August 20, 2014

Why To DNA-Test Your Dog

We've gone back and forth for a while now - well, years really - on DNA testing our pups. Back when we first started looking into it, there weren't that many breeds in the database, and we just decided to skip it.
We don't know what this angel was... just gorgeous!
Well, then I got the opportunity to talk to some folks about the Wisdom Panel 2.0 Breed Identification test kit. They were in San Diego attending a local event as part of a "Swab-a-thon" tour to test shelter dogs and help provide some info about their breed makeup to help match them to their furever homes. Isn't that a great idea?

I couldn't make the event, but they still sent me a home test kit to try out, and set up a phone interview with Harrison Forbes, who is a celebrity pet expert and dog trainer. (Check out his site - you might recognize him from appearances on Today or The View.)


Here are some of the questions and answers we discussed on the phone.

What's the best time frame to DNA test your pet?
After all, we've had Rita over 2 1/2 years and we know her personality pretty well at this point. (Still... will we be surprised by what she's made up of?? We'll see. More on my predictions below.)

Harrison said ideally it's ideal to test your dog up front, especially if you're new to dog ownership. It can help you find out information on temperment and personality traits that can help with training. He said that a dog's temperament is roughly 75% genetic predisposition, so knowing the dog's temperament will help you in training your dog.

For example, if you find you have a scent-hound, you'll want to incorporate scent- / treat-based rewards into your training, versus a retriever or sight hound who might respond better to training if his favorite toy is involved.

He said getting off on the right foot with training your dog is key, since behavior problems (due to lack of training) are the #1 reason dogs end up in shelters. If folks get off on the wrong foot with training, they might think it's "not working" and give up. So, best to be armed with all the info you can get right from the beginning.

However, he did say you can still get benefits from the test later on. He told a story of a woman who had had some medical issues with her mixed-breed dog, and the doctors were not yet sure what was wrong. She happened to have the test done around that time and found out the dog was in large part a boxer (even though he didn't look like one), so she reported that to her doctor, and it helped him more quickly pin down what was wrong with the dog, as it was an issue that boxers are predisposed to.

What if your dog is just a true Heinz 57? Is there any info to be gleaned from finding that out?
I asked this because I have a feeling Rita comes from a long line of street mutts, so I won't be surprised if she comes back as just a garden-variety mix. 

He said that very few of the tests come back with results where the dog is such a mix on both sides that you don't find out anything. But, even if it does, it's good to know that your dog should be "hyper-vigorous."

The future of DNA testing
We talked about how DNA testing for humans provides a very detailed report, specific to YOU. It will tell you things like which diseases you might be at risk for (based on YOUR DNA, not just your heritage) and which drugs might not work well for you. On the other hand, a dog DNA test will just tell you the breeds, from which you can glean info about what diseases the dog might be more susceptible to. As we've all seen, testing and advances for humans usually trickle down to our pups, so in the not too distant future, you might be able to get even more info from a doggy DNA test.

How do you take the test?
It's very easy. Harrison said to think of it as brushing your dog's teeth, but with the "brush" against the inner cheek, instead of the teeth.

We took our swab samples from Rita and sent them in. We'll report back when we get our results!

I've said before that we think she's a Sheagle. (Or a beapherd.) But I also think she'll have some terrier in her - especially after the way she killed that squirrel! So, if she doesn't come back as just straight-up Heinz 57, I'm guessing German Shepherd, beagle and terrier.

Some folks have guessed that she'll have some collie in her. 



What do you think Rita might be? Or what about your own pups. Have you tested them? Would you consider it?

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Heart Like a Dog and 2 Brown Dawgs for hosting Barks and Bytes!

Heart Like a Dog

45 comments:

  1. We have seen some people who have had tests and the results are very interesting from a breed point of view but of course there are more serious aspects. Modern technology continues to amaze. Have a tremendous Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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    1. Yeah, modern technology is definitely interesting! I forgot to mention that Mike and I have had our own DNA tested (cuz he works for the company that makes the machines that do the testing). Will have to mention that when I post her results.

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  2. I go back and forth with Hailey. I see the advantages to it, but after 4 years with her, not sure if I will. I kind of like the mystery. While Phod is not pure breed, he is enough Shepherd that I wouldn't bother. Can't wait for Rita's results!

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    1. Yeah... we opted to go with the mystery with our last dogs. Would have been interesting to test our beagle as she didn't have papers, and I always suspected there was something else in there somewhere along the line!

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  3. Oh no I think it ate my long comment. :(

    I will summarize. Maybe this one will even be better. :) This is very interesting. Thanks so much for sharing on the hop. I can't wait for Rita's results.

    I like that the trainer acknowledges that breed temperament is important. I am not sure he isn't mixing temperament with working ability though. I think of temperament as a dog's "personality" ie bold, laid back, friendly, aggressive, shy, fearful etc. I think that is hard to predict without knowing the dog's close ancestors because even purebred dogs can have an incorrect temperament and it can be lost or altered in a couple of generations. Working ability however should be much more ingrained in a breed going back to almost the beginning of the breed with greater or lesser ability. As you say a scent hound should have some ability to use their nose. Some of that ability should be there even if it is watered down.

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    1. Oh, don't you hate when you lose a long comment!?! I suppose it would have been better to have someone who's more of a training expert themselves interview him, because I'm a pretty lazy trainer so I didn't know the right follow up questions to ask!

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  4. I can definitely see the Shepherd in Rita! I wouldn't have guessed beagle, but I've never been around any purebred beagles to really have a good idea of what's characteristic of them. The training points are really interesting, especially if you're going to be training your dog alone, but I think if your'e working with a trainer, a really good trainer will take time to get to know the dog and what motivates the dog regardless of the breed. From the moment I took Barley out of the kennel at the shelter, it was clear that she is really food-motivated and has no interest in retrieving if anything more exciting is around (a snack, a squirrel, another dog), so I don't think the test would tell me anything I didn't know on that front ;) But it would be interesting to see what she's made up of--the shelter said border collie/blue tick coonhound (which I think is crazy) or border collie/shepherd, other people told me she's got heeler, or husky, or aussie in her--but regardless of what she is, she's perfect and I wouldn't trade her :)

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    1. Since we've had a beagle, we definitely see the beagle-ness in her (loves to sniff on a walk, stubborn!, cute!, etc.). It would be great if some day the testing is so affordable that shelters could run the tests on pups that come in and help use that info to match the dogs to their perfect home.

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  5. HI Y'all!

    Can't wait to see the results.

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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    1. We can't wait either! And I'm not a very patient person....... want to know now! :)

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  6. I think you are going to be pretty close on your predictions. Will be interesting to see.

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    1. Watch... now she'll come back with some completely unexpected results!

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  7. I think it's super cool that you are doing this and can't wait until you share the results to see if you were right. I'm not sure I would do it or not, with our current medical bills it wouldn't seem frugal at this time. Did you ask about the accuracy of the test? Just curious. :-)

    Thank you for joining the blog hop!!

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    1. I didn't ask about that because it was one of the FAQs on their site. It says the accuracy depends on the quality of the DNA sample collected by the pet parent. The test itself I think is pretty darn close to 100% accurate, but if the sample is contaminated somehow - let's say the dog just ate a hotdog, so the test comes back saying he's part pig.... :) - then your results may vary. BTW.... that's why they give you lots of instructions in the box about how to get a good sample. (e.g. Wait at least 2 hours after eating!) And you take 2 samples so they can test them both. Hopefully we did a good job collecting our sample!

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  8. I left a comment earlier this morning and it vanished. GRRRRR! Darn that blogger!

    Seeing as how Rita is from Mexico, where neutering dogs is not, shall we say, a priority, she may very well be a Heinz 57. I have to say I've always been pretty skeptical of these DNA tests as (years back) I've known pure bred dogs that have been tested, and their real breed didn't even come into the result! I imagine the tests (and databases) are much improved these days. It will be interesting to see what Rita's results are. As far a her squirrel killing skills go, that doesn't have to be terrier. Corgis were bred for varmint control. Obviously no corgi in her though, those legs are too long :-)

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    1. Darnit! Why is blogger eating comments?!

      Yeah - the results come back showing 8 grandparents. I'm guessing her 8 grandparents were all street mutts - so.... Heinz 57.

      That would be awesome if she had some corgi in her! :)

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  9. We had Tino tested back in the day and were' pretty surprised at the results - Doberman and Afghan. My sister had her dog taht looks like Rita tested, so I'm interested to see how Tally compares to Rita.

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    1. Tino def'ly had a Dobie look to him! Wouldn't have guessed the Afghan part. I'll be int'd to compare Tally's results as well!

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  10. I can't wait to see what Rita is! I'm keeping the paws crossed for GSD, too!

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    1. She's GOT to have some GSD in there! She looks like it AND acts like it. She's my little guard-dog shepherd girl!

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  11. We seriously considered testing our first dog, Kaeto. I was really interested to find out what he was a mix of so I could use that knowledge for his benefit and to understand some of his quirks. He passed away after only having him for 8 months, so we never got the chance to test him. We still have our guesses though ;)
    - Paw waves from the Pyrs at It's Dog or Nothing

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    1. Awww. We only had our Abby for about 2 years so never got around to it either. We also have our guesses, but it sure would have been interesting to know. Part of the reason we didn't do it is because we thought she was at least part Chinook, and at the time I don't think the test included Chinook. We'll just go on imaging that she was one I guess!

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  12. I'm really eager for Rita's results to come back. We know Rudy is purebred Lab. We know Jeffie is Golden Retriever / Border Collie. However, Rosie...?? The shelter swears her mama was a Golden Retriever and that may very well be true. Her body is very strange though. Short, delicate legs. Huge barrel chest. Bowed back legs. And so on and so on. I've been very temped to do the dna test for her. Partly out of pure curiosity, but also concern for her health in the future. Rita definitely looks and sounds like a Shepherd Beagle mix to me, but like other have noted here, with her Mexican roots she may be a truly convoluted mix :-)

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    1. Interesting about her mama being a golden. They have a video on the Wisdom Panel site that explains why your dog may not look like the bread that it is. I should post that when I post her results. (Especially if she ends up being something she doesn't look like!)

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  13. Some of the results I've seen have been quite startling. I look forward to seeing what you learn from your test.

    I'd be curious to see what happens when you test a purebred dog. After all, even breeds are made from other mixes. Would the DNA test show those historic breeds or are they calibrated to contemporary breed names?

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    1. Yeah, I've heard of some really wild results as well.

      I talked to them a little bit about testing if you have a purebred. He said you might want to test a purebred if you don't have papers for it and want to see what it "really" is. That's why I would have liked to test Bailey. She didn't have papers - and I don't think she was 100% beagle. There was a little somethin' else in there.

      As for historic vs. contemporary breeds - I don't know about that. But they list the 200+ breeds covered on their site.

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  14. I am always excited to see others' DNA test results! I have tested two of my dogs and have been satisfied and convinced of the results. My previous dog Lasya, who I knew to be a Chow mix with her blue tongue, came back as predominantly Chow/GSD which had always been my guess. She looked like a smaller, black German Shepherd.

    Ruby's results were predominantly Border Collie and Jack Russell, which is practically undeniable. She has strong herder and terrier tendencies, and she looks very much like many "Border Jacks" I have seen.

    I'm very interested in testing my "Potcake" dog from The Bahamas since I have *no idea* and it's hard to pick out any specific characteristics from her gorgeous muddled muttiness.

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    1. That's interesting that Lasya came out being what you had guessed. Ruby definitely looks like a "Border Jack" - I can definitely see both of those in her. And in her high-energy personality!

      "Gorgeous muddled muttiness" - love it! That's kinda like our Abby was!

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  15. I've seen some really surprising results which kind of made me suspicious of the testing. We thought about testing Chamois, our generic dog, but just decided to call her a miniature Albanian Wolfhound.

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    1. Yeah, this may screw up our ability to call Rita a Sheagle! We'll see....

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  16. We can wait to hear about the results!!

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    1. I forgot to add... one other reason I'm happy to be doing this is for the blog fodder! Getting at least 2 posts out of it. :)

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  17. great post, it is fun to do those dna tests and find out what they say. What ever she is she is a keeper and your love.

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    1. Yeah, that's for sure. She's definitely a keeper! (Keeper would be a cute dog name...)

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  18. Pure-bred adorable! I don't know if I'd get a test if I chose a mixed breed unless it was to screen for possible health problems.

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    1. We are mostly doing it for curiosity - and cuz we got it free. :)

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  19. Mom was always curious about what her mixed breed was, but not sure if she would have it tested if she had another one. It is nice having a purebred because you do know what you are getting. Half the fun of a mutt is trying to guess what they are.

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    1. It is fun, but sometimes you get odd folks who come up to you and tell you with great authority, "Your dog is a XYZ!" Now we'll at least be able to say, "you're actually right," Or "You're crazy" since we'll have the test results!

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  20. I'd bet on some Shepherd and Labrador! I'll be curious to hear what results you get!

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    1. I'll be surprised if there's Lab in there cuz she is really not a ball player!

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  21. When I did Kelly's test, it came back cocker spaniel only. That was pretty much the only breed that we could clearly identify by sight, so the test wasn't that exciting. I was hoping to find out what the cocker spaniel was mixed with. We guess long haired dachshund. Rita is adorable, definitely shepherd, maybe some sort of hound too?

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    1. That's interesting about Kelly. I would have thought spaniel + some sort of terrier. She's got that funny hair on her nose and those long eyelashes that remind me of a terrier.

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  22. I can't wait to hear Rita's results!! I would guess exactly the same as you, though I wouldn't be surprised if there's something unexpected in there!

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  23. I love this post, and have been thinking about it for the new pup we brought home, even though she had it done by the rescue group. Would love to discuss further! Also, on another topic, I would like to invite you, and anyone else reading this to participate in the #My Writing Process Tour blogging event. Please e-mail me at cramercare at gee mail dot com for info. Thanks!!! --Terry from MatildasJourney.com

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  24. We had Coco tested: Flat Coated Retriever mix crossed with Lab Mix (her main breeds), lesser breeds were the bully breeds. We were surprised by the Flat Coated Retriever, but once I did a little research, I realized that her personality was spot on! I'm really glad we did it. Can't wait to see what Rita is, other than stinking cute...

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