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Ernest

Alaskan-type Husky

“He loves to run, a lot. He's a great skijoring partner and pulls like a champion. Big fan of hiking, biking, swimming, going to the dog park, exploring anywhere and everywhere.”

Place of Birth

Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada

Current Location

Swan River, Manitoba, Canada

From

Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada

This dog has been viewed and been given 18 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 Ernest 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. Ernest 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 Ernest's DNA to a global panel of thousands of village dogs. This plot highlights regions of the world where Ernest'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 Ernest’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 Ernest’s breed mix.
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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 Ernest’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

A1b

Haplotype

A361/409/611

Map

A1b

Ernest’s Haplogroup

This female lineage was very likely one of the original lineages in the wolves that were first domesticated into dogs in Central Asia about 15,000 years ago. Since then, the lineage has been very successful and travelled the globe! Dogs from this group are found in ancient Bronze Age fossils in the Middle East and southern Europe. By the end of the Bronze Age, it became exceedingly common in Europe. These dogs later became many of the dogs that started some of today's most popular breeds, like German Shepherds, Pugs, Whippets, English Sheepdogs and Miniature Schnauzers. During the period of European colonization, the lineage became even more widespread as European dogs followed their owners to far-flung places like South America and Oceania. It's now found in many popular breeds as well as village dogs across the world!

A361/409/611

Ernest’s Haplotype

Part of the A1b haplogroup, this haplotype occurs most frequently in German Shepherd Dogs, Poodles, and Shiloh Shepherds.

A1b is the most common haplogroup found in German Shepherds.

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Through Ernest’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

A1

Haplotype

Ha.1

Map

A1

Ernest’s Haplogroup

A1 is the male lineage in several breeds that aren't very closely related to each other. Gordon Setters, Newfoundlands, and Miniature Schnauzers all had male founders from this paternal line, and now many males in those breeds carry their Y chromosome. Each of these breeds started in the past 200-300 years, and their founders must have included dogs that trace back to the same male ancestors deeper in dog evolutionary time, stretching all the way back to when dogs were first domesticated in Central Asia about 15,000 years ago. Unlike many Y chromosome (male) lineages found in European and recent American breeds, only one village dog (in Alaska) carries an A1 Y chromosome, indicating that the breeds from this lineage probably didn't travel around the world with European colonization as much as some other breeds.

Ha.1

Ernest’s Haplotype

The lone member of the A1 haplogroup, this haplotype occurs in Newfoundlands, Miniature Schnauzers, Gordon Setters, and village dogs in Alaska.

The Newfoundland is from the A1 paternal line.

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