Dog DNA Test: What I Learnt About My Dog From It

I knew my terrier mix dog was majestic AF

Dogs. They're just the best right? That's why puppy leave is actually a thing and why we play our dogs music to keep them happy. In fact, having a dog is also meant to make you healthier, too.

I was almost 18 when we got Darcy. An 18-month mutt from Battersea Dog's Home who was more miniature Chewbacca than dog - thanks to his overgrown hair.

His original name was 'Bit-bit' (yes, like Britney Spears' dog which unsurprisingly did not make the most popular dogs name list) and the shelter had no idea what breed he was or really why he was given away. He was pretty breed-ambivalent and I'm still convinced he's one of the most handsome and smart dogs ever - but maybe I'm a bit biased.

It didn't take us long to fall for him. He was unsure and a little quiet (at first) but I could see his scrappy potential and after a while his bossy, annoying but absolutely adorable, personality eventually came out.

So when I discovered you could take a dog DNA test, I immediately wanted to find out exactly what breeds Darcy was (literally) made of and put my dog mom hat on.

I ordered it from Viaguard Animal Health UK for £34 and upon arrival, it looked pretty simple.

It promises to be a quick and easy process. All you need to do is take their cotton bud and swab your dog's right cheek with one and their left cheek with the other.

They recommend rubbing this into their cheek for DNA (rather than just saliva) for around 20 seconds but Darcy wasn't having any of it.

He immediately got suspicious of my actions and started getting agitated. I won't lie, my dog is pretty sassy and maybe it is actually easy if your dog is well-behaved.

I basically had to swab it inside his cheek in-between barks and his grizzly snares and I definitely did not manage to get a good 20 seconds worth of swab so I was worried when I sent it off.

But, I was pleasantly surprised to get a certificate (yes, they make you send a photo of your dog too!) in my e-mail inbox two weeks later.

So it turns out my little man is mainly terrier (as expected) but also a bit corgi - so who knows maybe he's related to one of Queen Elizabeth's corgis?

Because Darcy is such a mix, he didn't have a level 1 breed as that means your dog is 75% or more of this breed. Instead, level 2 means he's around 35-45% of this breed and then level 3 is probably from a grandparent, level 4 from a great-grandparent and level 5 from a distant relative.

Fascinating stuff, right?