@dmcarty said in Lets try this again.. Finley! Our adopted Basenji mix. 
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@thepugsmuggler DNA WILL TELL YOU NOTHING ABOUT THE BREED ID. any of them say breed id is for recreation. As a podengo club we specifically have not provided any DNA to breed I'd companies....but if someone says I think it's Podengo...guess what....they tell you it's a podengo. All primitive breeds from the Mediterranean share some common ancestors.
Even if you as a club haven't submitted any Podengo, does that mean individual owners are barred from doing so? Can you explain why your club doesn't want them in the data bases? In a world where eventually DNA will be the gold standard, why not be in there?
As for "entertainment" only... it was. Now, not so much. The accuracy has risen considerably, especially with dogs that aren't mixed for generations. They aren't even close to perfect, but those with more breeds in their database indeed have higher accuracy. Furthermore, I disagree totally that it isn't important. The following link gives a lot of reasons why, but knowing what your dog's breed make up is important to know not only behaviors (herding, etc) but potential health issues (seizures, diabetes, blood clotting disorders, issues with iron etc).
http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=23206
Breed genetics concept scientifically credible
The concept of determining a dog’s breed background by analyzing its DNA is grounded in science. In a paper published in the journal Science in 2004, canine geneticist Elaine Ostrander and colleagues described a technique they developed for identifying dog breeds based on genetic markers. Ostrander, who currently works at the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, described the approach, along with her broader work on the canine genome, in an article published in 2007 by American Scientist.
The markers the researchers used are not genes themselves, but repeating sequences of DNA known as microsatellites. The commercial tests use a different kind of marker known as single-nucleotide polymorphisms — abbreviated SNPs and pronounced like "snips” — that are small mutations within the genome. Whether using microsatellites or SNPs, the markers, taken together, form signatures particular to each breed.
Because the identification technique is not based on genes, it does not specifically relate to physical or behavioral traits that characterize particular breeds. In other words, the technique doesn’t recognize a bulldog by finding the genes that give it a snub nose, beefy head and squat stature.
Consequently, breeds that are vastly different in appearance might, by chance, have similar genetic signatures, which helps explain some head-scratching results. For example, portions of the signatures of Chihuahuas and some mastiff breeds are maddeningly similar, according to Dr. Angela Hughes, a veterinarian and geneticist at Mars Veterinary.
On the other hand, some breed combinations truly result in dogs that resemble other breeds entirely. Hughes recalled a case of a dog that looked like a black Labrador retriever that tested as a golden retriever mix, which made sense to her as a geneticist.
“You can lose that longer coat in one generation,” she explained. “Goldens carry a black gene. They don’t express it in their coat because the yellow gene blocks all black. They do express it in their nose, eye rims and the pads of their feet. But the golden is recessive. So if you breed a golden retriever to a dog that doesn’t have the genes for yellow and long hair, you’re likely to have a black dog with a short coat.”
In a similar vein, test results suggesting pairings of large with small dogs may raise doubts but such combinations aren’t impossible, Hughes said. She explained: “The larger female will lie down” for the mating.
Breeds have distinctive genetic signatures owing to the fact their members are genetic isolates — that is, bred from a limited population of dogs. The more unique the breed characteristics, the easier to identify a breed's members via their DNA. Explained Dr. Urs Giger, a veterinarian who heads the clinical program in medical genetics and pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) School of Veterinary Medicine: “The more you’re inbreeding ... that will clearly make the genes among the dogs more similar.”
A mixed-breed dog whose parents or grandparents are purebred generally is easier to identify than a dog descended from generations of mixes.
Giger said improvements in DNA-based breed identification may contribute to the development of genetic tests for medical conditions. “The mixed-breed test is the first complex-trait test and thereby is showing the way (for) testing for other complex traits, like hip dysplasia, in the future,” he said.
The science of dog-breed detection may be solid, but that doesn’t mean any given DNA test is reliable. Its accuracy depends upon the quality of information upon which the analysis is based.
For example, when the Canine Heritage test debuted in early 2007 as the first such test on the consumer market, it detected 38 breeds. Results for any dog with a background outside of those 38 breeds would have been inconclusive.
Wisdom Panel launched in fall 2007 with 134 breeds. Now Canine Heritage is up to 120 breeds, while Wisdom Panel lists 203.<<
