# Looking for insights on what breeds are mixed in my two babies!



## BattalionPoodle (Jul 18, 2021)

This is Charlie( blonde male 2yrs old 48 pounds)
And Ruby ( black female 1 yr old 55 pounds)

We were told when we purchased them that Charlie is a moyen poodle and Ruby is a standard poodle. However we have always known they are not pure breds, and we were hoping somebody could tell us what they thought they looked like. Also wondering if Rubys curly tail is an issue.


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## Phaz23 (May 31, 2020)

Look like poodles to me 😊 the faces are a little wide but not enough for me to suspect a mix- poodles do have curled tails, they’re just docked, high on the back, and held more straight in show pups. You could always embark test to know for sure 🧪


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## TeamHellhound (Feb 5, 2021)

The look pretty Poodley to me. You could do a "guess the breeds" test like Embark or Wisdom Panel if you really wanted to find out.


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## Misteline (Mar 10, 2019)

They both look like standard poodles to me. If they're a mix I would still guess at least 75% poodle. And they have lovely natural tails. I'm particularly taken with Charlie's tail, but Ruby's circle is very fetching. Her tail would definitely make a show breeder cry though, not sure where one would dock that! Lol. She probably would have ended up with one of those unfortunate 'bunny' docks...


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

The only way to tell for sure is with a genetic test. 

Several of us on this board have pure poodles with curly tails. My boy Galen is one; Bobby, owned by Spottytoes, is another. The curl wouldn't be desirable in a conformation show dog, but Galen is just a pet. I keep Galen's tail hair long, and the curl hides the fact that he doesn't have a docked tail. People just see a dog with a mound of fluff on his rump. I can tell when he is sick or upset, because his tail loses its curl and hangs down like a horse's tail.


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

My brother got an embark test on sale during Amazon Prime... You might want to keep your eye out for a good dea`l.


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## BattalionPoodle (Jul 18, 2021)

cowpony said:


> The only way to tell for sure is with a genetic test.
> 
> Several of us on this board have pure poodles with curly tails. My boy Galen is one; Bobby, owned by Spottytoes, is another. The curl wouldn't be desirable in a conformation show dog, but Galen is just a pet. I keep Galen's tail hair long, and the curl hides the fact that he doesn't have a docked tail. People just see a dog with a mound of fluff on his rump. I can tell when he is sick or upset, because his tail loses its curl and hangs down like a horse's tail.


How curly is your dogs tail? I can't imagine Ruby's tail ever going straight lol. Thanks so much for the insight.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Those are two very cute poodles! 

Something about the set of Charlie’s eyes makes me think _maybe_ a bit of pit or a beautifully blocky headed Golden or lab. But the only way to know is a DNA test. Humans are notoriously bad at guessing mixes. (There was a study done on this, which was really interesting.)


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## BattalionPoodle (Jul 18, 2021)

Thanks for all your opinions. The more info we can get on our two favorite non human beings, the better.


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## artichokepainting (Mar 23, 2021)

My boy looks very much exactly like Charlie but all black, super curly tail too. If his tail is curled up he’s good and happy, and when it’s straight you know something is bothering him!


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

If you're considering doing the DNA test for breed identity, a member, Liz, just yesterday mentioned that Embark is offering $50 USD off their combination DNA + genetic health testing. If they came from a breeder who didn't do health testing of the sire and dam, the health testing might be something to look at.

Embark Breed + Health Kit – Embark Vet

Whatever DNA might say, they look like wonderful pups .


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

The straighter hair on Charlie's tail and his blockier head make me think he could have golden or lab in there. Ruby just looks like an off-standard poodle to me. Plenty of poodles like her are produced out there by breeders that aren't breeding with poodle breed traits in mind.


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## BattalionPoodle (Jul 18, 2021)

Raindrops said:


> The straighter hair on Charlie's tail and his blockier head make me think he could have golden or lab in there. Ruby just looks like an off-standard poodle to me. Plenty of poodles like her are produced out there by breeders that aren't breeding with poodle breed traits in mind.


That is a very astute observation. I was thinking hopefully they mix they do have will help with their genetic diversity and health. I couldn't care less how purebred they are, in fact I wouldn't trade any of their traits for anything lol.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

BattalionPoodle said:


> I was thinking hopefully they mix they do have will help with their genetic diversity and health


Unfortunately, it adds together the potential health issues of all the parent breeds. Diversity matters within a pure breed to avoid breeding in weaknesses.

Genes from different breeds can be mixed, but that's not what diversity in this context refers to.

_There are two factors that must be considered when evaluating genetic diversity and health issues in a breed; the average level of inbreeding, and detrimental recessive genes. With a small population, there is a tendency to find higher average inbreeding coefficients due to the relatedness between dogs from common ancestors. There is, however, no specific level or percentage of inbreeding that causes impaired health or vigor. 
The problems that inbreeding depression cause in purebred populations stem from the effects of deleterious recessive genes. If the founding population of a breed produces a high frequency of a deleterious recessive gene, then the breed will have issues with that disorder. This can be seen as smaller litter size, increased neonatal death, high frequency genetic disease, or impaired immunity. If these issues are present then the breed needs to seriously consider limited genetic diversity.
If a breed starts narrowing their focus to breeding stock from a limited number of lines, then a loss of genetic diversity will occur.
The process of maintaining healthy lines, with many breeders crossing between lines and breeding back as they see fit, maintains diversity in the gene pool.

Definition of breed: a specific type of a domesticated species, like a poodle or Great Dane. A breed standard is written to describe the characteristics and traits that will be reliably reproduced from generation to the generation. _


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

Here’s Bobby poodle with his glorious curly tail. He’s currently groomed a bit shorter
for summer. This picture is before his summer haircut. While he definitely won’t win any conformation shows and I’m quite sure a show breeder would cry, we think his tail is one of the most endearing parts of him. It literally shivers when he’s happy and when you talk to him. It is truly a very happy and 
expressive tail. 😍 
Your pups are adorable and they look like poodles to me but as others have said, you won’t really know without the genetic 
testing.😊

Here’s how Bobby looks now… a definitely curly, wonky but much loved happy tail.😉


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## WinnieThePoodle (Sep 1, 2020)

Winnie has a very curly tail. I use it to read her. She is very expressive with it.


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## Ava. (Oct 21, 2020)

they look like pure bred, not well bred, poodles.


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