Dog DNA: Testing The Makeup Of Your Mutt

No matter what your dog looks like or how knowledgeable even the smartest pet expert may be, it is impossible to accurately determine a dog's breeds based on their physical characteristics or personality traits. The only way to definitively determine the breeds of your dog is to have its DNA tested, which is as simple as swabbing your dog's cheek and sending it out to a laboratory.

Why Does It Matter?

Obviously, as fun as the guessing game may be, sometimes we just really want to know more about our dog's ancestry to settle our curiosity. More importantly, information from a dog's DNA can tell us more about diseases they may be at higher risk for, like certain cancers, blood clotting disorders, inability to properly metabolize common drugs or foods, etc. However, like everything, it is important to take this information with a grain of salt. Some information can be inaccurate, overstated, or misleading, so we definitely don't want to be making serious decisions from DNA testing results alone.

Choosing a Test

Embark & Wisdom Panel

Both of these tests have options for testing for breed and/or disease predispositions, but only Embark offers entire genome testing. Offers and costs are similar, so it may be best to choose the most cost-effective version that provides the information you want.

View each on Amazon

More details comparing/contrasting here

Other less popular options:

1. DNA my Dog-cheapest option if you only want health testing

2. Pawprint Genetics or HomeDNA Orivet-less comprehensive breed databases with reportedly worse accuracy. These are the cheaper options, because as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Planning to test your pup? Have your friends and family guess your dog's breeds while you're waiting for results! You could even hold a guessing contest and raise funds for your local shelter or rescue!

#dog # DNA #testing #mutt #breed