A New Breed is Born!
Jocko joined our little family back in July of 2020. He was made available by a “breeder” who said he was half poodle and half unspecified terrier. (Rescue animals were not available at the height of the pandemic. They were either scarce or were adopted faster than I could get to them at a shelter or rescue organization.)
In August, 2020, when Jocko was still a little puppy, we spent most of our time together during the day out in our back patio and yard. We don’t have a fenced yard so he’d be connected to a steel pole by a light line that gave him maximum flexibility to explore the outdoors but where I could also keep an eye on him. This meant I spent a lot of time just looking at him, watching him. And as he matured, I surmised that if he was supposedly half poodle, he sure didn’t look like it, except his ears. He definitely has poodle ears. I decided that if for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity a doggie DNA test was in order.
Jumping into my Amazon account, after comparing the options, I bought the Wisdom Panel brand of test. It cost something like $79.00 and was a complete package to at least discover what Jocko’s heritage was. I swabbed his cheek, packed the test, and sent it in. Three weeks later the test results appeared in my email inbox.
I remember how exciting it was. There was great anticipation. I opened Jocko’s page on their website and TA DA! A big fat nothing. It said he was 25% Poodle, 12.5% American Eskimo Dog, and 62.5% various breed groups, mostly guard dogs. That was all, no further detail than that.
What about his straight fur being so un-poodle-esque? What about his border collie black-and-white coloring? If he was part Eskimo Dog, where was all his fur? And what about his terrier roots? Where were they? And where does his crazy tail come from? It was too vague.
I ran my own DNA in 2019 and to no surprise to me it said both sets of my ancestors were from the general turf where Germany and France meet. Duh, I knew that. I felt that all it really said was, “Dude, your ancestors are from somewhere in central Europe.” Thanks for nothing. I didn’t want the DNA data about Jocko to end up like that. “Dude, Jocko’s DNA says he came from other dogs.” Really? No shit.
The months rolled by until February of 2020, and the vague results from the first test just gnawed at me. It was unsatisfactory. The suspense finally got to me and I purchased the doggie DNA test from Embark, which supposedly had a bigger/better/whatever database of canine DNA. This meant that the detail of their report should be better. It also cost $50.00 more. Like the previous test, I swabbed the inside of his cheek (he did NOT enjoy that at all), sent it in, and waited.
Like the previous test, the notice that Jocko’s results were available appeared in my email inbox in about three weeks.
Bingo! Embark’s claim of detail supremacy was validated. They indeed did deliver more information. Jocko is not just a poodle, eskimo dog mutt. He is a Poodle, Chihuahua, Boston Terrier, American Eskimo Dog mutt.
The breakdown looks like this:
Miniature Poodle 37%
Chihuahua 15%
(a surprise, but not too much of one. Out here in Denver, Chihuahuas are everywhere.)
Boston Terrier 10% (This is where he gets his b&w coloring)
American Eskimo Dog 10%
72%
The remaining 28% is made up of other miscellaneous terriers and a small swash of guard dog breeds.
The Embark test was much more useful than the Wisdom Panel test. At least It answered more questions than it raised.
So, Jocko, my little pal, is a mutt. No problem. But he deserves more. He’s a spectacular dog: fun, affectionate, goofy at times, obedient (when it suits him), and an all-around great companion. Saying he’s a mutt just doesn’t serve him well. He needs his own breed.
Let’s see …
He was born in Colorado, within sight of the Rocky Mountains.
He’s going to be trained to live on a boat for months at a time, traveling with us on our boating adventures.
He has a crazy tail that looks like a line of burgees (small flags used on boats)
Hmmm…
Ah! Eureka!
As a Captain and Ship’s Master, duly licensed by the United States Coast Guard, I declare Jocko, the Sea Dog, Scourge of America’s Waterways to be a
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SEA DOG (Burgee Tail variety)
A fitting breed name for such an amazing dog.
Quod factum est, Jack.
#dogtraining #puppytraining