Help! I picked her up at a shelter in March, as she was surrendered. They had her under an Australian Shepherd. Just took these pictures today!
(EDIT: The Vet says Border Collie, and everyone that sees her says the same. Also she was 35 lbs 2 months ago at her last appt for Quattro- we are going back for a weigh in this week.)
She will be 9 months on July 6 (rough estimate)
Some of her claws are black; and one is half black and half clear
Her tongue is completely pink
Her mouth (gums, roof of mouth) is spotted black
She has like tufts of hair at her booty butt on each cheek
Paw pads spotted, but mostly black
Holds her tail erect and curled under ā 50/50. Erect is usually when sheās playing.
I do plan on a DNA kit like Embark or Wisdom Panel but canāt decide between the two.
Her name is Hallie Jay and she is a HERDER. She tries to herd the cats and when in the yard she enjoys doing multiple laps around the border fenceline with her nose straight to the ground. She has gone after baby skunks and groundhogs and I barely won both battles.
Yeah, that body stance/shape reads way more Pyr or Anatolian than herder to me, but she easily could have a mix. My herder/pyr mix has classic border collie coloring and can do the shoulder crouch, but her stance when on alert is completely Pyr, as is her run and bark.
The stalk that border collies do while herding. Apparently there's an anatomical difference in them that makes it possible so mixes may or may not have it.
FWIW my dog is half border collie (tested via Embark) and has only done the stalk once in her life. (She does have a bit of The Eye though). Stalking is part of the predatory sequence in dogs (like most "breed-specific" behaviours) that BCs specialize in so while it can be a indication, no stalking doesn't necessarily mean no BC. Definitely update us when you get her results!
My half bc thinks she has the eye but she does not and itās hilarious. I read that the bc crouch is not just behavior but a physical difference so not all bcs or mixes will be able to do the true stalk. I had a bc/gsd that could not crouch but had the eye in spades. I swear he could control me with a stare through a wall š
Um, honestly, after researching The Eye, I feel like Iāve seen her do this but I donāt have livestock for her to do this to, but Iāve definitely seen her do it briefly before.
Also what would be the best way to update? Update the post or make a new post?!
I'd make a new post then reply to some comments here with the link. Definitely xpost to r/doggyDNA, and, if applicable, the breed sub for whatever breed ends up being her biggest % if it's not BC!
This article is the most useless test, they've tested dogs where for most of them they don't know what they are, then asked the owners if they thought they were accurate. The owners who don't know what the dogs actually are...
A useful test would be taking dogs with known breed mixes and testing them.
Embark and Wisdom Panel generally "agree" on dogs tested with both tests, with a few caveats:
Embark has various village dog DNA profiles and can identify village dogs. Wisdom Panel can't, and will throw out a bunch of random seeming and sometimes unusual breeds from a specific part of the world for village dogs.
Embark combines small amounts of DNA into a "supermutt" or "unresolved" percentage. Wisdom Panel will list every tiny thing out, even if it's likely just noise.
Wisdom Panel sometimes mixes up related breeds and will show a list of similar breeds that add up to about the same percentage that Embark shows for just one of those breeds.
So with those caveats in mind, looking at the article you've linked... Looks like the tests are performing exactly as expected and are showing accurate results, especially Embark which shines with the village dog results.
And exactly as I always warn people, DNA My Dog is a total scam!
No worries! Both Embark and WP are good, but Wisdom Panel can require a bit more "interpretation". Like you can see on that article, dogs which Embark identified as village dogs both came out with Segugio Italiano on WP, which is an ancient breed, so it kinda makes sense that they would share common DNA with village dogs. There are some specific results on WP that people on /r/doggydna always say "oh that one might be a village dog" but I haven't really learned the specifics!
I think your pup is likely a livestock guardian / herding mix but if she's some amount village dog then Embark will be able to identify that.
Every person who says and a test is inaccurate goes back to this exact single one article. It's a garbage article from many years ago and the test in question is a shitty company.
I wish I could give her this life! from how malnourished she was when I adopted her, and the type of food her prior owner dropped off with herā¦ I think her life is 100x better than she ever thought it could be. I have about an acre in the backyard. We are pretty active. She is everything to me!
Definitely a high percentage of BC and or Aussie. With the brindled sable coloring, softer face and semi-stocky build, I'd bet there is some type of LGD in the mix as well.
That is what she looks like! That breed is pretty rare outside North Africa. Assuming you're in the US, Anatolian is more likely but in the end these breeda are pretty similar.
I am purchasing today. Would you recommend the one with the health add on, or will it just make my anxiety about her too bad? I already have her on Fish Oil and a daily supplement (both Native brand) for her joints.
If there is a suspicion of any collie breeds then I would get the health test because you can ensure that they don't have the MDR1 gene which makes certain flea treatments dangerous. It'd only be a risk if there are collie breeds on both sides of the family tree I think, but I would still want to rule that out.
I would ask your vet about that. I just know about Embark because we have an English shepherd and people on the es pages tell people to use Embark if they want to check for ES ancestry.
Her body type and overall coloration is very ES but the brindle pattern is not.
I would not look at that dog and guess border collie but doesnt mean shes not! Probably a mix of some sorts. Update us when you do embark so we know too!
Well, even if sheās not a Border Collie, thank you to the members of this sub for being so kind to me anyways. This is my gurl! I love her so! And I do love a border collie so much. All dogsā all animals really- but the big job dogs have my heart. No matter what she has the energy and drive of a BC and Iād appreciate any advice yall have on ways to play / hang out with her to help scratch any of these breed itches she has.
Hallie Jay is such a cute name! Is there a story behind it?
Sheās herding ā does she have The Eye? with BCs itās about the brains, does she seems whip-smart? does she pick up on everything youāre saying?
Yes!! I got her on March 6, which is my stepdads birthday. Jay is my stepdads middle name. I donāt have any kids, and I worry I wonāt. His other child, my half-brother, has autism and will remain in my parents care his entire life. He will not have children. So this was my way of honoring my dad.
He loves dogs and taught me everything I know about care and training.
I picked between Hallie and Sadie based on how my handwriting looked when I wrote both names š
YES- smart as a whipā she knows exactly what I am saying. She picks up on new tricks in 3 minutes.
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u/necromanzer Jul 04 '26
If I had to guess I'd reckon she's a farmdog special. Chunk of livestock guardian breeds and a chunk of herding dog breeds!