Confirm Your Dog’s Breed With a Doggie DNA Test

There are a bunch of pet DNA companies out there offering pet owners information about their dog’s breed with a simple cheek swab, but are they really accurate? The truth is, many of them are — but some aren’t. Boston’s CBS affiliate, WBZ-TV, decided to test some of them by purchasing a kit and sending back a human cheek swab to see if these company’s can differentiate between human and canine DNA.

Reporter Christina Hager sent her cheek swab to three different companies: Orivet, Wisdom Panel, and DNA My Dog. The first two sent back messages saying the samples did not contain enough DNA to identify a breed. But the the third sent back a full report of results indicating that Hager is 40% Alaskan Malamute, 35% Shar-Pei, and 25% Labrador. The news team contacted DNA My Dog but have not heard back.