Nigredo is a 90+ lb dog with floppy ears, a very thick and heavily shedding coat, double rear dewclaws with proper bones and ligaments, and a very long curly tail... and these are the breed results we got. According to Embark, Nigredo - the dog you see in these photos... is over 30% ACD, with equal parts Pit Bull and Chow, and 16% GSD? And THEN some little bits of Labrador etc etc. Really? If they say so. LOL!!
I don't think anything is out of the question. The thing about dogs and their breed mixtures is that you never know what breed will show physically, temperamentally or behaviorally or not show. In the case of Nigrego's dna, it appears he got more of his physical traits from the lab and shepherd than from the ACD. But the ACD may very well show up in behavior or temperament. Remember, even though he has 33.7% ACD, the actual genes he got from the ACD are random. Also, when dna from different breeds combine, they often present in a completely different appearance.
I go on looks rather than the tests. Rosie is pure Border Terrier, but I see Yorkie in there too She doesn't have the typical wire hair of a BT, but I'm told that's not unusual in a blue and tan. It wouldn't bother me if she did have Yorkie in the mix. She is mine, she's unique and will always be my little princess no matter what. Nigredo - looks more Lab to me, but, at the end of the day, he's Nigredo and is unique and loved all the more for it
Like I said - if they say so. He doesn't have ANY behavioral or physical traits of an ACD period. Nigredo also has no traits of a Shepherd either to me. Like zero. Their hind dewclaw test doesn't work well either - because not only does Nigredo have them, he has double rear dewclaws with proper bones and ligaments. From what I have gathered, this is quite uncommon and found only in a few breeds. His face looks sorta Labrador but a bit more sloppy/hangy, but nothing else really does. Imagine paying this much and feeling like some people just took a guess at his DNA. But oh well!!
I can see some shepherd in there. In the eyes mostly. The coloring appears to have some shepherdiness at the saddle also. As for the dewclaws, I haven't seen anything concrete about them. They do appear to show up in dogs that aren't known for them. If you aren't happy with the results, you can ask them to redo the test. In the end, you can choose to accept the results or ignore them. He's the same he was yesterday regardless of what a report says. P.S. the only trait I can identify as shih tzu in Tornado-dog is his eyes. He has the black eyes of a shih tzu. The only other "small dog trait" is that he has a small fifth leg - small for his body size. I suspect the dna that decided that size came from the peke or shih tzu rather than the parsons or collie.
I got an Embark on my other dog when I got him as a tiny puppy that was actually quite on point with everything, even close on the adult weight - which is why this one throws me so much. Nigredo is all black, so I can't see how his coloring relates specifically to a GSD. When he's extremely sheddy, his undercoat looks dusty but he's definitely pure black. It's more likely Labrador. I definitely did send them an email. I can't find much info saying fully jointed double rear dewclaws are often found on breeds not known for them. They are found on some mixed breeds, but not generally with a DNA test saying no breeds known for this are in the dog. My vet, who owns two Great Pyrenees dogs was 100% sure there would be some in him. Ears, coat, tail, toes, sloppy jowls, temperament ALL spell it... but I guess not. Nigredo is the most laid back carefree dog ever. Doesn't chase anything. Never has. Always been very chill and non energetic even when young. ZERO aggression towards any people or animals and it isn't due to training - he's just like that! So his temperament isn't explained by this mix either to me.
In the second photo, I see a brownish coloring on his back. Maybe that's just from shedding. But black is a shepherd coloring too.
Yeah his coat needed a groom and was shedding in that photo. Undercoat looks dusty/brown but he is 100% black.
