Doggie DNA test aims to sniff out breeds
Posted: Thursday, October 11, 2007 4:43 PM
By Linda Dahlstrom, health editor
What it is: Canine Heritage Breed Test, $65
What it claims to do: Genetically determine the breed composition of your dog based on a DNA swab. It tests for 38 different breeds and reports back your dog’s primary breed, secondary ones and those leftovers that are somewhere “in the mix.”
Our experience: When people meet my dog, the first question I get is usually, “What is he?” The truth is, he looks like he’s a combination of bear, llama and Labrador, possibly with some three-toed sloth thrown in. In the summer, when he’s shaved, it seems clear there’s a black Lab underneath all that hair. But in the winter, all bets are off.
Sherman is from the pound, so I have no clue who his canine ancestors are, only that there were probably many, many kinds of them.
I hoped the Canine Heritage Breed Test might settle his lineage question once and for all. MSNBC.com ordered two tests – one for Sherman and one for our control group, a purebred Chihuahua named Bobo.
Doing the test is easy – you just swab the inside of your dog’s cheek with a special brush the company sends, mail it back and wait for the results.
When the envelope arrived about five weeks later, I tore it open, eager to at last know the truth. Would he be a Lab? A Newfoundland? A border collie mix? A pug? And the envelope said …. The company really has no clue. Sherman appears to have stumped even science.
Vote: What do you think is Sherman's primary breed?
The letter accompanying his test results said whatever he is probably isn’t represented in the 38 breeds it tests for and invited me to have him retested for a “deeply discounted price” after the company expands the range of dogs it detects. It did say that somewhere in his mix are likely a German shepherd and a golden retriever, both totally believable.
Newfoundland isn’t included in the 38 breeds and, partly due to Sherman’s single-minded passion for swimming and his ridiculous amount of hair, that’s what I suspect he is, primarily. I was surprised by what the test ruled out, specifically Labrador and border collie.
And our control group, the purebred? His test showed him to be 100 percent Chihuahua.
Bottom line: While Sherman remains a dog of mystery, the test appears to work perfectly for pooches who fall into the 38 breeds Canine Heritage can identify. If you’ve got a true mutt like I do, it might be worth it to wait for a future version that can test for more types.
