just went in a circle. We did both agree we should do research and know what are our dogs tendency vs. not. And that pitbulls are strong AF. This strength makes any incidence potentially lethal just off strength alone. Essentially if you re-read the above we never disagreed on the above.

I know every dog has some health risks that can be inherited but I've consistently been asking for information about any behavioral risks as you claim there are. Well, I dug anyways because I really was curious. What I found :

We should stop calling these dogs "Nanny Dogs". Though they have great temperament with kids.
Numerous sources cite this ATT test for temperment. Collectively, pitbulls score rather high for temperment
Pitbulls seem to be more unlikely to be human aggressive as there was need for human handlers to stay safe. However, some may have been bred to be more dog aggressive. So that there is a negative behavioral trait that might be inherited. TIL.
The same article above, chuckfull of good info especially from reputable organization ASPCA, there is higher chance of pitbulls today just being... Randomly bred. I mean there are so so so many out there.

So if anything, the only behavioral negative is perhaps likely to be more dog aggressive. So learning for me too! Anyways, we have been saying same thing. Difference is I asked for any negative behavioral tendencies that may come with the breed.

Another good article during my search