Why does my purebred Miniature Schnauzer have Poodle ancestry in their results?

We’ve recently seen purebred Miniature Schnauzers returning with Poodle ancestry despite no previous evidence of Poodle ancestry in their lineage. This is very likely a result of updates to our reference databases. Reference panel updates can sometimes result in variations in breed results between generations, depending on which version of our database a given dog was tested against. As we grow our reference databases and improve our algorithms, changes like these are to be expected. 

Rest assured that ancestry from another breed does not contradict your Schnauzer’s status as a registered “purebred”, as this relies on pedigree records, not genetic testing. In fact, individual dogs registered as purebreds can (and often do) display ancestry from a few different breeds. You can read more in our blog post here.