Drum roll, please……………………Bernie is an American Staffordshire Terrier and Australian Shepherd Mix, WHAT?! As you know, I truly and wholeheartedly believe Bernie to be mostly of a Basenji mix. His temperament, his vocalizations or lack thereof, his response with training all pointed towards some level of Basenji, but the DNA test through Wisdom Panel 2.0 said otherwise. Even friends who know Bernie think his determined genealogy is crazy since he doesn’t fit nicely into either of these breed types. Our experience shows how an individual dog’s personality should always be taken into consideration when considering adopting a dog and in undergoing training. Check out Bernie’s Wisdom Panel 2.0
As you may know both breeds are hard working would be suitable and thrive in agility and sports like flyball. The American Staffordshire Terrier can be aggressive towards other pets and people. The Australian Shepherd has a tendency towards herding which may lead the breed to be barkers. Well, these aren’t necessarily consistent with Bernie. Bernie is a more reserved character. He is very intelligent, but conservative towards actively engaging with new people, new dogs and with training. He took about a year to really see his true personality and find the way towards his training motivation. Maybe with time, Bernie may enjoy agility, but I’ll be sticking with throwing the ball and working on recall with him first, since he’s finally showing interest! The barking, well, Bernie virtually never barks.
The DNA test gave us a definitive answer from one company about Bernie’s heritage, but it also left me with more questions. I question the test true validity and whether or not I should retest him. What do you think?
Four Paws & You Dog Training 