If dog DNA testing is as precise as they say, why can’t it be used to certify pure breeds?
Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at
10:07 pm
Just a curiosity question, I'm not a breeder.
Yep. I mean the in-store kits you can buy. The cotton swab test that you send in for analysis.
Yeah. I've heard many people get rediculous results. I wonder what would happen if I did a swab of my own mouth and sent it in...
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Tagged with: cotton swab test • curiosity
Filed under: Dog DNA
It is precise for actual parentage… comparing offspring’s dna to parent’s dna..
It is NOT accurate for breed.
A friend of mine works at a vet clinic and did a dna test on her champion Samoyed ~ this was a precursor to her vet deciding whether to stock these tests~ the test results came back saying the Samoyed was a Shetland Sheepdog/Siberian Husky mix. Hardly accurate.
If you mean the mixed breed identification, it’s because it’s NOT as precise as they’d like you to think.
Because it’s not at all precise.
I have now head of several people that have submitted samples of their dogs (known purebred animals from reputable registries) just for fun. The results they have recieved from these companies have been absurd.
Hope this helps!
Because they’re simply not as precise as they claim to be.
They say it’s 90%. It can’t be used to verify purebreds because it is not 100% and because purebreds originated as a mutts from other breeds. Not everyone can agree on how many "pure" breeds there really are anyway.
Unless it’s done at a vet (assuming their kit is different than the one you are talking about) I wouldn’t trust it.
DNA testing can tell if a dog is the breed you think it is. Plenty of breeders have their dogs DNA tested. You can’t register a dog that’s been DNA tested though because you still don’t know it’s parentage. You can’t just say, ok this is X breed, let’s give it papers. There is a certain % of error and the dog may have 1/8 or less of another breed in it…which could show up in future pups.
AKC does use on breeders pups who breed so many litters a year which is why those fake registries came about from puppy mills.
Actually to a great extent they can but Breeders only use DNA testing for the recognition of paretage if there is a dispute.It is so advanced nowdays a hair can tell you what you need to know and the hair or blood will nowdays tell you what breed it is up to a point so if you have a cross breed at home and they do a DNA on who you think the father and Mother are and one on the puppy,it will tell you whether they are the parents.Up to now what you see on TV is a little fanciful but DNA testing can be used to identify certain genetic disorders in a particulart breed so Breeders who suspect their breed and that line may hav e particular hereditary fault they have a test and if clear they can go ahead and breed with that animal.There are so mant dogs with isuses which nowdays can be tested to see if they ar e a ‘carrier; or what but there are still many there are no tests for and it is a ganble and all you can say is as far as l know my dog is NOT carrying a genetic disease.In Dobvermans von villebrands is carried as in german pinschers so they are tested for that.Some dogs have eye genetic problems and if unsure some breeds can be tested for this but not all as the gene has not been identified.Cerainly in vet medecine a DNA re a hair or blood or swab from saliva can pinpoint the breed but it is not absolutely accurate yet like in a human the DNA will tell you an awful lot as the genetic signature for all species is individual and different and runs basically through the Mother’s line which is called mio-condrial DNA not really used much these days.it is an interesting topic but complex and most Breeders only concern themselvess to their own Breed as testing can and are very very expensive in some countries as the tets can only be done in the States and if you do not live there it is an added cost.
Want to know how precise the home tests are? I recently did a test on this dog:
http://www.indyhomesforhuskies.org/photos/main.php?g2_itemId=14331&g2_imageViewsIndex=1
We know her mom was purebred Siberian Husky. We were interested in finding out what contributed to her coat and size.
The results came back as over 75% husky and less than 10% cocker spaniel.
See much cocker spaniel in there? I might go so far as to say cockapoo, but if that were the case, why didn’t poodle show up in the DNA test?
It was a fun experiment (especially since someone else paid the bill) but as far as I’m concerned, she is, was, and always will be, a husky/terrier mix.
the tests are not precise, nor do they claim to be.
Our test was really accurate. Vet’s use the same DNA tests the public uses, but charge more, at least that is my experience. We have had 3 shelter dogs tested and each test was precise. I am not sure what you are expecting . . . the DNA is the DNA, but only to the point the markers can be isolated for that breed. If not, I believe it goes back a generation to the breeds that make up the breed. We have never had a problem at our rescue. The results have always seemed very likely. I think if you choose to not believe it, that is your prerogative, but we choose to believe it and have been very happy. I guess to each his own!