@jewe6l0187 Thank you! Yours is too! I've definitely thought about it. It would be super interesting but the cost has always been a bit off-putting to me. Maybe for my birthday next year 
[Fluff][Breed] DNA Results! I'm very surprised! Tell me what you think!
- Thread starter jewe6l0187
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miminonoko
New member
@jewe6l0187 How interesting! I understand your surprise, because my dog is apparently also part Foxhound, and I was surprised too. So surprised, in fact, that I wrote to Mars Veterinary with some questions. They really cleared things up for me, so I'll share what I found out.
Are you surprised just because she's all one breed, or were you expecting a different breed based on her coat coloring? If the latter, here's basically the gist of what I learned after writing back about my own hound's DNA results and also talking to some other hound people: there is extremely little genetic difference between the different U.S. coonhound/foxhound breeds. Additionally, there is a ton of interbreeding between the different breeds, since in the vast majority of cases, all anyone really cares about is if a dog is healthy and a good hunter; very, very few people are breeding these dogs to show or to keep as pets. This explains why you may see two dogs who look almost literally identical but they turn out to be different breeds (for example, my dog is virtually indistinguishable from another dog who turned out to be all American English Coonhound), and it also explains why two dogs of the same breed may have quite a different coat color or pattern, even one that breed club standards may tell you isn't "permissible".
So anyway, that explains how your dog is all Foxhound without having the most common marking of a black saddle and tricolor coat, and it also explains how my dog is only Treeing Walker Coonhound and American Foxhound yet is covered in ticking (which is generally more a trait of redticks or blueticks).
Are you surprised just because she's all one breed, or were you expecting a different breed based on her coat coloring? If the latter, here's basically the gist of what I learned after writing back about my own hound's DNA results and also talking to some other hound people: there is extremely little genetic difference between the different U.S. coonhound/foxhound breeds. Additionally, there is a ton of interbreeding between the different breeds, since in the vast majority of cases, all anyone really cares about is if a dog is healthy and a good hunter; very, very few people are breeding these dogs to show or to keep as pets. This explains why you may see two dogs who look almost literally identical but they turn out to be different breeds (for example, my dog is virtually indistinguishable from another dog who turned out to be all American English Coonhound), and it also explains why two dogs of the same breed may have quite a different coat color or pattern, even one that breed club standards may tell you isn't "permissible".
So anyway, that explains how your dog is all Foxhound without having the most common marking of a black saddle and tricolor coat, and it also explains how my dog is only Treeing Walker Coonhound and American Foxhound yet is covered in ticking (which is generally more a trait of redticks or blueticks).
jewe6l0187
New member
@miminonoko Thank you for this! It was very informative, I wonder if Mars will follow up with this information as well.
miminonoko
New member
@jewe6l0187 I don't think they will; I think unless you write them with questions, the initial report is what you get. But they were so helpful and thorough in answering my questions, so if you have any, it's absolutely worth writing them!
jewe6l0187
New member
@miminonoko I feel very satisfied with your answer so I don't think I'll do much follow up. I love my goofy girl even more now that I know for sure what kind of hound she is
so I don't think I'll do much follow up. I love my goofy girl even more now that I know for sure what kind of hound she is