In a previous post, you may have read about our new puppy Yvie. She’s an interesting little girl because she doesn’t really look like any dog we’re familiar with.

When we first saw her, we thought she might be a Belgian Malinois. She has the typical sable coloring, short hair, and slim body. But the shelter listed her as a German Shepherd mix. She was smart like a Malinois but didn’t have that high guarding energy. And she didn’t have the long hair of a German shepherd. Also, her round eyes and shorter snout indicated a touch of Australian cattle dog. Then the vet mentioned a Jack Russell terrier, which made me wonder even more.

Is This a Belgian Malinois? Or German Shepherd? Or Terrier?

Curious about her breed mix, we bought an Embark DNA test at the pet store and sent in the mouth swab. Now, the doggie DNA results are back, which both surprised us and confirmed some of what we guessed.

What is the Mix on This Breed?

First, let me ask, what’s your best guess? A Belgian Malinois has that short hair and sable coloring. My husband thought cattle dog from those round eyes and short snout but she was missing the thick body.

Well, Yvie is not fully either. She’s mostly German shepherd and Australian cattle dog, with a little terrier. This makes a lot of sense. She’s super smart like a shepherd and wants to stay busy like a cattle dog. And now that she’s about five months old, we can tell she probably won’t grow very tall. So she’s like an Australian cattle dog with, as the dog class teacher said, “deer legs.”

This matches with her active but highly focused personality. She loves to fetch and is always alert. And now that we know her breed, we understand her better. We get why she’s always looking for something to do. We get why she likes to stay near “her person.” We get why she likes to chew on her yak cheese sticks, which I can’t recommend enough for busy dogs.

One drawback is the DNA test wasn’t inexpensive, but I have to say it’s worth it. It helped us accommodate Yvie’s needs better. She now enjoys more food puzzles, more dog TV on youtube, and more walkies and fetch. And because she’s a happier dog, we’re happier humans!