DNA testing, home kit

[Tricia, Shiloh, Fenway & Tessie]

So, we know where Shiloh came from and that he is an F1B labradoodle....met mom and dad....all that good stuff. But Fenway was our rescue doodle. There is no doubt that he is definitely doodle...but what kind of doodle exactly....I don't really know. The vet mentioned that they can do a DNA test that gives the percentages of the different breeds in his make-up....cost about 180.00 and they draw blood to do it....doesn't sound like any fun. Then I saw where you can buy a home DNA kit for around 60-80 bucks and take a cheek swab and mail it to the company and they will tell you his DNA percentages. Has anyone done this? I know that it doesn't matter what his doodle make-up is exactly.....I am just curious and I think it would be fun to find out. I just want to know if anyone has done it and what your experience with it has been.

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

These tests are not yet reliable which is why you don't see breeders using them.

Some breeders have tested them on known lines and have gotten results showing different breeds were used. For example one breeder with a mini tested her dog and it came back with Husky in it!?!

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Hey Kendra-...Quick question...Is there really any such thing as a "known line" with the Aussies?....So many other breeds were introduced into the foundation stock ....(Irish Water Spaniel/Curly Coated Retriever/Wheaten/Cocker Spaniel etc.) one would almost not be surprised to find "Husky" thrown in there as well...lol

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

Actually yes there are known lines because there is some honesty that does come out of Oz~ but I was not isolating Australian Labradoodles here for my example. I don’t play games so that is not my intent with my comment. : ) I will leave that to others for now.

You can test poodles and get Schnauzer, PWD and get Poodle, Lab and get St Bernard... Just because it shows a breed doesn't mean that breed was used.

Most of these labs only have DNA for AKC breeds so if the breeder's foundation stock comes out of European (poodles) or English lines (lab & golden’s) they won’t be found and will throw the test results off.

Another issue with this is that genetics doesn’t always provide you with clean statistical information. In the case with the dog you tested coming up 75% poodle and 25% lab, you have labeled it an F1b while Mendel’s Theory of Genetics will tell you this can happen with several different combinations of breedings.

A great example here is my own heritage.
My mother’s father is 1/2 Black (origin of his parents- Italy)
My mother's maternal grandfather is 1/2 Indian
My mother has black brown hair and blue eyes, she is olive skinned
I have black brown hair and brown eyes and I am fair skinned~ very pink
My children have red hair and blue eyes and blond hair and blue eyes
If we were to DNA test them for heritage (assuming there is such a test) you likely won’t find Indian, Italian or any proof that their great grandfather is black!

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

I did the blood test thru my vet.....It cost about $150...."Wisdom Panel MX Finder" .it took approx a month to get results......The report was a breakdown in percentages....In Blake's case the report came back Poodle/Standard Poodle /Miniature Labrador Retriever .....but the percentages are basically 75% poodle and 25% lab which makes him an F1B......You receive an actual scientific report of the breakdown and what was isolated and the algorythm charts and "markers"...You have to be pretty savvy to understand all of the verbage....but you also receive a chart that illustrates and explains the breakdown in layman terms....


According to this study Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007;16:2072-2076, Swanson SM, Psychopharmacol.


"Although cheek swabs seem quick and simple, only blood samples are scientifically proven to be the "gold standard" in DNA analysis because 95%* of the time, they can reliably provide large amounts of high quality DNA to analyze. Alternatively, according to some published studies, cheek swab derived DNA samples only have a 25-40%* success rate."

[Tricia, Shiloh, Fenway & Tessie]

Cool....Jacquie, I didn't really do enough research to know how different the blood sample could be from the cheek swab. I think I will do the blood test....If I was going to spend 70.00....might as well pay 150 and get accurate results. I just think it will be fun to find out. Hey....any word on where his brothers are?

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

As far as I know, one was adopted by his foster family, the other pup just went to his new home last week and I believe he is local....

[Tricia, Shiloh, Fenway & Tessie]

It would be really fun to be in contact with them....maybe someone could invite them here or give them my email address so we can maybe stay in touch....maybe I can even tell them what the other part of their doodles are when I get the results. =)

[Cami Jacobs]

I would talk your vet about this. We talked to ours and he said he would not recommend it right now. He had seen it done and did it himself on small purebred toy breeds that came back as two large breeds and vice versa. He said the results were so ridiculous there was just no way they were even close. I’m hoping they will get more accurate in a couple of years. I think it would be fun to know for sure. There are a lot of shelter dogs that would be really interesting.

[Adina P]

I agree with Kendra, these tests don't yet have proven reliability. It involves some guesswork on the analysis. I recommended this to a member whose doodle was a rescue and it came back: australian shepherd, rottie, poodle...the dog looked as though it could have been that mix...but who knows? Later I learned that the technology is not quite up to par with what is promised.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Would I test my lab mix who is actually half Australian Shepherd and ????, but definitely lots of lab. Or would I check my papered English Springer Spaniel and find out he is actually a Chihuahua! Or would I test my doodle and find out he is a kangaroo-wallaby mix - a well-deserved suspicion! Actually when the tests are more accurate and when I have extra money, I would love to have it done. But then my first career choice was genetics research.