Dog DNA Tests - Update in thread

madamerwin · April 2015

I posted last week about our new puppy Monty, who is amazing, BTW. When we got him, they told us he was a 10 week-old Plott Hound/Lab mix, and he was about 16 lbs. That would make him 60-80 lbs when full grown (best guess based on breeds).

However, I took him to the vet yesterday for a shot, and he is losing his baby teeth - which means he is probably at least a month older than we originally thought. That would make him about 4 months old now, and 21 lbs. Based on his weight and age, they think he will only be 40-50 lbs full-grown. Now we have NO IDEA what breed(s) he is, since 40-50 lbs would be small for a Plott/Lab. And while it does not really matter what he is, we are so damn curious. He's brown/black brindle, which narrows down what he could be (not terribly common coloring), but we just don't know what he could be mixed with.

So, FI decided to buy a dog DNA test on Amazon (I feel ridiculous even typing that). From what I hear from others who have done it, the results can be very accurate or completely insane. Anyone done this before? Do you think it was accurate? I'd be curious to hear anyone's results. (Though I don't expect many people to have experience with this...)

TL;DR: Has anyone done a DNA test on their dog, and how accurate do you think it was?

minttobemrsb · April 2015

I've never done one, although we have wondered what our cute little pound puppy really is. Anyway, when I saw this, it made me think of this video..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsXpjyA12CE 

SmileDamnit · April 2015

We did one of the cheek swab/mail in ones for a dog we used to have and it was totally crap. I'm on mobile so I can't post a pic, but he was obviously some sort of GSD mix, and it came back a 30% split b/w border collie, saluki, and mutt.

I have heard the blood tests you can get at vets are fairly accurate, however.

beethery · April 2015

My mom got a DNA test for their dog, one of the cheek swab ones. When we got him, the shelter told us he was a terrier mix and probably wouldn't get to be more than 20lbs.

The most they could pull form him was 13% each of australian shepherd, lab, and dalmatian. The rest is so mutty they couldn't get more breeds out of him. Australian Dalmador. He's 77lbs and looks like all 3 of those things.

jenna8984 · April 2015

Did anyone else see this title and instantly think of Bruiser Woods (legally blonde 2)? Haha

theartistformerlyknownas · April 2015

A friend of mine did it (no idea which kind) and it seemed pretty accurate. Actually, so accurate that I'm not quite sure why she felt it was necessary. :-p

luckya23 · April 2015

I got one for my dog!

Whether or not it's accurate... who knows! Apparently my guesses weren't accurate, but I also haven't so much changed what I tell people she is. I always said Rottweiler/Border Collie. Turns out she's mostly mutt, but the only breeds they could identify were Great Pyrenees, Boxer, and Pitbull. LOTS of question marks in her family tree!

doeydo · April 2015

I don't have anything helpful to contribute, but when I read the title my mind pictured dogs trying to figure out if they are the father of certain puppies.

LabLove86 · April 2015

I worked in an animal clinic for 6 years.

We had a rep come in once for some brand of the DNA test trying to sell them to the clinic - it would be a blood test as opposed to the Amazon cheek swabs. So one of the girls who had a Golden Retriever, who was from a very reputable breeder in our area, and who had lineage on both sides going back at least 4 generations, had her pup tested so we would know the accuracy of that specific brand.

It came back that her pup had 11 different dog breeds. Needless to say - we did not endorsing this brand.

I have heard pretty OK things about the cheek swab ones from Amazon. I would just take the results with a grain of salt.

FiancB · April 2015

I don't see how they could be very accurate. There are a LOT of breeds out there, many of whom are pretty closely related.

For example, Shelties have a lot of collie blood. The generations where they were bred with collies for type are still so recent that pet quality SHelties still tend to be quite a bit larger than they should be and have a lot of Collie type. Mine was such an example- tall with a big nose and beady eyes.

Purebred Sheltie but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the test came back saying she was Collie either because they didn't bother including Shelties or because they're genetically extremely similar.

I don't see a genetic test really being any better than a good guess.

madamerwin · April 2015

LabLove86 said:
I worked in an animal clinic for 6 years.

We had a rep come in once for some brand of the DNA test trying to sell them to the clinic - it would be a blood test as opposed to the Amazon cheek swabs. So one of the girls who had a Golden Retriever, who was from a very reputable breeder in our area, and who had lineage on both sides going back at least 4 generations, had her pup tested so we would know the accuracy of that specific brand.

It came back that her pup had 11 different dog breeds. Needless to say - we did not endorsing this brand.

I have heard pretty OK things about the cheek swab ones from Amazon. I would just take the results with a grain of salt.

That definitely sounds suspicious! I definitely know that the results will be in no way definitive, but hey, it'll be interesting at the least.

I DO know that there is a very high risk of contamination with the cheek swab tests. The instructions online say not to feed your dog for a couple of hours beforehand, but they do not mention that you should keep them from chewing on anything, or licking anything, for a few hours before - basically if they make contact with anything leading up to the test, it can get contaminated.

doeydo said:
I don't have anything helpful to contribute, but when I read the title my mind pictured dogs trying to figure out if they are the father of certain puppies.

And yep, that is what I first thought of.

hellosweetie1015 · April 2015

luckya23 said:
I got one for my dog!
Whether or not it's accurate... who knows! Apparently my guesses weren't accurate, but I also haven't so much changed what I tell people she is. I always said Rottweiler/Border Collie. Turns out she's mostly mutt, but the only breeds they could identify were Great Pyrenees, Boxer, and Pitbull. LOTS of question marks in her family tree!

Bebe's got a Pyr-shaped head, for sure.

I'd LOVE to do this on my dogs just to test for accuracy. I've got a purebred Pyr and a purebred Bichon, and so I'd love to see what results I get. But.... I know what they are, and so it's wasted money haha.

sophhabobopha · April 2015

minttobemrsb said:
I've never done one, although we have wondered what our cute little pound puppy really is. Anyway, when I saw this, it made me think of this video..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsXpjyA12CE 

Poodle penis LMFAO.

madamerwin · April 2015

minttobemrsb said:
I've never done one, although we have wondered what our cute little pound puppy really is. Anyway, when I saw this, it made me think of this video..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsXpjyA12CE 

"The body of a small deer!" This is hilarious. I love Funny or Die.

climbingsingle · April 2015

I'm tempted to do this, because I have no idea what my Stella is. She's definitely pitbull, but who knows what else she's mixed with. But I've also heard they can be total BS.

flutteringinfl · April 2015

FI had a DNA test done on his dog right before we met. I have no idea how accurate it was, but here's a picture of the pooch and the test results:

amelisha · April 2015

This is the most middle-class-problems thread ever and I love it.

I'm also fascinated that these exist and might sort of work, maybe?

buttercup1958 · April 2015

flutteringinfl Omg I love that dog! I want to squeeze him and give him all the farm land to run around on. Now I wish I had one. I miss having a dog. My family dog, Tiger, is in Florida.

wandajune6 · April 2015

I'm curious but too cheap. The shelter we adopted Maury from called him an American Staffordshire Terrier mutt. The vet there told us that he's a pit bull but they try to justify any other name in order to get them adopted. He looks like a pit so I'm not questioning it but I would be curious as to what else is mixed in.

I don't think I can justify the tests....yet....

abl13 · April 2015

The people that adopted my dog's brother did this and we think it worked! It came back border collie and Norwegian elkhound mix which we think is correct but we literally had no idea what they were before we found out the results.

KatWAG · April 2015

I am curious what Fred is. Our vet told us not to waste our money. Fred is Fred and it really doesnt matter what breed(s) he is.

Our best guess is some combo of Bichon fries/ Lhasa/ poodle.

KatWAG · April 2015

Okay for some reason I cant edit or delete that huge and weird picture @knotriley

KnotRiley · April 2015

KatWAG said:
Okay for some reason I cant edit or delete that huge and weird picture @knotriley

Just fixed it! No idea why that happened...if anyone else has trouble editing their post let me know!

madamerwin · April 2015

amelisha said:
This is the most middle-class-problems thread ever and I love it.

I'm also fascinated that these exist and might sort of work, maybe?

LOL @ middle-class-problems!

@flutteringinfl I think your test results could definitely be accurate. Your pup has the head shape of a Kelpie (and that big smile!!). And Catahoulas are often patchy-colored like that. Whatever he is, he is so damn cute!

badbnagdway · April 2015

flutteringinfl said:
FI had a DNA test done on his dog right before we met. I have no idea how accurate it was, but here's a picture of the pooch and the test results:

Interesting. I would guess beagle because of the coloring but I guess an Aussie has similar coloring.

We have talked about getting it done on our new dog. The vet said beagle/hound mix. To me she looks very pointer-ish, maybe beagle pointer. We mostly would be curious because the vet thinks she's pretty much done growing but I swear she keeps getting bigger. If she had a big dog breed in her it would explain a lot about how lanky she is and whether she is likely to keep getting bigger even though she's a year old (allegedly, anyway).

buttercup1958 · April 2015

KatWAG Fred looks like he is part maltese! My family dog Tiger looks a lot like him.

hellosweetie1015 · April 2015

wandajune6 said:
I'm curious but too cheap. The shelter we adopted Maury from called him an American Staffordshire Terrier mutt. The vet there told us that he's a pit bull but they try to justify any other name in order to get them adopted. He looks like a pit so I'm not questioning it but I would be curious as to what else is mixed in.

I don't think I can justify the tests....yet....

AmStaff is one of seeeeeeeeevvvveral "pit bull" breeds. They're very similar to that typical pitty look, so people go, "OH! This pit-looking dog isn't ACTUALLY a pit bull, it's an American Staffordshire Terrier, it's not going to be mean like a real pit bull." I really believe it's largely marketing spin to get them adopted - a lot of people hear "pit" and shut down.

I love them. Every pit I've ever met has been just the biggest love. FI's parents have three pit mixes, and while one of them doesn't quite know what to do with me, the other two are just my favorites.

Also - this is fun. I found it preparing a speech against puppy mills a LONG time ago, and it blew my mind.

justsie · April 2015

My FI got one for his pup he adopted from the shelter, one of the cheek swab ones, and came back with Aussie and Min Pin mainly. I always thought the Aussie was there, but with the Min Pin I 100% see that personality type in him. Either way, he is loved greatly. He is the handsome man in the foreground and is probably twice as fluffy now compared to that picture.

VulgarGirl · April 2015

This thread is lacking in puppy pictures. I expected more pictures of adorable doggies.

julieanne912 · April 2015

Pretty sure we know what breed our girl is.

julieanne912 · April 2015

Or our old man there on the left... definitely a basset hound haha

Dog DNA Tests - Update in thread

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