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Dog DNA Test

7K views 36 replies 22 participants last post by  LeoRose 
#1 · (Edited)
Has anyone given their dog a DNA test? What would be the best to buy? I found a "Wisdom Panel DNA Test" at Petsmart, but wanted some opinions?!

My girl is supposedly mixed with Malamute-but I don't see it..
 

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#2 ·
We had a free DNA test sent to our clinic. We decided to use it on the vets pit bull. She came back as being a basset hound. I don't have much faith in them.
 
#3 ·
Long but good info!
Dog breed genetic tests put to the test - VIN

Also, why it makes this less than believable: http://sheltermedicine.vetmed.ufl.edu/li...ds/dna-results/

This post on a shelter medicine website where they showed pictures of dogs, the DNA results, and the shelter staff guesses as to breed, but they presented it as if the DNA results were definitive. But that doesn't seem like it is so.

A friend who is a scientist explained to me why they are not fully accurate but I didn't completely follow it! :D
 
#10 ·
Also, why it makes this less than believable: http://sheltermedicine.vetmed.ufl.edu/li...ds/dna-results/

This post on a shelter medicine website where they showed pictures of dogs, the DNA results, and the shelter staff guesses as to breed, but they presented it as if the DNA results were definitive. But that doesn't seem like it is so.

A friend who is a scientist explained to me why they are not fully accurate but I didn't completely follow it! :D
Some of those are results are so ridiculous! Particularly dogs 93 and 119. I've considered testing my little Chihuahua/terrier mix dog (I'd probably do it if was like $10) but judging from that her results would probably come back as Bulldog, Tibetan Mastiff, Irish Wolfhound, and American Staffordshire Terrier.

It looks like if the dog is a mix of any more than two purebreds the results are completely off.
 
#4 ·
An adopter of ours had their dog tested and he came back part Saluki.
Um...yeah, because there's Saluki's running everywhere out here in the country.
I'd save my $$ if it was me, too.
 
#8 ·
In defense of the test, the fact that Salukis are such an old, breed could lead to residual traces of their genetic structure in more modern breeds.
 
#5 ·
I recently had a woman bring me what looked like a Labradoodle. She'd had the DNA test done and it came back Poodle, GSD, Irish Wolfhound, Golden Retriever, and some kind of Terrier. :rolleyes:

She was convinced the test was accurate and even told me how the dog's physical and behavioral traits could be traced to each breed. "That's the Terrier in him", she'd say when I remarked about the coarse wiry hairs in his coat, and "that's the Retriever in him" when I talked about the soft cottony hairs in his coat.

Here's the dog... his matting was so extensive that I had to peel it off little by little with the clippers, and it came off in one big piece. The owner was clueless about that, too.

 
#6 ·
The good news is that DNA has traced 70% of all European men back to stone age hunters. The bad news would be that all dogs could be traced back to a few common ancestors. Problem is, these canine DNA reports link dogs to certain modern breeds instead of the ancestors of these breeds.

These tests may be so good that they pick up obscure dogs that were in the ancestry while men still lived in caves or they may be just flat out wrong. My sister has littermate Weimaraners, very typy dogs with flawless AKC pedigrees and AKC registrations. Their DNA came back reporting these dogs were a mix of breeds including 5% Fila Brasileiro and 10% Scottish deerhound, and 15% Entlebucher dog. What are the odds that there would be any of these rare breeds and what are the odds that the ancestry would be different in littermates. If the DNA reports were worded a little differently, I would not object so much. They could say your dog has 15% the same ancestry as the Entlebucher dog breed. I could believe these dogs had a common ancestor but not that my sister’s weimaraners had sires, grandsires or great grandsires out crossed with these breeds.
 
#7 ·
Thanks, I decided I'll save my money- I love her regardless!
 
#11 ·
Some brands specifically say they can't identify purebred dogs (for some convoluted reason :rolleyes:), which told me everything I need to know. You mean it doesn't work if you can prove the parentage?! ;)

One of the problems is that only one dog breed has had its DNA fully sequenced (Boxers, if I remember right). Another problem is that many breeds share common DNA markers, because they're very closely related. In fact, a lot of scientific study into canine DNA winds up emphasizing how closely related seemingly diverse breeds are. So between a lack of complete understanding of each breed's genetic markers, and then a lot of shared genetic markers between breeds, it starts to become really clear why those tests aren't trustworthy in the least.

I agree they could be fun if they were cheaper. I've thought about getting one for one of my dogs who often gets called a coyote, just so I could have a piece of paper that says he's 100% domesticated. ;) But then I don't really care enough to shell out the cash. It's kind of like psychic readings--good for fun and novelty only, and stands a good chance of telling the gullible what they want to hear!
 
#12 ·
I wanted to try it since apparently Remy is mixed with a malamute. But I don't think the shelter EVER saw the mom or dad considering she was from a "seized home" and when I think seized home, I think backyard breeding/puppy mill, etc... I'm just glad they got my baby and her litter out of whatever they were about to go through!!

However, I have had so many people say she looks full GSD. I just thought I could try it and see since she "may" be mixed with something and I would love to see the temperament of what she could be mixed with, but with all the responses and reviews I've read, I've decided not to. I don't care if she's purebred.. I love her all the same :D


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#17 ·
I wish they weren't 80 bucks a pop! I'd love to see what kinda things would show up on Remington! :)

They were offering DNA testing for free at the club where we train. It was not about breed identification though. They were studying genetic diseases in dogs.
Did you partake in it?

Specific DNA tests for reasons like that, or to identify the individual animal (for example, I have an Arabian horse and registered Arabians are DNA-tested to verify the parentage, since both parents also have DNA on file if they're young enough), are valid. It's just the general "identify the breed" tests that are unreliable to the point of uselessness. :)
So, even if came back with some crazy animal mixture, it could be true then?

They are fun, but don't put much stock into the results. I had one dog tested by the 3 companies and all 3 had something different!
Aww! What results did you get??
 
#15 ·
Specific DNA tests for reasons like that, or to identify the individual animal (for example, I have an Arabian horse and registered Arabians are DNA-tested to verify the parentage, since both parents also have DNA on file if they're young enough), are valid. It's just the general "identify the breed" tests that are unreliable to the point of uselessness. :)
 
#22 ·
As Rowdy dogs said, they often test animals to prove who the parents are. Especially in the bully breeds, often the pups are dna tested to prove parentage, mom and dad really are the parents of that puppy. But it is not at all testing the breed of the dogs, just proving parentage.
I have almost zero (you just gotta have a little though lol) faith in breed dna testing, but I'd love to have the money to blow just to get that good laugh. I would test my supposedly border collie/rottweiler/labrador and my german shepherd, whose parents, grandparents, great grandparents and beyond I have knows since puppies and grew up with. I'd love to see those dna results haha.
 
#23 ·
With Spirit she came back a combination of Saluki, Scottish Terrier, Border Collie, Basset Hound, GSD and a couple others I don't recall. She is a 40 pound Sheltie looking mixed breed, but Sheltie never showed up!
 
#25 ·
So apparently I take too long to edit late at night... ;) In my paragraph about genetic disease, the last sentence was meant to read, "And there are plenty of purebred N/N Quarter Horses, so the absence of HYPP doesn't prove anything, either." (changes in italics)

Hope that makes more sense.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Bumping this old thread.

Has anyone had any more recent results? I am thinking of getting a DNA test for High Jinks. I've had enough dog people tell me they see no Malinois at all in him (which is interesting because I get quite a few NON-dog people ask me if he's a "Belgian" LOL!)

 
#28 ·
Bumping this old thread.

Has anyone had any more recent results? I am thinking of getting a DNA test for High Jinks. I've had enough dog people tell me they see no Malinois at all in him (which is interesting because I get quite a few NON-dog people ask me if he's a "Belgian" LOL!)
Belgian Shepherds, German Shepherds and Dutch Shepherds are all closely related in their origin. It might be impossible to truly differentiate those breeds with DNA.
 
#31 ·
#33 ·
The picture is over exposed. He's more red than blonde- though he's not dark like KNPV Mals.
 
#36 ·
I don't know how the DNA test works, and I didn't claim to know. I see that the "professional" version also includes "type" in the results while the cheaper home version does not. Perhaps they found a way to differentiate them. I have no idea... The list could simply mean that those breeds are identifiable. If Groens and Tervs differ only based on their coat length and color- then I see no reason why one wouldn't be able to identify it based on DNA- the same DNA that controls coat length and color... :shrug:
 
#37 ·
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