Dog DNA test

[IndianaTiberiusWolff]

My husband and I adopted an 11-week old male the other day, and we are already in love. Only problem is-we have no idea what breed he is! I have heard of DNA tests where they can tell you what breeds are in a dog's heritage, are these accurate? Do you know anything about them? Any insight would be great- we would like to know mostly for an accurate guess as to how big he'll get, as well as gaining a better understanding of who he might become.

[Nettle]

Yep- save your money. The DNA tests are not at all accurate and often very misleading. One day they may be great but that time isn't yet.

Size - look at the wrist and hock bones. While these look big on the dog, it is still growing. Look at the paws. When these 'fit' the rest of the dog, it has reached its full size. Most dogs stop growing at around 2 years old, unless they are giant breeds which will grow on for another year or so.

[IndianaTiberiusWolff]

Thanks so much! Neither of us has had a puppy this little before- I'll ask the vet what she thinks when I take him in for his next shots.

[timholmes]

Don't waste your money. We got a puppy that looks to be a black lab mix. We also think she has some flat coated retriever and Australian shepherd in her. She'll probably get to between 50 and 60 pounds - at 3 1/2 months she weighs about 25 pounds. The mother was all black, thin and lanky and weighed about 50 pounds. We had a DNA test done and it came back as one parent being a pure breed jack russell terrier and the other parent as half welsh corgi and half mix breed. I complained and the company is looking into it and will get back to me in 23 business days. What a crock and what a waste of money.

[ANB723]

I see just from reading a few posts that people here are not big advocates of DNA testing. I think some of them are questionable but I got my little dog done and I am quite pleased with the results, it makes a lot of sense and I feel as though it was well worth the money, at least for me. He is a dachshund and english toy spaniel and when I got the results it said that there was some doubt with the english toy spaniel and to just be aware but after looking through photos and comparing them to my dog, I'm pretty confident it's pretty accurate. If he's not english toy, he's gotta be some other kind of spaniel so whenever people ask I always say dachshund and spaniel.

Now, as I was looking through photos and breeds that the test has tested, some of them seem a little weird to me so I guess it might be hit or miss. Just wanted to give my two cents.

EDITED to add - the one that I got done did not specifically tell me what parents he had, just what breeds were detected. I didn't pay any attention to the breeds that were barely detected but the two major ones seem dead on. And it was always obvious he had Dachshund so they got that right. I don't think they're all bad.

[Nettle]

It isn't a question of bad: it's about the limited information on the database.

A few dog breeds are very ancient, but more are fairly recent. When you have a recent-type breed, with a background of several older breeds, you cannot help but get inaccurate information. For instance, the Plummer Terrier base breeds are beagle, staffordshire bull terrier, jack russell terrier (itself a mixed breed) and pit bull (another mixed breed). Lucas terriers are based on Sealyham and Norfolk terriers with outcrosses to Plummer terriers. At which point the database simply could not give accurate information.

What's an English Toy Spaniel? We don't have them in England, so that must be a relatively recent breed too. EDITED TO ADD I see it is a King Charles Spaniel, so in fact a very old breed. See how easy it is to confuse?

[ANB723]

Oh yes, I completely understand that it's not super accurate and will give misleading results. But, I feel as though it did well for my dog. He is obviously a dachshund, no doubt about it, and when it came back when the results two of the breeds were marked and had cause of concern to not be accurate. The english toy spaniel was marked, to me, it means take with a grain of salt. I'm happy the test was honest about it's shortcomings. I'm confident in saying that he's dachshund/spaniel mix, the pictures of the english toy are very similar to some of his features but as you said it's basically a king charles which is just as much as a possibility. That's actually what I thought before we got him tested, not to give myself a pat on the back or anything I wasn't expecting any more accuracy, I guess it's partly just what you expect from it. I didn't expect it to give me the exact breeding or mix, just a general idea with some backing which was wonderful considering people were saying all kinds of things about his mix.

Again, like I said, looking at some of the other results I was concerned about my test and thought that can't be, but in my case, it's a good educated guess. And I'm happy with that. I'm hesitant to believe it is truly an english toy spaniel considering they aren't very common and I would be much more prone to believing a cavalier or something similar. Hence a simple dachshund/spaniel mix. I can definitely see how some dogs come out with a very bizarre answer.

Just for reference:

[Nettle]

Your dog is a real little cutie - and those EARS! I'm pleased the test gave you the results you wanted - I was just advising for people who might think it was very accurate, and then be disappointed.

[ANB723]

Thank you and I agree with your advice Just wanted to share a story where it worked out.

[Mattie]

Your dog is so like Dolly apart from the colour they are like twins even the ears are the same. I have to keep them combed and her tail or they get tangles in. Emmabeth has seen Dolly, she thinks she is working Cocker/Dachshund, knowing Em's experience I go along with that.

The problem with cute dogs no matter what they do people laugh which makes training them difficult at times.

Dolly Mixture pound picture which is what I fell in love with.

[maythewondercat]

ohhhh, my dog is a chihuahua, Italian Greyhound, Dachshund, and a little Minn Pinn mix, and we met Victoria when we were at trader joe's. Cassie's ears are sooooooooo soft, they feel silky. And Victoria said those ears are divine, as she petted Cassie

[IndianaTiberiusWolff]

Victoria met our puppy and said he is part Shiba Inu, so that's what we're going with. The rescue group said his mom was a terrier/retriever mix, and while he does have traits similar to a golden retriever (my in-laws have two so it's pretty easy to compare him to that breed), he doesn't act like any terrier I have ever met. And he does have the Shiba Inu scream (if you've ever met a Shiba you know what I'm talking about-if not, look it up on YouTube).