Venn diagram

Compare your dogs to Indy Boo Select one to begin:

Indy Boo

Chinese Village Dog

“Chinese Refugee”

Instagram tag
@mjuan

Place of Birth

China

Current Location

Los Angeles, California, USA

From

Van Nuys, Los Angeles, CA, USA

This dog has been viewed and been given 18 wags

Genetic Breed Result

Loading...

Village dog trace breed analysis

Village dogs often have short stretches of DNA that match purebred dogs, due to a distant common ancestor or a more recent mating between a purebred and a village dog. Indy Boo has short stretches of DNA in common with these breeds:

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, Chinese Village Dog 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 Indy Boo back, you won’t find any ancestral dogs that are part of any of those standardized breeds.

Chinese Village Dog

Chinese Village Dogs are very special dogs. Originating in China, these dogs have some of the most ancient domestic dog ancestry around, going back over 15,000 years. Now, that’s quite the family tree.

Learn More

Loading...

Start a conversation! Message this dog’s humans.

Loading...

Explore

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. Indy Boo 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 Indy Boo's DNA to a global panel of thousands of village dogs. This plot highlights regions of the world where Indy Boo'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.

Explore

Here’s what Indy Boo’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 Indy Boo’s breed mix.
Loading...
Loading...

Explore

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

Loading...

Explore

Through Indy Boo’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

C2

Haplotype

C23

Map

C2

Indy Boo’s Haplogroup

C2 is a very old female lineage found more commonly among English Setters, English Bulldogs, and American Eskimo Dogs. We also see C2 in village dogs in South Asia. Rather than having a few characteristic breeds representing this lineage particularly well, it is present in a few uncommon individuals of many different breeds. Unlike some European breed lineages that have seen skyrocketing popularity along the path to the modern dogs we see today, C2 tends to reflect the deep history of man's best friend.

C23

Indy Boo’s Haplotype

Part of the C2 haplogroup, this haplotype occurs most commonly in village dogs in Mongolia to date.

You can often find his haplogroup in the lovable English Bulldog.

Loading...

Explore

Through Indy Boo’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

A2a

Haplotype

Hc.12

Map

A2a

Indy Boo’s Haplogroup

A2a is a truly ancient lineage. Unlike the recent upstart A1 lineages which found their way from a few popular European males a couple hundred years ago into many dogs in many breeds, A2a shows ancient roots without major recent expansion. It is likely one of the oldest eastern Eurasian male lineages of dogs, where it has existed for thousands of years. Nowadays, it's commonly found in Tibetan Terriers and Chow Chows as well as in Southeastern Asian village dogs. The Chow Chow seems to have been depicted in sculpture over 2,000 years ago, so this is an ancient lineage indeed, and dogs with it have a long and noble pedigree! Males from this lineage have continued to be bred in similar forms and breeds for millennia.

Hc.12

Indy Boo’s Haplotype

Part of the A2a haplogroup, this rare haplotype occurs in Papua New Guinea and Vietnam.

The large-sized Tibetan Mastiff descends from this ancient lineage.

Loading...

Explore