Why do my dog's relatives have different breeds than my dog?

Great question! Breed ancestry seen in dogs on the Relatives tab could differ from your dog for a few reasons. 

While we can accurately resolve ancestry based on distinct genetic markers, certain breeds, and populations have quite a bit of genetic overlap due to their shared histories. It’s therefore not uncommon for dogs from distinct populations to share considerable amounts of DNA. This phenomenon is especially common for the following populations:

• Bully Breeds, especially American Bullies, American Pit Bull Terriers, and American Staffordshire Terriers
• German Shepherds and White/Swiss Shepherds
• Village Dogs and German Shepherds
• Yorkshire Terriers and Biewer Terriers

Another possibility is that it's because of genetic Recombination. Recombination is a concept that explains how each dog in a litter inherits half of their chromosomes from each parent, however, each dog does not inherit the same chromosomes as its siblings. This can lead to genetic results and physical appearances that widely differ among immediate relatives. 

Learn more about Recombination in the following articles:

• How Littermates Can Look So Different
• Genetic Inheritance & Recombination

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