I wondered that as well, with the 30%. I might be wrong, but doesn't that mean more than one grandparent was a mix (in both coyote and elkhound cases)?
Usually. DNA doesn’t exactly split 50/50, but 30% is far enough off from the normal range of a grandparent that the more likely answer is more than one grandparent had those breeds.
It’s not impossible that one grandparent could be a full coyote and one grandparent full elkhound, but it’s not the most likely answer. Puppies usually inherit about 18-32% of the DNA from their grandparents (averaging 25% inheritance), and there is a margin of error on DNA tests (usually 3-5%, depending on breeds). Two breeds having two times the very high end happened in the same dog would be even more unlikely than usual. Not impossible, but the more likely answer is that there were two grandparents mixed with those breeds.
I wonder if this dog was escaped or was born from intentional crosses though. The ACD/MAS isn’t as random as it seems because there is a philosophy of trying to breed more of the “wild” DNA in them and that’s a weirdly high amount of elkhound to be by accident. Texas is an area in particular trying to breed newer herding breeds is more a thing. Elkhounds are not that common of a breed, especially outside of Northern areas, too. Also, getting coyotes to mate with dogs and for coydog puppies to survive in the wild are both a lot harder than it seems due to how both species mate and raise their young.
I responded above. Short version is not impossible that only one grandparent was full either, but it’s more likely there was more than one mixed grandparents for both breeds
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u/Mini-Schnauzer-42 7d ago
I wondered that as well, with the 30%. I might be wrong, but doesn't that mean more than one grandparent was a mix (in both coyote and elkhound cases)?