Holiday Winners Score in the New Year

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

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courtesy j.c.
Toby Celebrates
His First Birthday

I have winners for 2 giveaways to announce today. Adorable Toby at left had his first birthday on Christmas Day. Doesn't that make it appropriate that his name was drawn to win the Holiday Pet Parade giveaway.

Toby will receive a Grab bag prize valued at $50 that will include some yummy treats for training and snacking. We'll be in touch with Toby's mom this weekend to arrange shipping. If you see this post, please email me at AllThingsDogBlog@gmail.com.
Our Wisdom Panel DNA kit also has a winner today. The giveaway was such fun. I enjoyed watching all of your guesses at what Duke's heritage actually turned out to be. Many of you are very astute!
You can view all the answers to this question at giveaway linked above, as well as learn about this interesting way to find out more about your mixed breed dog with the help of science, by reading my review. Please join me in congratulating the winner of a free test kit--Bernee. Thanks to all of you for entering so enthusiastically. Please share this Tweet to thank Wisdom Panel, our prize host:

Thx @WisdomPanel 4 a giveaway & fun breed guessing game. Did you guess Duke's breed mix correctly? Ck: http://t.co/BBZ1qN9HWd
— Carrie Boyko (@AllThingsDog) January 3, 2014

Before I sign off for now, I know there are a lot of you who want to know what Duke's actual top 3 breeds were. At least 10 of our readers guessed that Duke was part Fox Hound. If you're among that group, you have a good eye. 

Duke's two secondary breeds are Boxer and Miniature Shorthaired Dachshund; who knew?!! Only one reader guessed Boxer, and none of you strayed into Dachshund territory. Can't blame you; it just isn't obvious. This was fun, and very educational. If you'd like to learn more about how breeds manifest in your dog, watch the video at the giveaway post.
So there you have it. Duke's 3 primary breeds are American Foxhound, Boxer and Miniature Shorthaired Dachshund. I suppose many of you are shaking your head like I did, wondering how that Dachshund managed this--LOL! Thanks again for participating. I look forward to seeing you all again soon. The sample Wisdom Panel kit used for this review was provided to me at no cost. It was used to evaluate an acquaintance's dog, as a way of reviewing it's use. I was not compensated and our story above is shared for your education about this product without any affect on my opinion.

Dog DNA Test by Wisdom Panel: A Giveaway

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

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Meet Duke
Can You Guess His Breed Makeup?

Most dog lovers who visit this blog post will immediately recognize the dog at right as a type of hound. The big question in the owner's mind was which hound is he? Since hounds can range from the Miniature Dachshund to larger members of the group such as the Irish Wolfhound or the Afghan Hound. 

If you look more closely you'll probably have your own opinion quite quickly, especially if you view the dogs at the link above. However, watching the video in my Wisdom Panel review at this link will help you realize that your dog can have DNA imprints that do not appear on the outside. Duke, too, carries secrets that I would not have guessed. I'll share his actual breed makeup when I announce the winners to this giveaway. For now, enjoy the process and be sure to offer your own ideas on this question.

The Wisdom Panel 2.0 will figure out if your dog is pure or mixed and let you know what his heritage is. This test covers all AKC breeds and offers a huge amount of information on his healthy, appearance, breed characteristics and more. The report itself is about 11 pages long and contains a ton of information to help most any owner better understand their dog and what to expect as he matures and ages. Further, behavioral expectations can be formed from the breed profile offered. This can be quite helpful when you suddenly find out you have a Retriever in your Pomeranian Mix, ya know?!!!

You can enter below to win a Wisdom Panel 2.0 kit to test your own dog. The Rafflecopter widget will offer you a variety of different methods of entry. Feel free to use only those methods which you enjoy and wish to participate in. And if you find the Rafflecopter widget is missing in action, simply click on the post title to refresh and it will reappear. I think it takes a nap out of sight to get out of work sometimes!

Prefer the sure thing to a giveaway? No problem. You can purchase your test kit at the Wisdom Panel 2.0 link above.There are 3 variations of the product to offer you the best information for your needs. Choose the professional version if you want to look for genetic health conditions and nutritional needs in your pure breed dog. The Optimal Selection version is for breeders seeking to make the best breeding choices for healthier puppies. The 2.0 version is for most of the rest of us who simply wish to learn more about where our dog came from and why he does the curious things he does. That makes Wisdom Panel a great way to enjoy getting to know your dog!

Wisdom Panel asked me to review their product with a mixed breed dog to share our experience. I was not compensated to offer these results and have shared them as they actually happened. My honest opinions of this evaluation are included.

Wisdom Panel Answers Your Mixed Breed Questions

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

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What's Your Guess?

I have to say that my curiosity was piqued with this product review. After seeing this beautiful dog, Duke, we determined that he would be a good candidate for a DNA test. Both his adopted owner and the shelter where he was acquired believed that he could possibly be a pure Polish Treeing Coonhound. That's not a dog I was familiar with, although I assumed it would be similar to a Treeing Walker Coonhound, and clearly there are similarities.

This big fella, Duke, is a handsome one for sure. His owner's desire to learn Duke's heritage was pure. He wanted to know what health issues to watch out for, behavioral normalities as well as idiosyncrasies. And of course, he wanted to know if Duke's weight and build were normal for his breed, if indeed he were determined to be a pure breed.

With the Wisdom Panel in hand, Duke's dad took off to test this big boy and report back. I was eager to hear about the process and the results.

courtesy WisdomPanel.com

The test proved easy to administer with a few swabs inside the cheek--nothing most dogs wouldn't accommodate from a loving owner. Within a couple of weeks or so the results were returned with a more than thorough report on Duke's heritage, his outlook, health prospects and more. There's even a status checker on the Wisdom Panel website so you can see when to anticipate your results. More importantly, Duke's owner gained a better understanding of potential health issues and a good weight range for his dog. That was his goal and we accomplished it with Wisdom Panel.

So, let's test YOUR knowledge of dog breeds. What pure or mix do you see in Duke? Watch this video to learn a little bit more about physical traits in your dogs and how they manifest in appearance:

You can also read up on dog breeds at Wisdom Panel's Breed Library. Got questions? Check in with the folks at Wisdom Panel and chat on Twitter with @WisdomPanel or on Facebook at DoggieDNA.

I'll be running a giveaway soon for a kit just like this one from Wisdom Panel 2.0 for one lucky winner to learn more about the heritage of their dog. Of course you don't have to wait if the suspense is just killing you. Go right on ahead over to their website and order your kit right now. It's a painless test and soon you'll have a better understanding of what's normal for your dog.

Meanwhile, I'd love for you to take your best guess at Duke's family tree. Select 3 breeds that you believe are his makeup and leave me a comment. This should be a fun game so get us started! More soon...

The sample Wisdom Panel kit used for this review was provided to me at no cost. It was used to evaluate an acquaintance's dog, as a way of reviewing it's use. I was not compensated and our story above is shared for your education about this product without any affect on my opinion.