# Which breeds are in the mix?



## Emmathedutchie (Feb 15, 2021)

Hi all!

Me and my boyfriend rescued this puppy a couple of months ago. Luna is now almost nine months old, and we were wondering what breeds are in the mix. Here is some information:

Found roaming in the streets of Southern Italy at approximately 1.5 months old with her brother
At 9 months she weighs 22.5 kg/50 lb and is about 55 cm/22 inch tall at the shoulder. She is particularly long: when jumping up she can reach my face with her paws, and I'm 1.70cm/5ft7
Character: very sweet, quite independent, not very snuggly, attention seeker, not interested in food, very distracted outside, doesn't retrieve, doesn't bark without a good reason. She sometimes isolates herself for no apparent reason and will kindly let you know when snuggle time is over, hehe.

Our personal guess of some breeds that could be in the mix: Maremma Sheepdog, GSD or Malinois, Borzoi? (because of the way she runs, how skinny she is, and some character traits. Suspicion confirmed by a fried of mine who used to own a Borzoi)

I have read that those doggy DNA tests are quite unreliable, so if anyone could take a guess it would make me so happy! We dearly love our Luna and are very curious as to what kind of dogs her parents could have been. Thank you!


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## Kensi (Jan 24, 2021)

I see a Shepherd- Pyrenees mix- but maybe that's just me. The very first thing I thought was Pyrenees mix (she reminds me more of a pyr than the maremma, especially in face shape, but that could just be the picture). Idk what kind of shepherd though- GSD, maybe? I've heard that the Wisdom Panel dna tests are pretty accurate though, if you wanted an answer with less guesswork.

I love the picture where she has the blue rope in her mouth lol... so cute! She looks so beautiful running in the snow, too! Gorgeous dog, you lucked out


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## Emmathedutchie (Feb 15, 2021)

Kensi said:


> I see a Shepherd- Pyrenees mix- but maybe that's just me. The very first thing I thought was Pyrenees mix (she reminds me more of a pyr than the maremma, especially in face shape, but that could just be the picture). Idk what kind of shepherd though- GSD, maybe? I've heard that the Wisdom Panel dna tests are pretty accurate though, if you wanted an answer with less guesswork.
> 
> I love the picture where she has the blue rope in her mouth lol... so cute! She looks so beautiful running in the snow, too! Gorgeous dog, you lucked out


Thank you so much! That makes sense. Yes we are very happy and feel very lucky to have Luna in our lives


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## TheTroubleTerriersTeam (Nov 12, 2019)

I agree with what Kensi said. There could also be more in there (I thought Husky at first but I doubt it). 

As for DNA tests being inaccurate, they can be but it depends on the kindof brand. The only ones I'd recommend are Embark first and Wisdom Panel second. 

Embark has more genetic markers and breeds they test for as opposed to Wisdom Panel. An example is, Wisdom doesn't test for American Pit Bull Terrier.


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## Emmathedutchie (Feb 15, 2021)

Thank you! I’ll consider doing a DNA test then 😊 Personally I also see some greyhound/borzoi, I’m curious if anyone else agrees!


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

Yeah, Embark is pretty decent these days and will go back and update your profile as their data set grows. I like that they'll also check for a lot of other interesting genetic traits - like what specific coat type and color genes your dog has - and a lot of genetic diseases as well. I want to run my poodle of questionable heritage through them some day, it's just been lower priority than other things so I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I could see some kind of sighthound! A large percentage of borzoi would be surprising, since they're relatively rare in most places, but I have no idea what kind of breeds are common are in Southern Italy. Greyhound or whippet mixes (lurchers) have been popular in the UK for a long time as hunting or sport dogs, so maybe he has something like that going on - a working sighthound mix somewhere in his lineage. I'm just guessing, I have no idea if these kinds of mixes are popular working dogs in Italy, so I could be off base.


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## Emmathedutchie (Feb 15, 2021)

It could also be cirneco dell’etna (originally from Sicily) or Podenco, which are both present here in Italy. Or some kind of sighthoundy mix in general 😊


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

Cirnecos are tiny little guys (but absolutely charming, I met a few some years back) so I imagine it'd be a few generations back in that case, but possible! Will be cool to see what the test shows if you wind up getting it done.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

I really see some sighthound in the earset and muzzle. If you do a DNA test, please let us know the results!


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## Emmathedutchie (Feb 15, 2021)

DaySleepers said:


> Cirnecos are tiny little guys (but absolutely charming, I met a few some years back) so I imagine it'd be a few generations back in that case, but possible! Will be cool to see what the test shows if you wind up getting it done.


I know, a friend of mine has one! In fact Luna as for now only weighs 50 pounds, they said she would grow bigger but lately she has been putting on very little weight. Sighthounds can be quite big, as well as Maremma or Great Pyrenees, so it could be what makes her smaller... who knows! Maybe one day I’ll do the test, but for now I can’t afford it...


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## Emmathedutchie (Feb 15, 2021)

Crantastic said:


> I really see some sighthound in the earset and muzzle. If you do a DNA test, please let us know the results!


Thank you for responding! I will


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

We did Embark DNA tests on one of our dogs (and getting ready to do the other,) one of my son's dogs and both my daughter's dogs. The results showed me that I really suck at breed guesses, but there is an immense amount of information included with these tests. Some of it just interesting and some potentially quite useful.


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## Emmathedutchie (Feb 15, 2021)

RonE said:


> We did Embark DNA tests on one of our dogs (and getting ready to do the other,) one of my son's dogs and both my daughter's dogs. The results showed me that I really suck at breed guesses, but there is an immense amount of information included with these tests. Some of it just interesting and some potentially quite useful.


Interesting! Care to share?


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