But if you go with Akita, Rottweiler, Pit Bull, and we’ll throw a bit of Chow into the mix, it’s interesting (actually a bit inspiring) to go beyond the recent hype and hysteria and look at how these breeds came into being and how their relationships with human beings evolved.

Chows are one of the “ancient breeds,” one of the dogs that has changed the least from its original form. So Chows and human beings have been together for thousands of years.

Akitas are a much newer breed. A single Akita is revered throughout Japan for his amazing behavior after his human’s death. He returned every day to a railroad station to wait for the man–and he did it for years. I suspect if you asked a Japanese person, he or she might say that the Akita embodies some of the virtues that are important in Japan–honor, tenacity, dignity, and devotion to duty.

As for Rottweilers and Pit Bulls, both of these dogs were bred to help with the labors of the farm. They honestly believed in England that having a bull baited and fought by a dog at market time somehow tenderized the meat. (Don’t ask me, I don’t have a clue, but it’s one reason the “sport” evolved. I guess that’s where the “bull” came from in their name.) When the bull-fighting dog wasn’t busy fighting, it was a working farm dog–killing vermin, guarding livestock, and–yes–looking after the children. Same goes for the Rottweiler, though I don’t know if they were ever run in fights. We should remember that as recently as a couple of years ago a Rottweiler saved the life of the young child he was looking after by tenaciously alerting her family to the fact that she was injured and unconscious. I guess if a Rottweiler wants you to know that something is wrong, he’s going to convince you.

So you might look at Ace as the product of four kinds of dogs that have been of immeasurable value to human beings for thousands of years. They wouldn’t have survived this long without some outstanding qualities. Add to that the fact that he’s been brought up in a good home by people who care for him, and it’s almost inevitable that he would be a great dog.

[quote]Sure, there are those new DNA tests that are being sold to “..tell you the breed makeup of your dog…”, but the genetic scientists I have spoken too generously call those tests “well marketed consumer products.” In other words in the scientific class of those late night infomercial products.[/quote]

I can`t figure out why anyone would care about the genetic makeup of a mutt.

If anyone is concerned about medical problems in certain Breeds,don`t get a Pure Breed and better yet perhaps it`s time to change Breeding practices so those prevalent Medical problems disappear.

Frankly I don`t see any useful purpose for these tests but I certainly see potential for misuse unless of course the real reason they are being developed is as a tool for enforcing Breed Bans.

I wouldn`t be voluntarily contributing my dogs DNA to help with further development of those tests.

Dog Owners beware.
That would be my advice.