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Charlie

Alaskan-type Husky

“Charlie is a rescue! He is very kind and gentle! Loves his walks and car rides! We do not know his exact age but we are sure he is a senior.”

Place of Birth

Quebec, Canada

Current Location

Belleville, Ontario, Canada

From

Quinte Humane Society, Avonlough Road, Belleville, ON, Canada

This dog has been viewed and been given 74 wags

Genetic Breed Result

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What exactly are village dogs?

Village dogs are the free-breeding, free-roaming “outside” dogs found around the world living in and around human settlements big and small. They are also known as island dogs, pariah dogs, or free-ranging dogs.

Many village dog populations precede the formation of modern breed dogs.

They make up about 3/4s of the billion or so dogs living on Earth today. They serve as trash cleaners, sentinels, and even sometimes companions while still retaining much of their freedom. Embark’s founders have studied village dogs on six continents since 2007 in their efforts to understand the history, traits, and health of the domestic dog. Through this work they have discovered the origins of the dog in Central Asia, and also identified genetic regions involved in domestication and local adaptation, such as the high altitude adaptation in Himalayan dogs. Embark is the only dog DNA test that includes diverse village dogs from around the world in its breed reference panel.

So what breeds are in my dog?

In a very real sense, Alaskan-type Husky is the actual breed of your dog. Village dogs like this descend from separate lines of dogs than the lines that have been bred into standardized breeds like Labradors and Poodles. If you trace the family tree of Charlie back, you won’t find any ancestral dogs that are part of any of those standardized breeds.

Alaskan-type Husky

The Alaskan Husky is all athlete. These dogs have a wide variety of appearances because they are bred for performance and behavior rather than looks. In fact, they've been specifically bred to pull sleds for hundreds of years. In temperament, they tend to be similar to the Siberian Husky.

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Village dogs have lived just about everywhere across the world for thousands of years. Long before there were any recognized dog breeds, there were village dogs around the fires and trash heaps of early human villages. Charlie is part of this ancient heritage, not descended from a specific breed, but continuing the ancient lineage of dogs that were our first, best friends.

Embark's co-founders studied Village Dogs on six continents in their efforts to understand the history, traits, and health of the domestic dog. Through this work, they discovered evidence for the origins of the dog in Central Asia , and they also identified genetic regions involved in domestication and local adaptation. As a result, Embark has the largest Village Dog reference panel of any canine genetics company.

We compared Charlie's DNA to a global panel of thousands of village dogs. This plot highlights regions of the world where Charlie's DNA is most similar to those village dogs. The areas of darkest red reflect the greatest similarity to our village dog panel.

Village Dog Map
Similarity to village dog groups around the world. Darker red reflects greater similarity.

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Here’s what Charlie’s family tree may have looked like.
While there may be other possible configurations of his family’s relationships, this is the most likely family tree to explain Charlie’s breed mix.

Breed Reveal Video

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Health Summary

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Charlie inherited one variant that you should learn more about.

Factor VII Deficiency

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Charlie inherited both copies of the variant we tested

What does this result mean?

We do not know whether this increases the risk that Charlie will develop this disease.

Scientific Basis

Research studies for this variant have been based on dogs of other breeds. Not enough dogs with the breeds in Charlie have been studied to know whether or not this variant will increase Charlie’s risk of developing this disease.

What is Factor VII Deficiency?

Factor VII deficiency is a type of coagulopathy, a disorder of blood clotting. It is characterized by mild to moderate abnormal bleeding (generally less severe than that caused by deficiencies in other clotting factors such as Factors VIII or IX). Some dogs with this condition will show no clinical signs.

ALT Activity

No result

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Breed-Relevant Genetic Conditions

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GM1 Gangliosidosis

Alaskan Husky Encephalopathy

Additional Genetic Conditions

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Traits

Explore the genetics behind your dog’s appearance and size.

Base Coat Color

Base Coat Color

Coat Color Modifiers

Coat Color Modifiers

Other Coat Traits

Other Coat Traits

Other Body Features

Other Body Features

Body Size

Body Size

Performance

Performance

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Through Charlie’s mitochondrial DNA we can trace his mother’s ancestry back to where dogs and people first became friends. This map helps you visualize the routes that his ancestors took to your home. Their story is described below the map.

Haplogroup

B1

Haplotype

B165

Map

B1

Charlie’s Haplogroup

B1 is the second most common maternal lineage in breeds of European or American origin. It is the female line of the majority of Golden Retrievers, Basset Hounds, and Shih Tzus, and about half of Beagles, Pekingese and Toy Poodles. This lineage is also somewhat common among village dogs that carry distinct ancestry from these breeds. We know this is a result of B1 dogs being common amongst the European dogs that their conquering owners brought around the world, because nowhere on earth is it a very common lineage in village dogs. It even enables us to trace the path of (human) colonization: Because most Bichons are B1 and Bichons are popular in Spanish culture, B1 is now fairly common among village dogs in Latin America.

B165

Charlie’s Haplotype

Part of the B1 haplogroup, the B165 haplotype occurs most commonly in Borzois. It's a rare find!

The B1 haplogroup can be found in village dogs like the Peruvian Village Dog, pictured above.

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Through Charlie’s Y-chromosome we can trace his father’s ancestry back to where dogs and people first became friends. This map helps you visualize the routes that his ancestors took to your home. Their story is described below the map.

Haplogroup

C

Haplotype

H5a

Map

C

Charlie’s Haplogroup

C is a relatively rare paternal lineage. The dog populations which bear C are a disparate bunch. The Akita and Shiba Inu are Japanese breeds, the former of which seems to have roots in the Jomon population of hunter-gatherers which were present in the islands of Japan before the ancestors of the modern Japanese arrived. The New Guinea Singing Dog, Samoyed, and Alaska Malamute are all disparate breeds that also represent the C lineage. One village dog from Peru also bore this lineage. This wide distribution and diversity suggest C is not a recently expanded lineage. It likely represents a canid lineage which diversified sometime around the Last Glacial Maximum, when the dogs of Siberia and Oceania split off and went their separate ways.

H5a

Charlie’s Haplotype

Part of the C haplogroup, this haplotype occurs most commonly in Akitas and Alaskan Malamutes.

The Shiba Inu descends from this relativey rare haplogroup.

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