How accurate are dog DNA tests? We unleash the truth | 24CA News

If you are puzzled in regards to the breed of your canine, you are not alone. There are numerous canine DNA corporations to assist homeowners uncover the mysteries of their mutts.

But a Marketplace check discovered canine DNA exams geared towards shoppers will not essentially give homeowners the solutions they’re on the lookout for. 

Marketplace recruited two mixed-breed canine, one purebred canine and one human (Marketplace‘s very personal Travis Dhanraj) to check the accuracy of client canine DNA exams. Their DNA was despatched to 4 corporations that declare to specialise in canine genetic testing: Wisdom Panel, Embark, Accu-metrics and DNA My Dog. 

Nearly all the outcomes have been totally different, even for a similar canine, regardless of all claiming almost 100 per cent accuracy charges. 

WATCH | The full Marketplace investigation:

Dog DNA testing kits: How correct are they?

Curious about what breed your canine is? You’re not alone. Dog DNA testing kits are hovering in recognition. Marketplace recruits a number of canine and places 4 corporations to the check to see which of them are price the price and most correct.

Meet the canine

Molly, a five-year-old rescue canine from Kuwait, had stumped proprietor Marilyn Burbidge for years. 

“We think she may be Saluki-Anatolian shepherd, but when you look at her she looks husky, so we have no idea.”

Elinor Karlsson, the director of the Vertebrate Genomics Group on the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, says when a canine seems to be a mixture of many breeds, you should not depend on typical traits — like seems or behaviour — to find out the breed. 

“People tend to hone in on particular characteristics that they associate with breeds,” mentioned Karlsson, “but once you mix many different breeds together, the traits start interacting with each other.”

The second canine examined was Loki, a 75-pound, three- or four-year-old rescue from Istanbul. A former avenue canine, his homeowners say he was in a shelter with about 300 different canine earlier than he was dropped at Canada.

“Our guess is some type of terrier-hound mix,” mentioned Jennifer Yip Arnette, who adopted Loki in April 2022. “Our groomer thinks he’s a descendant of the Irish hound, but he’s too small for that breed. So we get asked a lot…. We don’t know.”

The third canine examined was Quinn, a 16-month-old purebred Great Dane who can also be a service canine. 

“Am I 100 per cent sure she’s 100 per cent Great Dane? Yes, absolutely I am,” mentioned Michelle Weger, Quinn’s proprietor.

Quinn’s breeder offered lineage documentation for Quinn tracing again to her great-great grandparents. 

Quinn is Weger’s service canine for narcolepsy. A well-bred, giant purebred canine was necessary to Weger, who experiences cataplexy, a symptom of narcolepsy the place a person can collapse when experiencing sturdy feelings. Quinn will sense when a collapse is about to occur, and cue Weger to sit down all the way down to keep away from hitting her head, usually by grabbing her arm.

Meet the businesses

Marketplace ordered DNA exams from 4 in style corporations providing kits to Canadians.

The $150 package from Wisdom Panel claims to check for over 350 breeds of canine and analyze over 25 well being situations. Wisdom Panel markets itself because the “world’s most accurate dog DNA test service,” and boasts over 98 per cent accuracy.

Another firm additionally markets its check as probably the most correct canine DNA check. The costliest check, bought for $288, is from Embark, a Boston-based firm and analysis companion of Cornell University. 

Marketplace additionally bought DNA kits from two Canadian corporations. A package from Toronto-based DNA My Dog value $113 on the time of buying in August 2022. At the time, the corporate claimed to check for round 100 breeds. Now, the corporate provides totally different merchandise at totally different costs, and says it exams for over 350 breeds. Even when promoting beneath 100 breeds, the corporate nonetheless marketed between 97 and 99 per cent accuracy.

The last and least-expensive check was bought from Accu-metrics, also called Viaguard, for $80. CBC beforehand reported on the corporate for offering DNA outcomes of Indigenous ancestry for a chihuahua and three non-Indigenous people. The firm now not advertises Indigenous ancestry testing, however does promote paternity testing, drug testing and fingerprinting companies.

All corporations requested for a wide range of info when submitting samples, together with the canine’s age, {a photograph} and in some instances a suspected breed. In most instances, the knowledge was non-obligatory to incorporate and Marketplace didn’t reply.

Due to the questionable outcomes offered by Accu-metrics that CBC beforehand reported on, Marketplace advised the corporate Quinn, a 52-kilogram Great Dane, was suspected to be a chihuahua, a breed identified to be between one and three kilograms. When prompted to enter a suspected breed, Marketplace advised Accu-metrics and DNA My Dog {that a} human pattern, offered by Dhanraj, was suspected to be a Central Asian shepherd canine.

The outcomes

In almost each case, the businesses offered totally different outcomes for every submitted pattern.

DNA My Dog recognized Molly’s DNA as having Level 4 bulldog, flat-coated retriever and German shepherd. Level 4, in response to the corporate, represents 10 to 25 per cent of that canine’s DNA, and says the breeds are handed down from grandparents and as much as great-great grandparents. 

Accu-metrics additionally makes use of a stage system, with Level 1 being the next share of DNA — 75 per cent and above, and Level 5 being 5 per cent DNA or much less. The firm mentioned Molly’s DNA was recognized as containing Level 2 cocker spaniel and Labrador retriever, Level 4 American Staffordshire terrier and Level 5 rottweiler. The firm suggests one aspect of Molly’s lineage is purebred cocker spaniels. 

Wisdom Panel by far offered probably the most in-depth breed breakdown on Molly, suggesting it detected 19 breeds in her DNA. The most prevalent breeds have been pit bull, chihuahua, German shepherd, Segugio Italiano and xoloitzcuintli, a Mexican canine identified for being hairless. 

Embark solely recognized one breed in Molly: 100 per cent Arabian village canine, a breed not acknowledged by Canadian, American or European kennel golf equipment. The firm says a village canine is a breed that predates acknowledged breeds, and whose ancestors are indigenous to a area.

“I was hoping for a lot of clarity but I’m more confused now,” said Burbidge upon hearing the results. “What are they doing? What are they testing to get all these different results? Why are they so different if it’s genetic?”

Loki obtained related outcomes as Molly, with no firm figuring out the identical breed in his DNA. 

DNA My Dog recognized Loki as Level 1 Belgian malinois and Level 4 Australian shepherd. Level 1, in response to the corporate, means nearly all of that canine’s DNA comes from that breed. Belgian malinois canine are identified to be high-energy working canine, usually fitted to police work. 

“He’s medium to low energy,” mentioned Yip Arnette, laughing. “He sleeps a lot.”

Accu-metrics didn’t present check outcomes for Loki, regardless of submitting samples over 11 weeks prior. On the date of publishing, Accu-metrics nonetheless had not offered Loki’s outcomes.

Wisdom Panel recognized 23 breeds in Loki’s DNA, together with Segugio Italiano, chihuahua and Anatolian shepherd canine. 

Embark recognized Loki as 100 per cent West Asian village canine. 

“At least they’re getting the region accurate,” mentioned Yip Arnette. “It’s disappointing…. It’s not telling us anything we didn’t know when we sent in the test.”

Karlsson says the distinction in outcomes doubtless quantities to which breeds and what number of samples are in every firm’s databases. Like human DNA corporations, samples are in comparison with every firm’s particular person reference units. If a canine has the genetic make-up of a uncommon breed, Karlsson says the corporate may not choose up on it. 

“The way the algorithm works is it’s like, well, I didn’t find a match, so I’m going to go find the next closest thing and just sort of make a guess, and that’s where it can get inaccurate,” mentioned Karlsson.

But Karlsson says purebred canine are simpler to detect and establish.

For Quinn, Wisdom Panel and Embark each mentioned she is 100 per cent Great Dane, however DNA My Dog mentioned she was additionally Level 4 Staffordshire terrier. 

Weger did not purchase these outcomes, and says Quinn’s successful outcomes at canine reveals, the place she competes to be the most effective and healthiest illustration of the Great Dane breed, converse for themselves.

Accu-metrics recognized Quinn as 100 per cent chihuahua, the identical breed Marketplace advised the corporate 52-kilogram Quinn was suspected of being. Chihuahuas usually weigh not more than 2.7 kilograms. 

According to specialists in genetics, human DNA submitted to a lab testing for canine DNA ought to lead to an error, and never in any sort of canine breed.

However, after submitting the DNA of Dhanraj, two corporations recognized his DNA as belonging to particular breeds.

DNA My Dog recognized Dhanraj as Level 2 basenji and Level 2 beagle. According to the corporate, Level 2 may imply one in every of Dhanraj’s mother and father was purebred.

Accu-metrics recognized Dhanraj’s DNA as the identical breed that Marketplace advised the corporate it “suspected” the breed was: Level 2 Central Asian shepherd canine. As nicely, it recognized Level 2 Turkish kangal, Level 4 mastiff and Level 5 akbash.

“I’m going to have to have some hard discussions with my parents,” joked Dhanraj.

Karlsson was shocked on the outcomes. 

“The fact that you’re getting breed calls back when you sent the human sample would make me very hesitant to use that company for doing dog testing.”

Results from Embark and Wisdom Panel each mentioned testing failed on the human pattern.

The corporations reply

When Marketplace reached out to the businesses, all of them mentioned they stood behind their science.

In an e mail assertion, Accu-metrics mentioned Dhanraj’s consequence was doubtless from mixing up pattern ID numbers, however that the canine outcomes have been doubtless on account of cross-contamination throughout sampling or delivery. The firm wrote that it “cannot jump to any conclusions prematurely” and provided to re-test newly submitted samples, and mentioned it has a refund coverage “on any flawed tests.” It additionally mentioned outcomes must be interpreted with the understanding that there’s a margin for error. 

DNA My Dog mentioned that since Marketplace‘s samples have been submitted, it has greater than doubled its breed database from 100 to 350 breeds, and it has “implemented a more comprehensive and robust testing platform” to get rid of human error. However, it says that its outdated testing strategies have been nonetheless “highly accurate,” these 100 breeds examined “sufficiently covered the most popular breeds in North America,” and if a pattern contained DNA of a breed not lined in its database, the closest out there match could be assigned to it, “which was typical of the industry.” 

The firm mentioned that assigning breeds to Dhanraj’s DNA was on account of human error. On Quinn’s outcomes, the corporate mentioned the small share of Staffordshire bull terrier is probably going remaining DNA from “even before great-great grandparents.” 

Wisdom Panel says its science is overtly out there for anybody to see on its web site, and whereas outcomes can range between corporations, its error charges are decrease than the trade normal.

Finally, Embark says Molly and Loki descended from populations that existed longer than fashionable canine breeds and it’s proud to be the one firm that makes a speciality of village canine. The firm says if different corporations report mixed-breed outcomes, these don’t replicate the canine’s precise ancestry.

While Karlsson is happy shoppers have gotten fascinated about DNA, she warns them to take outcomes with a grain of salt. 

“At the end of the day, the way an animal behaves or an animal’s health status is a combination of really complicated genetics, but also the environment that they grow up in. And so DNA is only really part of the story.” 

That’s how Burbidge sees it. 

“It doesn’t make any difference to me truly what breed she is…. It doesn’t change the way I feel about her,” she mentioned of Molly. “She’s my dog and I’m just going to love her just the way she is no matter what.”