How accurate are dog DNA tests? We unleash the truth

If you're puzzled about the breed of your dog, you aren't alone. There are a number of dog DNA companies to help owners uncover the mysteries of their mutts.

But a Marketplace test found dog DNA tests geared toward consumers won't necessarily give owners the answers they're looking for. 

Marketplace recruited two mixed-breed dogs, one purebred dog and one human (Marketplace's very own Travis Dhanraj) to test the accuracy of consumer dog DNA tests. Their DNA was sent to four companies that claim to specialize in dog genetic testing: Wisdom Panel, Embark, Accu-metrics and DNA My Dog. 

Nearly all the results were different, even for the same dog, despite all claiming nearly 100 per cent accuracy rates. 

Molly, a five-year-old rescue dog from Kuwait, had stumped owner 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 at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, says when a dog appears to be a mix of many breeds, you shouldn't rely on conventional traits — like looks or behaviour — to determine the breed. 

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

The second dog tested was Loki, a 75-pound, three- or four-year-old rescue from Istanbul. A former street dog, his owners say he was in a shelter with about 300 other dogs before he was brought to Canada.

"Our guess is some type of terrier-hound mix," said 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 dog tested was Quinn, a 16-month-old purebred Great Dane who is also a service dog. 

"Am I 100 per cent sure she's 100 per cent Great Dane? Yes, absolutely I am," said Michelle Weger, Quinn's owner.

Quinn's breeder provided lineage documentation for Quinn tracing back to her great-great grandparents. 

Quinn is Weger's service dog for narcolepsy. A well-bred, large purebred dog was important to Weger, who experiences cataplexy, a symptom of narcolepsy where an individual can collapse when experiencing strong emotions. Quinn will sense when a collapse is about to happen, and cue Weger to sit down to avoid hitting her head, typically by grabbing her arm.