Are Dog DNA KITS WORTH IT?

Maybe you’ve adopted a dog from a local shelter, and they gave you the breed information of your new friend as “mixed breed”. What does that mean? What kind of dog do you have? How many different dog breeds went into making your furry friend the way they are?

Finding out what dog breed your new puppy might be is important for a variety of reasons. Depending on if you rent or own your home, you might need to disclose to a landlord or homeowner insurance, or your pup is experiencing some kind of health problem, and it might be beneficial to know their genetic makeup. Whatever the reasoning may be, getting a pet DNA test is fast, easy, and relatively affordable. 

How Accurate Are Dog DNA Tests

Mars Veterinary claims that dog DNA tests are about 90% accurate when relating to purebred dogs, but how does that help you if your dog is a “mutt”? According to their research, with every new breed of dog introduced into your dog’s lineage, the accuracy of the results will decrease slightly – but they don’t know to what extent. 

Many vets suggest that if finding out the exact mixture of breeds that make up your pet, you shouldn’t rely on a single test or test results – rather, you should take multiple DNA tests and compare the results to form a more conclusive set of possibilities. What dog DNA test should you buy? Here is a quick list of the most popular dog DNA test kits on the market. 

• Wisdom Panel Premium – best for health and breed testing
• Embark Dog DNA Test – Best for Information Deep Dives
• DNA My Dog – The Best Budget-Friendly DNA Test for Dogs

If none of these tests seem like a good fit, then you can speak with your local vet to see what they might recommend for a test. 

Why Owners Might Want to DNA Test Their Dogs

As mentioned earlier, humans are naturally curious about genetics, why things work the way they do, and where we came from. Why wouldn’t we be curious about a member of our family’s background, even if they have four legs?

Learning about the ancestry of your dog or other pet can help you understand them better, why they might behave a certain way, and identify any potential health problems that they might be susceptible to in the future. 

These dog DNA tests are a fast, cost-effective, and painless way to learn more about a beloved member of your family. 

The Many Benefits of Doing a Dog DNA Test

There are numerous benefits to testing your dog’s genetic background, as touched upon earlier. Here is a full list of advantages of knowing more about your dog after conducting a dog DNA test. 

• You can understand and prevent potential health problems now and later in life that are common to certain breeds
• Know how large your dog might potentially be when fully grown
• You can anticipate an average lifespan
• Learning about personality traits common to some breeds can help you with training and obedience
• You will be able to prove a pedigree if you believe your dog is purebred. 

Obviously, it goes without saying that you will have some fun reviewing the results too, and picking out different characteristics in your dog that you think match one of the breeds that make them up. If you just want to find out more about your dog’s ancestry, a DNA test might be a fun little family project. 

Health Benefits of Dog DNA Tests – Are There Any?

Depending on what test you have your pup take, there might be a possibility to see if your dog is “at risk” for certain health conditions. This can help you take preventative steps now and plan for a future treatment course if and when that health problem becomes an issue. 

The DNA tests include genetic screening as an option to screen for over 150 genetic diseases that your dog could be at risk for or be a carrier for according to their breed mix breakdown. An example would be that a test may detect common diseases such as Glaucoma, Von Willebrand Disease, and breed-specific conditions like Muscular Dystrophy found in Golden Retrievers and other types of retrievers.

You can also find out what steps you can take now as a pet owner to help your dog if they end up having a mutation or test positive for a disease. You will have the knowledge about what signs and symptoms to look out for as your dog ages, and be able to tell a vet right away if you notice anything off. 

DNA tests also can get you important information about your dog’s weight and nutritional needs. As mentioned earlier, if you adopt a mixed breed puppy from a local shelter, you might not know how big they will get or what nutrients their specific breed needs. 

For instance, if you have a Rottweiler mix, you wouldn’t feed them the same kind of food that you feed a poodle mix. Both of these dogs and their breeds would need a different type of diet, and knowing the type of breed that your dog is made up of helps you Keep your dog happy and healthy for a longer period of time. Some DNA tests also give you nutritional considerations that will help you give your dogs the right minerals and nutrients to help with joint damage to their skin and their coat and help you diagnose other problems that might arise in the future based on diet.

Another cool feature of the DNA test for dogs is that you might even be able to find your dog’s long-lost sibling. With the doggie DNA relative finder, you can find dogs that are related to your puppy based on the percentage of DNA this year. This is super awesome for people who have adopted dogs for shelter and don’t know where their siblings might have ended up; who knows, there might even be a sibling right down the street. This also is very important when you are thinking about breeding your dog this way; you will know that their potential mate isn’t related to them in any way.

What Dog DNA Tests Don’t Do

Genetic testing in DNA testing as a whole is still a New Concept. Even in humans, test results aren’t always 100% accurate. Especially with dogs, these tests have their limitations. Don’t take the test results as good as gold. Just like a human DNA test, there might be updates and changes in the future that can affect the breakdown of your dog’s breed mix, health problems they might encounter, and behavioral traits. 

No test is 100% accurate. But with technology advancing every single day, you can still get a very good idea about what breeds your dog is made of and have some fun doing it.

So, Is a Dog DNA Test Worth it for You?

There’s no right or wrong answer for if a dog DNA test is right for you and your furry friend. Only you can make that decision. A dog DNA test can help you in a variety of ways as a dog parent; learn more about your furry friend, their medical conditions, the problems we might face, and how we train them better. You can also help them live longer lives by knowing what nutrients specific breeds might need for some health problems. That being said, you might not always get accurate results, and it’s good to check a few different tests.

 Having a dog DNA test is a fun and exciting thing to do as a family. And just like humans, you might learn a little bit more about your dog. As science advances, the DNAs testing process gets better, and vets figure out more about dogs; the tests are sure to get better and better. In the future in the meantime, is getting a dog DNA test a good option for you? If you have any nagging concerns about your dog, their breed or any health conditions they might be facing, it’s never a bad idea to try and test your dog.

For more information about dogs and how to keep their tails wagging and for fun activities, please check out the rest of our blog. We recommend our post on Common dog allergies and how to manage them.