Mans Best Friend

Living with Kids and Dogs Without Losing Your Mind

Living with Kids and Dogs Without Losing Your Mind

At last! A kids-and-dogs book for parents written by someone who “gets it.”

This is a wonderful book. Useful, useful, useful information

Animal Planet Breed All About It 2 DVD Set Popular Family Dogs

Animal Planet Breed All About It 2 DVD Set Popular Family Dogs

From Animal Planet - From interviews with breeders to owners and their irresistible stories, this collection brings you everything you want to know about the kinds of dogs that feel right at home in your house.

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Canine Heritage Dog Breed Mail In Test Kit XL

Canine Heritage Dog Breed Mail In Test Kit XL

Curious about the breed (or breeds) of your dog? Now you can know with the Canine Heritage XL Breed Test. A DNA-based diagnostic test, the Canine Heritage genetically identifies over 100 potential breeds within your mixed breed dog. This accurate, state-of-the-art, test is simple, convenient and completely non-invasive. Sampling is done easily and comfortably by the pet owner, avoiding the trauma and expense of other collection methods. Easy step-by-step directions walk you through the process of placing the swab and sample submission form in a pre-paid return mailing envelop and drop in a mail box. Results are sent back to you in the form of a frame quality Certificate of DNA Breed Analysis. Within 4 to 6 weeks, you’ll know exactly what pedigree of pooch, type of terrier, means of mutt or brand of boxer you have on your hands.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star I don’t think this test is accurate/company not helpful
I, too, was very unhappy with the results from this lab. I have a blue merle, tan points, very long, thick coat. Everyone that sees him (including the vet) thinks he is an Australian Shepherd. He looks almost exactly like the Aussie pics on the web. The report came back with Labrador Retriever as secondary and Clumber Spaniel “in the mix”. MMI Genomics states that breeds “in the mix” are LESS THAN 3%. Neither of these breeds have blue merle with or without tan points, nor do they have thick, heavy “collie-type” coats. When I let the company know that I doubted their test results they asked for a pic of him. After looking at the pic I was told that she (the representative) could “clearly” see the Clumber Spaniel influence. I could not recommend this test to anyone and am trying to decide whether it is worth having another lab do the test.

2 Stars What you should know before you buy
If your mutt’s ancestry is largely mutt — that is, if there were no pure-bred dogs in his lineage for two or more generations — the results you get are likely to be disappointing.

Enlarge the picture of the sample certificate accompanying the item description, and you will see there are three categories of ancestor: “primary,” “secondary,” and “in the mix.” Unless one of your dog’s parents was pure-bred, there will be no “primary” listed. “Secondary” refers to a breed that “may or may not have a strong influence on your pet,” representing “less than a majority of your dog’s DNA.”

Quite possibly, you won’t get even a “secondary,” and have to content yourself with a couple of “in the mix” breeds, which appear in “low and measurable amounts.” In other words, your dog shares a few markers with breeds that have no influence on its characteristics — that is, you stand a strong possibility of getting very little information for your money.

So, try the test for fun, if you enjoy that sort of thing — but, one way or the other, congratulate yourself for choosing an animal likely to be healthier, smarter, and generally superior to any pure-bred. Hooray for hybrid vigor! Hooray for mutts!

1 Star Waste of money …
I bought this test for 2 of my dogs recently. They are pretty silly … One of my dogs looks just like a Border Collie and is actually a Beagle mix is all we know - it came back Level 2 Keeshond and Yorkshire Terrier, Level 3 Airdale Terrier, Border Collie and Newfoundland. No Beagle. The next pup is a Husky mix that also looks like a collie (one parent was known half husky) - the results on this one were Level 2 Minature Pincher, Level 3 Chow Chow and Level 4 Collie. So on both dogs, the ONLY known breeds in both of them did not show up at all. What’s the point??? It’s the same as spinning a wheel of 100 breeds and making it all up.

2 Stars I question the accuracy of this test
It is a good idea but I don’t think it is accurate at this time. I ran this test on three of my mix breed dogs.

Dog #1) The test was not able to determine much at all about the dog I know the least about though they did offer to retest later when their database gets better. I am guessing that dog is 13 or 14 so he probably won’t be around for that.

Dog #2) The person who gave us this dog said she came from a home with a German Shepherd bitch and a male Shar Pei. The were quite sure that her mother was the German Shepherd. The test came back with no indication of German Shepherd or SharPei though it did mention Chow, Shih Tzu, Akita and Saluki so I guess it was sort of close. I still can’t figure out why they could not detect German Shepherd.

Dog #3) This dog really looks like a Shar Pei mix since he has loose skin, a blue tongue and odd shaped feet. He was tested 3 times and the lab claimed we never were able to send enough DNA to do the analysis. My husband threw the final set of swabs away in disgust. I am kicking myself because I let him do that. I should have sent them back with DNA from my AKC registered German Shepherd just to see what would come back.

5 Stars So Much Fun!
I got this kit for my pitbull mix. Clearly pitbulls are not yet one of the breeds that they test for, but the primary came back as “unidentified terrier” so I’m positive one of her parents was pure pit. The secondary came back as staffordshire terrier, and the “in the mix” was the interesting part. It looks like some spunky little italian grey hound mixed with a staffordshire terrier at some point. Some attributes I thought were because my dog is rescued and was clearly mistreated, I am now thinking may be part of the italian greyhound in her. She’s extra sensitive, smaller than most pits, and is extremely submissive.

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