Wired has tried out three different canine DNA tests on two dogs — one that appeared to be German Shepherd-like and one that appeared to be dachshund and beagle-like — to find varying results.
The tests they tried — DNA My Dog, Embark Dog DNA Test Kit, and Wisdom Panel — come in at various price points, but ranged from $69 to $199, and provide information ranging from basic breed breakdown to the presence of disease-linked mutations and measures of inbreeding.
Wired reports the tests largely found the German Shepherd-like dog to be a German Shepherd, with one test also giving the pooch an average homozygosity score and another breaking that down further by chromosome.
The dachshund and beagle-like dog, though, had much more varied breed results, Wired says. One test said the pup was part American Staffordshire terrier and Russell terrier, but also Pomeranian, Chihuahua, and mix of others, and another test said he was mostly dachshund, though also a smattering of American Staffordshire terrier, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and more
These variations between tests, Wisdom's Angela Hughes tells Wired are due to high genetic diversity among American Staffordshires, Russell Terriers, and Chihuahuas and how various algorithms call those influences.
As GenomeWeb has reported, there has been a growing call to institute regulations and standards in veterinary testing.