Okay, so we had so much fun finding out about Ernie’s ancestry, we got a DNA testing kit to do the same for Edie, too.
I already described how the test results work here. When people meet Ernie, we’ve had a good time telling them our 90 to 95 pound pooch is a German Shepherd / Boston terrier / Yorkshire Terrier / Sharpei / Belgian Tervuren mix:
I’ve taken to calling him “my little Yorkie terrier.” So what breeds went into the making of Edie? Here’s our girl:
Per the five different DNA “levels,” she isn’t first or second level anything. But she’s third level Labrador Retriever (no surprise there) and … Airedale Terrier (???).
She’s also Boxer, English Setter, and Irish Setter.
How are those for recessive genes?
OmbudsBen 
Makes me wonder if we all aren’t mixed up with each other in some weird DNA way…
Ha! Well, we are all of African ancestry. (Which explains why we are so sensitive to cold!) It’s just a matter of how long ago our ancestors left the original continent. But don’t dogs get far more interesting names for their different breeds than we get for our ethnicities?
Oh, I can see the setters in her face, definitely 🙂
Edie and Ernie! Such lovely names for adorable dogs! And amazing to think they have so many different breeds in them. We should apply this test to humans – very good to remind us of our intrinsic diversity.
Norwichrocker — I haven’t known that many setters, but when I look up the pictures, I can see what you mean.
LL, thanks! We named them for comedian Ernie Kovacs and his wife Edie Adams, but that’s all from long ago, when TV was young. If you’d like a laugh or three, check out Kovacs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Kovacs