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DNA testing comes up Cadoodle

So, what does everyone think about doggie DNA testsing?

I thought it was silly at first but then I got taken to Web of Life to get mine done and we learned so much about my parents that it was really neat.

I knew mom is a pure breed roughcoat collie. But dad was a total mystery. The vet said I was a terrier mix. The groomer said I was Bouvier de Flanders. Other pet shop owners thought I was chow or Portugese water dog.

Turns out I'm Cadoodle. That's collie + Poodle=Cadoodle. That means I have twice the risk of a degenerative eye disease when I'm old. Bummer.

On the bright side: no wonder I love the four boys I live with and swimming in the nearby river.

Also, I like that these tests sold here in Chesapeake at Web of Life www.weboflifeanimaloutreach.com help all the lost, and rescued animals there have food, shelter and great medical attention for no matter how long it takes for them to get adopted. It's a no-kill center. PHEW!

Now I'm learning about myself. I love to dig. It's not just a passing thing and it drives my family crazy. My brothers and sister are heavy into excavation too and nobody knew why.

But since the DNA test came back showing I'm a Cadoodle (collie+poodle) my new family has been researching the traits and today Lisa hit paydirt on the digging issue!

"Many of the early prints depicting Poodles show them as particolour and having descended from the "Waterdogge" and truffle hunters. In Hutchinson's Dog Encyclopedia, there is a reference to the Truffle Poodle and a letter is quoted from Miss Jane Lane of the famous Nunsoe Kennels which relates that a friend of hers in Scotland had some interesting photographs with particolours of the old original Truffle Poodle."

Apparently these dogs were imported into England at the end of the nineteenth century. The photos (also, none were reproduced) showed white Poodles with black heads and tails. Some had a few black spots on the body. Miss Lane's friend showed the particolours on more than one occasion with great success.

Special classes were put on for them and they were in great demand. Their owner was just getting them established when the war came and he was unable to keep on with his breeding and importing. The dogs were medium-size and in colour black and white, brown and white, and -- very rarely -- lemon and white.

They were remarkable for their tremendous coats of exceptionally harsh texture. Miss Lane saw a photo in an old book of these black and white Poodles hunting truffles, aided by a Dachshund-type dog. The Poodles found the truffles and the Dachshund dug them up.

Check out http://www.caninehorizons.com/Parti_history_20th_c.html for more poodle history.

So digging is a good thing if you like truffles anyway and history. I'm going to keep on digging until I uncover all my roots!


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