What are your thoughts about dog DNA testing kits?

I wouldn’t buy one, couldn’t care less.

Purebred dogs have a DNA background and a pedigree to prove it.
It has it place in society.
Some or most people that have documents and DNA to prove the dogs creditentals can then use it for stud services and make money from $800 -$1500 apparently.
Its big business.
I suppose its more prevelant now as inherited traits are sought out .

A waste of money. You have a doggie, that’s all you need to know. Dog breeders should be outlawed, all it does is inbreed bad characteristics and add to the burden of unwanted dogs and cats.

Don’t really need one for people either unless one has a history of genetic defects.

Sounds like a racket to me.

I think it’s interesting to know about your dog and where he gets his characteristics from. Part shepherd? Oh that’s why he seems to try to herd us! Things like that. To me, it just seems like a fun thing to know.

@zenvelo Dog breeders shouldn’t be outlawed, the reputable ones don’t inbreed, your assessment of all that is uneducated.

And to answer the Q, I think it’s fun if you want to do it.

I had kind of wondered what Frodo was because he definitely had various terriers in him – and the personality to match. I thought briefly about a DNA test but decided it didn’t matter. Since he looked sort of like a Havanese and may have had some Shih Tzu in him, I decided to call him a HavaShit.

And yes @canidmajor, after my experience with that rescue dog with terrible problems, I would probably go to a reputable breeder if I got another dog so I could have an idea of what traits the dog or bitch would have.

And as far as specific breeds, I tend to really like boxers, so my next dog will most likely be a boxer puppy from a breeder.
I’ve taken in 3 rescue boxers and now that I want a puppy, I’ll go to a reputable breeder.

@Dutchess_III, I remember you thinking that Cato might be a Ridgey, I am guessing he has a fair amount, probably some lab (Lordy, they are seriously ubiquitous!) and maybe another hound or two. It might be fun to find out!

Exactly @canidmajor.
Mostly he’s Mossler. But that covers a LOT of breeds.
Here is hims.

Awwww.If you do decide to do that, please let us know! Now I’m curious. :-)

I will! It’s been a wild and crazy 2 ½ years with him.

I am not giving my DNA to some shady corporation.

I rescued a stray. Always wondered. At this stage in his life it really doesn’t matter to me.
As far as test kits, “All test kits are not created equal”. Do some research. Ask your vet their opinion.
WOOF! WOOF!

I’m going to do it the next check we get.

Some people have more money than they’ve got sense

I had no thoughts until you brought the subject up. Now, my primary thought is “it’s of no interest to me”. Followed by, “we should have seen this one coming as a money maker”.

Hims a cutie!

My first thought was I don’t think it matters enough to bother doing a DNA test on a dog.

Then I saw some of the answers above about how some people are just curious to know where their dog’s features and traits came from, and I can see why some people might be curious. Especially, @chyna’s answer about the herding, that’s very interesting.

Wanting to know for curiosity sake seems ok to me. Wanting to know to selectively breed makes me more uncomfortable; it would depend to what type of extreme it would be done.

DNA testing can be used for bad or for good. I think that’s true for human beings and pets.

I wonder what people would think about using the DNA information to try to eliminate certain illnesses, like I remember golden retrievers tend to have hip dysplasia.

Smelts.

It’s 60 bucks @SEKA. And I’m out of debt. $60 isn’t going to break this bank.

I don’t care how you spend your money. I still find it silly. Are you going to love him any less? Are you going to get rid of him if he doesn’t have a good pedigree?

@SEKA DNA testing for a mixed breed dog has nothing to do with pedigree. The dogs that are bred for pedigrees have their ancestry established. Doing a DNA test on a mutt is to find out what the possible mix of breeds in them might be. It’s mainly for fun, not snobbery at all, but could indicate where some of their behavioral traits might come from.

To paraphrase, “A mutt’s a mutt for all that” but if anyone wants to do it, I see nothing to criticize in it.

Geez, for those who are being kinda rude here, it’s just for fun. Some of the more comprehensive tests will also look for genetic health issues, but mostly they’re just for fun. <eyeroll>

Yeah. It’s just for fun. He has so many interesting traits. Sometimes he’s like a blood hound.
When we first got him our vet said Great Dane.
Other time he seems to be part Squirrel. Inquiring minds want to KNOW!

No way in hell is he pedigreed @SEKA. I don’t need a dna test to tell me that, and I don’t care. We paid $35 for him at the pound. They carried him as a boxer/lab. He’s more than that tho.

@Dutchess_III I saw boxer in his face too.

Oh I see boxer for sure. But true boxers have squished in faces. Cato has an actual snout that he uses with varying efficiency.
He also has the body, and stance of a boxer. And the markings.

But….I also think he might have some pit bull. ;(.

Yes, I see that.

He looks a lot like a dog I know, and she’s a Malinois/Boxer mix (no squished snout because of the Malinois). I’m very curious what you find out.

I’ll let y’all know! going to look up Malinois….

Yeah. A Shepherd! I can totally see that.

I rate it right up there with radon test kits that were all the rage for a while. It’s a gimmick

I think you should spend your money any way you want, @Dutchess_III, far be it from strangers on the internet to try to monitor that down to the penny.
Besides, Iam really curious now! :-)

Did you clear it with your dog? What do they think about it?

After 3 years he still doesn’t speak much English so I don’t know @Forever_Free. ~ (Thanks for putting the Q back on track!)

@Dutchess_III You’d better explain to him carefully that you are looking for generalized type, or he might think he has to establish a relationship with odd family members that he would rather bite.

And explain to him that the FBI could find criminal history in his relatives from his DNA. I saw that in Dayeline.

So far he hasn’t met any family members he wants to bite. Lick them to death, maybe.

I dunno, we all have that crazy cousin we want to bite!

Oh, we have one! But she’s in California.

Well, @Dutchess_III, did you do this??? Dying to know!!!

Ah no. Trying not to waste money at the moment.

Well then, we’ll just need to concoct a marvelous ancestry for him that includes mythological beasts and hounds of great renown! :-)

This weekend, my dog asked me where he came from. I guess I should get the test done for him.

@canidmajor…and perhaps one of the Queen’s Corgis! She’s had 30! Surely Cato’s related somewhere down the line. And then his ancestors immigrated and saw the Statue of Liberty and moved to Kansas! Hey @Dutchess_III, maybe Cato is part-Duke!! Oh this is big news! So exciting!!

@Forever_Free Why is it that I think your dog might be an excellent guitar player?

@chyna any dog named Hendrix is indubitably a guitar god dog

Indubitably. When I was a kid Dr Doolittle came out. For Christmas the little kids got a stuffed Push Me Pull You. You’d pull a string and it would talk. One of the things it said, in Dr. Doolittle’s voice, was “Indubitably.” The word fascinated me.

^^ hahaha too funny!

I like the name Hendrix for a dog!