Sooo for those who don't know, I purchased Jackson from a "back yard breeder" I guess you'd call it. Answered a classifieds ad in the paper. It was a woman in Baltimore City who had a litter of Yorkie puppies.
So basically, not a good breeder lol. I always questioned if Jackson was maybe a Silky Terrier or had some in him. He has all of the features/personality traits from what I've seen. He is longer than he is tall, he has a longer muzzle, bigger ears, etc.
Odds are that he was just a badly bred not up to standard Yorkie as I know Silky's are more rare. However I was under the impression that some will use Silky mama's because they are often bigger and can produce more pups. I had read that happens sometimes with shady breeders.
Embark DNA tests seem to be the most accurate. They have a ton of research behind them, I've read a TON of raving reviews. Besides breed, they also do health tests for certain genetic issues, so I was curious.
Well... *drum roll please*... Jackson, my 18lb long bodied big eared boy
, is 100% pure Yorkie!
He also tested CLEAR for all of the things they test for.
Quote:
Good news! Jackson tested clear for 3 genetic conditions that are common in his breed.
CONDITION LIST
Progressive Retinal Atrophy - prcd
Progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRCD Exon 1)
EYES
Primary Lens Luxation
(ADAMTS17)
EYES
L-2-Hydroxyglutaricaciduria
(L2HGDH)
BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD
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Also clear of 162 other genetic diseases they test for.
The only "warning" I got was
Quote:
Low Normal
TEST RESULT
Jackson has one copy of a mutation associated with reduced ALT activity as measured on veterinary blood chemistry panels. Please inform your veterinarian that Jackson has this genotype, as ALT is often used as an indicator of liver health and Jackson is likely to have a lower than average resting ALT activity. As such, an increase in Jackson’s ALT activity could be evidence of liver damage, even if it is within normal limits by standard ALT reference ranges.
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So I'll definitely be bringing all of this information into my vet to discuss.
Very very cool information to have and I love how much stuff they gave me.
Here is the shareable link:
https://my.embarkvet.com/dog/jackson67
Only thing they got way off was his weight. They said predicted adult weight 9lbs and he's like 18lbs lol.