There were some good guesses.  We got some comments here, on Facebook and via text messages and the top guesses were about what we thought made up a Juli-bean and boy were we shocked by the actual results.

We always thought that there was some Labrador in Julius.  His larger size, big feet and love of splashing about in the water made the Lab part a good guess.  An incorrect guess.  When we brought Ray home as  a very tiny puppy, I guessed that he would top out at about 55 pounds.  After all, his mama was 39 pounds at the time she was spayed, although she was tallish.  I never thought he would grow and grow to be over 80 pounds. 

Likewise, when I found Julius, he was not skinny or underfed by any means and at his neuter, weighed in at 36 pounds.  I figured that he’d end up in the 60 pound neighborhood.  He  sometimes seems taller than Ray, his neck is longer and his head/snout is longer.  Knowing that most dog dna tests don’t have the screening for an American Pitbull Terrier, I was hesitant to administer the test because I was a bit worried that the results may come back with a big “mixed breed” and no other info.  Plus, keeping him and his ‘dna sample’ away from his brother was a bit of a challenge.  Nevertheless, I finally got a good sample and sent it in.

So a little bit about the dnamydog test results:  the certificate they send has five levels which recognize percentages found in your dog.

Level 1 recognizes when a dog’s DNA contains a majority of one specific breed (75% or greater).  A dog will only report with a Level 1 breed if they have a high percentage match to a single breed in thier DNA.  Most mixed breed dogs will not usually have a breed in this category unless one or both of thier parents are pruebred.

Level 2 reports breeds that may be easily recognizable in your dog.  Each breed listed makes up between 37-74% of your dog’s breeds.  Dogs with a large mixed ancestry will not normally have breeds reporting at this level.

Level 3 identifies breeds that have between 20%-36% off the listed breed(s).

Level 4 represents 10%-20% of the breed DNA.  Dogs with large mixes may have a number of breeds in this category.

Level 5 represents the lowest level of breed in your dog occuring at 9% or less.  These breeds still appear at a low and measurable amount in your pet’s DNA and were likely carried over from several generations.

The total of the breeds found in hte levels will always equal 100% of your dog’s DNA breed composition.  For example a dog with 4 breeds reporting at Level 3 (20%-36%) and 2 breeds reporting at Level 4 (10%-20%) will not have breeds reporting at other levels or the total would be greater than 100%.  –info via the mailed analysis certificate.

So I’m sure there can be room for error and he doesn’t fit the “breed standard,” but everyone who guessed Am Staff plus something was partly right; without even more rambling, Julius is

a Level 1 American Staffordshire Terrier. 

And I really thought there would be some seal in the mix somewhere.  How shocked are you that my little foundling appears to not be a mixed breed at all?