• Hi All
    Thanks for your replies I am trying to upload photos but not having any success. When I do get them up I would appreciate your feedback. In the meantime I plan to get a DNA test done to determine her breeding. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which tests are good? I was looking at buying a test from one of the pet catalogs. 😃


  • @summerland:

    Hi All
    Thanks for your replies I am trying to upload photos but not having any success. When I do get them up I would appreciate your feedback. In the meantime I plan to get a DNA test done to determine her breeding. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which tests are good? I was looking at buying a test from one of the pet catalogs. 😃

    I don't think that any of us have found those tests very reliable…


  • @tanza:

    I don't think that any of us have found those tests very reliable…

    the DNA tests are definately not reliable, Ive seen people with purebred pedigreed dogs come up as completely different ones.

    this is from one of the forums im on, he is a purebred with papers Amstaff
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a4CDvK868w


  • The tests are VERY reliable for the breeds they actually have. The link you gave on the Amstaff… well as someone pointed out, they don't have that breed LISTED so they match closest. Most of them DO list basenji. The person shouldn't have used that lab. (NOTE, in 2010 they added it, but they didn't in 2008 when video done).

    Research shows very reliable on actual breeds they have listed. Worth the "under 100 bucks" for most.

    http://www.canineheritage.com/general_info.html

    So if you have a dog you think is a foxhound and they don't have that breed on the dna list, you probably are NOT going to get good results.


  • @DebraDownSouth:

    The tests are VERY reliable for the breeds they actually have. The link you gave on the Amstaff… well as someone pointed out, they don't have that breed LISTED so they match closest. Most of them DO list basenji. The person shouldn't have used that lab. (NOTE, in 2010 they added it, but they didn't in 2008 when video done).

    Research shows very reliable on actual breeds they have listed. Worth the "under 100 bucks" for most.

    http://www.canineheritage.com/general_info.html

    So if you have a dog you think is a foxhound and they don't have that breed on the dna list, you probably are NOT going to get good results.

    Considering the heritage of the Amstaff bulldog should have been number one.
    In any case the tests are definately NOT accurate. The majority of results I have seen from these tests have been really inaccurate, and it isnt surprisingly really when looking at canine DNA makeup. I would hardly take the results of any of the testing to heart. It is till very new, and breeds are so diverse, yet the DNA differences so tiny.

    interesting article. I found a bunch on DNA and junk
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204518504574416810535466706.html


  • The article said basically what I tried to explain… if the breeds of the dog aren't in the data base, you are pretty much out of it. Also, btw, if you read the history of the development of the amstaff, terriers are in it... so the make up also makes sense.

    I guess if you think the test will well you 1 part GSD, 2 parts chihuahua, 1/2 part fox terrier and 1/2 part Chow, you will think they are awful because they don't. They can give guidance and tell you the dominant breeds if those breeds are in the data base. And the more mixed, the far less likely to get much useful. So I guess I will agree and say it has limited use for any very mixed dog and for those not in the database. But I know several people who KNEW the parentage of their mixed dogs, sent in for fun and got accurate reads. But these were dogs with only 2 breeds mixed, not several breeds.

    So if you have a dog that the breeds you suspect are in the program, I'd say worth a try.
    http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/dnacaninebreedidentifcation.htm

    I just find it fun, and the more people who test, the more samples they have, the better they will get. 🙂 New technologies take a while to perfect… so understand the limitations and use the company that has your suspected breeds.


  • @DebraDownSouth:

    The article said basically what I tried to explain… if the breeds of the dog aren't in the data base, you are pretty much out of it. Also, btw, if you read the history of the development of the amstaff, terriers are in it... so the make up also makes sense.

    I guess if you think the test will well you 1 part GSD, 2 parts chihuahua, 1/2 part fox terrier and 1/2 part Chow, you will think they are awful because they don't. They can give guidance and tell you the dominant breeds if those breeds are in the data base. And the more mixed, the far less likely to get much useful. So I guess I will agree and say it has limited use for any very mixed dog and for those not in the database. But I know several people who KNEW the parentage of their mixed dogs, sent in for fun and got accurate reads. But these were dogs with only 2 breeds mixed, not several breeds.

    So if you have a dog that the breeds you suspect are in the program, I'd say worth a try.
    http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/dnacaninebreedidentifcation.htm

    I just find it fun, and the more people who test, the more samples they have, the better they will get. 🙂 New technologies take a while to perfect… so understand the limitations and use the company that has your suspected breeds.

    I am aware of the makeup of the Amstaff, so yes, having terrier in there makes sense (esp the boston terrier considering it's bully history) but border collie is way in left field, nevermind the fact that any terrier group could have shown up and been considered "accurate" because terriers (as with other breed types) are so closely related they are often mistaken for each other Genetically, however if a result such as a scottish terrier came up… id say it is far from accurate.

    If you want to do it for fun, by all means, but that hardly makes the results something to live by.


  • Too funny, summerland… you've posed a question that our members apparently can't answer with a resounding "yes" or "no". 🙂 In my opinion, if your intent is to keep your cute puppy as a pet, then whatever the pedigree is really doesn't matter. The dog will love you no matter what the test says.

    Our first dog, Joker, was considered a rat terrier by the puppy mill (that sold him to the pet store, who sold him to an misunderstood owner who quickly surrendered him to the humane society :)). When we took Joker to the vet, the vet said that while Joker may be a rat terrier on paper, he certainly has basenji traits that are just as dominant. Lucky for us, we researched the basenji breed, and adopted Lucy 2 months later (a red basenji pup). She eventually grew into, and then out of, her cute wrinkles.

    Show us a picture, and we will bombard you with more opinions. 🙂


  • LOL Patty, I got called to evaluate a chow at the shelter. Ready for this? It was a Pomeranian. A fat pom, but a pom. lol. And a hound they said was a rottie. Rottie rescue in FL took her though, I drove her 4 hours because she was unbelievably sweet.


  • maybe it was the new 'toy chow?' 🙂


  • <–-- Debra gets the soap to wash Tlish's mouth out with soap.

    There is a buddy of mine who runs Inky Rottweiler Rescue (Indiana KY). Someone there is breeding mini Rotties. The shelter told her they know who but won't tell her because she'll be in jail and they need her too much. She said at least the dogs have nice temperaments.


  • Designer dogs are just mutts with good PR. Its awful that folks are breeding mutts and putting a cute name on them. Cute names don't make these dogs anything more than mixes.
    My issue is that these "folks" are making $$ when lovely mixes in shelters go wanting.


  • hahaha! really, with all the designer dogs these days, the shelter ppl probably did think it was a mini chow.

    and mini rotties?? what is she breeding them with - a min pin? sad….


  • LOL we have no idea, but yeah I'd suspect a min pin since the colors are all right and short coat.


  • that poor min pin…. or would they have to use AI? oh... it's just too creepy for me to think about. (coming from the woman who nearly fainted when the vet said suki could go into heat at six months - that little dog got fixed fast!)


  • LOL my Rottweiler went into heat and backed her butt up to the bed trying to entice the toy poodle. Lucky for me and not so much for her, he was neutered young and had no interest.


  • lol usually when you breed a bigger dog to a smaller dog the Male is the tiny one. Its just dangerous to do it the other way around. As far as DNA breed testing I would go for it if I could. But i am just interested in those kinds of tests. We offer them at our clinic but i haven't ever seen results for them.

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