About Traits

From Wonder to Wisdom

The purebred Pumi, the cute Yoodle, and even that rascally LabaSpanTerriPherd your neighbor adopted—every dog displays traits unique to their breed makeup. But accurately identifying a mixed-breed dog without a DNA test is practically impossible (even for trained professionals).

Whether you’ve always wondered about the specific breed makeup of your pup or are simply curious about their wiry hair, our dog DNA tests will help you understand where their physical traits come from.

What are "traits" exactly?

Traits are the distinguishing qualities or characteristics—including hair length and color, muzzle shape, and much more—that make your pup one-of-a-kind. Similar to humans, dogs inherit traits based on several factors.

And though your pup may display a trait you’d associate with a certain breed, that doesn’t necessarily mean they have that breed in them. The opposite is also true: You shouldn’t rule out a breed based on the absence of a signature trait.

You can learn about how your dog inherited their unique look—from head shape to tail length and everything in between—with a single DNA test.

Same, but Different

Looking at your own family, you likely see plenty of variation in physical appearance—even among parents and siblings. Dogs are no different! During egg and sperm cell production, chromosomes swap various pieces of DNA. This process (called genetic recombination) happens as genes pass from one generation to the next, determining which traits get inherited.

Because of the random nature of gene inheritance, DNA test results for siblings may report a slightly different mix of breeds. The pups shown here are a great example, as they’re from the same mother.