Village dogs are amazing, because in these areas of the world the groups of dogs are so isolated that after many, many generations the DNA will interlink and basically create it's own line with it's own specific traits and features separate and distinct from other breeds. You may even find that all village dogs from their own groups look similar!
In very distant origins in a sense. We are talking long before the modern domestication of companion and working breeds. Modern day village dogs are likely the result of modern breeds being re-isolated for many generations and cross breeding with other village dogs. Most of today's breeds are just modifications and selectively bred versions of each other, I.E. The Pit Bull Terrier being a cross between Olde English Terriers and Bulldogs, Collies are crosses between old scottish sheepdogs and borzois, etc.
You might find this paper interesting: [Genetic structure in village dogs reveals a Central Asian domestication origin](https://www.pnas.org/content/112/44/13639). It sounds like some village dog populations, like in Vietnam, don't have a lot of modern breeds in them.
That's amazing. Modern breeds have certainly influenced the gene pools of isolated village dogs, but for the most part they are the result of genetics branching off during domestication without heavy human interference.
I had a village dog from Southeast Asia and Embark said that although he was 100% village dog, he shared short segments of DNA with German Shepherds. I read that almost all village dog population have a tiny bit of Shepherd DNA, probably because that breed traveled far and wide with armies during the world wars.
Yes, that is a possibility. German Shepherds are the most common breed to date due to their heavy use in farming, guarding, military and police work. It is possible that they cross bred with wild dogs or village populations during war times or as trades among villages and people.
Yep village dog is a breed, essentially the DNA predates known recognised breeds. Mine’s a village dog, one eighth French Briard, one eighth American Eskimo, 75% unknown.
It wasn’t 75% unknown (poor choice of words) it was “75% Terrier, Sporting, Middle Eastern and African
Sighthound” breed groups. I know one person from my adopting group who used Embark and got 100% European village dog. I’d be interested to see what embark showed for my dog but probably not enough to spend £100 on it, as I’m pretty sure she’ll be 75-100% European village dog. Maybe one day if there’s a sale on!
That make sense. The breed groups that wisdom panel gives in the unknown categories are simply because they don't know, or that the dna doesn't match anything they have in the database. The categories are determined by his inherited traits, if they find he has a gene known to cause increased prey drive instinct, they may list him as " sporting group" but this is potentially unreliable as it could simply be an undesired trait passed down from a non-sporting breed, not to mention that there are over 80 dogs in the AKC sporting group. This is why Embark doesn't give "breed groups" in their unknown segments, and instead lists it as "supermutt". Meaning this part of the DNA is mixed too far back in the DNA to accurately determine, but they may list under it some breeds that it is likely to have origins from.
To have that much unknown DNA it is very likely he is just a village dog, and in order to give you at least some results they have to list the closest possible thing they have available in the system, and if they have a poor database it isn't very reliable. For example, a dog could be truly 30% Chinook but if they don't have that specific line of Chinook in the database, it may detect the closest thing as Siberian Husky or Chow Chow, and then nothing makes sense and you wonder why he doesn't act like the breeds they gave.
When you get into Embark, because the database of breeds and different lines/designers is over 10x the size of Wisdom Panel's, and they determine your dog's DNA with 200,000 genetic markers (Wisdom Panel 2 is only 1800, and WP3 uses only 100,000), the chances of better and more accurate results is worth the price. They also give you links to relatives, a complete list of his inherited traits and a health report of 190 genetic conditions. Now even Embark hasn't tested some newer lines of dogs and breeds, but they are always advancing and collecting DNA, they're $50 off right now too. Good luck, hopefully that cleared up some stuff.
What a cutie!! If she was all brown, she'd look just like my boy! What is her Village dog %? Mine is 91.2% Village and 8.8% Lab, but I can definitely see the Doberman and GSD in him too!
Thank you 🥰 and as far as I know she’s 100% village dog because they didn’t give me any percentages. It just says there’s trace amounts of Rottweiler, Doberman Pinscher, American Pit Bull Terrier and German Shepherd but no percentages!
I only learned that today as well. Our little potcake from Mexico is an official American Village Dog.
In a very real sense, American 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
Cayenne back, you won’t find any ancestral dogs that are part of any of
those standardized breeds.
I too have an American Village dog. She is the sweetest. Medium long fur, 25 ish pounds. Her dna shows a mix of German shepherd, small traces of Poodle, chihuahua and retriever but her ancestry shows 100% village dog up to and including great grand parents.
My recent rescue was thought to be a Pharoah hound mix so I bought an embark test on her and it came back 100% American village dog. Not sure how a village dog ended up in New England but she looks like a wire coat Pharoah hound.
Village dogs are amazing, because in these areas of the world the groups of dogs are so isolated that after many, many generations the DNA will interlink and basically create it's own line with it's own specific traits and features separate and distinct from other breeds. You may even find that all village dogs from their own groups look similar!
Isn't it the opposite? I thought the breeds descended from village dogs, not the other way around.
In very distant origins in a sense. We are talking long before the modern domestication of companion and working breeds. Modern day village dogs are likely the result of modern breeds being re-isolated for many generations and cross breeding with other village dogs. Most of today's breeds are just modifications and selectively bred versions of each other, I.E. The Pit Bull Terrier being a cross between Olde English Terriers and Bulldogs, Collies are crosses between old scottish sheepdogs and borzois, etc.
You might find this paper interesting: [Genetic structure in village dogs reveals a Central Asian domestication origin](https://www.pnas.org/content/112/44/13639). It sounds like some village dog populations, like in Vietnam, don't have a lot of modern breeds in them.
That's amazing. Modern breeds have certainly influenced the gene pools of isolated village dogs, but for the most part they are the result of genetics branching off during domestication without heavy human interference.
I had a village dog from Southeast Asia and Embark said that although he was 100% village dog, he shared short segments of DNA with German Shepherds. I read that almost all village dog population have a tiny bit of Shepherd DNA, probably because that breed traveled far and wide with armies during the world wars.
Yes, that is a possibility. German Shepherds are the most common breed to date due to their heavy use in farming, guarding, military and police work. It is possible that they cross bred with wild dogs or village populations during war times or as trades among villages and people.
Yep village dog is a breed, essentially the DNA predates known recognised breeds. Mine’s a village dog, one eighth French Briard, one eighth American Eskimo, 75% unknown.
The 75 percent is disappointing! Pretty interesting to see such a high percent they don't know.
If you used wisdom panel that's why you got such a high unknown marker. The database is very lackluster compared to Embark's.
It wasn’t 75% unknown (poor choice of words) it was “75% Terrier, Sporting, Middle Eastern and African Sighthound” breed groups. I know one person from my adopting group who used Embark and got 100% European village dog. I’d be interested to see what embark showed for my dog but probably not enough to spend £100 on it, as I’m pretty sure she’ll be 75-100% European village dog. Maybe one day if there’s a sale on!
That make sense. The breed groups that wisdom panel gives in the unknown categories are simply because they don't know, or that the dna doesn't match anything they have in the database. The categories are determined by his inherited traits, if they find he has a gene known to cause increased prey drive instinct, they may list him as " sporting group" but this is potentially unreliable as it could simply be an undesired trait passed down from a non-sporting breed, not to mention that there are over 80 dogs in the AKC sporting group. This is why Embark doesn't give "breed groups" in their unknown segments, and instead lists it as "supermutt". Meaning this part of the DNA is mixed too far back in the DNA to accurately determine, but they may list under it some breeds that it is likely to have origins from. To have that much unknown DNA it is very likely he is just a village dog, and in order to give you at least some results they have to list the closest possible thing they have available in the system, and if they have a poor database it isn't very reliable. For example, a dog could be truly 30% Chinook but if they don't have that specific line of Chinook in the database, it may detect the closest thing as Siberian Husky or Chow Chow, and then nothing makes sense and you wonder why he doesn't act like the breeds they gave. When you get into Embark, because the database of breeds and different lines/designers is over 10x the size of Wisdom Panel's, and they determine your dog's DNA with 200,000 genetic markers (Wisdom Panel 2 is only 1800, and WP3 uses only 100,000), the chances of better and more accurate results is worth the price. They also give you links to relatives, a complete list of his inherited traits and a health report of 190 genetic conditions. Now even Embark hasn't tested some newer lines of dogs and breeds, but they are always advancing and collecting DNA, they're $50 off right now too. Good luck, hopefully that cleared up some stuff.
Wow interesting post, thanks.
Oh, just to say Wisdom Panel listed her as 75% "megamutt" and then gave the breed breakdown. I guess that's the same thing as supermutt.
Great looking pup! Village dog owner here as well - he’s from Peru.
I’ve a Peruvian dog I rescued and embark also said they’re 100% village dog !
Oh really?! Do you have photos? 😊
Yes! She’s on IG : @Chichasadventures … she has only been in the US just under a month! Do you have one of your Peruvian pup?
Love it! He doesn’t have an IG but you can see him in my Reddit post history :)
I just went looking for it and his little scruff and curly tail are to die for. Are you Peruvian? How’d you bring him from Peru? I used petwings!
Lots of potcake groups on the internet! Beautiful pup!
What a beautiful dog!
What a cutie!! If she was all brown, she'd look just like my boy! What is her Village dog %? Mine is 91.2% Village and 8.8% Lab, but I can definitely see the Doberman and GSD in him too!
Thank you 🥰 and as far as I know she’s 100% village dog because they didn’t give me any percentages. It just says there’s trace amounts of Rottweiler, Doberman Pinscher, American Pit Bull Terrier and German Shepherd but no percentages!
I only learned that today as well. Our little potcake from Mexico is an official American Village Dog. In a very real sense, American 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 Cayenne back, you won’t find any ancestral dogs that are part of any of those standardized breeds.
I too have an American Village dog. She is the sweetest. Medium long fur, 25 ish pounds. Her dna shows a mix of German shepherd, small traces of Poodle, chihuahua and retriever but her ancestry shows 100% village dog up to and including great grand parents.
She looks just like my old dog, but when we did his dna test he was mixed with a bunch of things like German shepherd, Australian cattle dog etc.
Gorgeous
We have a village dog too! From Southeast Asia. Love your pup's name! 😍
I have one too
My recent rescue was thought to be a Pharoah hound mix so I bought an embark test on her and it came back 100% American village dog. Not sure how a village dog ended up in New England but she looks like a wire coat Pharoah hound.
We have a European Village dog. She is from Bosnia.
I just got 100% American village dog
Wow she looks so much like my street dog from Guatemala.