Dog DNA testing takes off, and generates debate
As people peer into DNA for clues to health and heritage, man's best friend is under the microscope, too.
Genetic testing for dogs has surged in recent years, fueled by companies that echo popular at-home tests for humans, offering a deep dive into a pet's genes with the swab of a canine cheek. More than a million dogs have been tested in little over a decade.
The tests' rise has stirred debate about standards, interpretation and limitations. But to many dog owners, DNA is a way to get to know their companions better.
What Vets Think of '23andMe for Dogs'
When Mars Petcare launched its first DNA test for dogs, in 2007, you could only get it through a vet. The breed-mix test required a blood draw, and Mars thought vets could help interpret the results for inquiring dog owners. But veterinarians, it turned out, weren't so keen on newfangled DNA tests then.
"We struggled with vets," says Angela Hughes, the veterinary-genetics research manager at Mars' Wisdom Health division. "There's a lot of demand out there, but sometimes the vet is a little more a hindrance than a help." So in 2009, after a technical change that allowed Mars to extract DNA from saliva instead of from blood, the company switched gears: It sold its Wisdom Panel test directly to customers.
Since then, the direct-to-dog-owner market has become bigger and more crowded: Embark, DNA My Dog, and Paw Print Genetics are just a few of the other companies eager to ship a cheek swab straight to your door.
[...] It can be tough for veterinarians to figure out what to do with these DNA results—especially when some test providers are scrupulous and others less so. "It's a little bit of a perfect storm of a slightly Wild West behavior," Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi says. "Who are these genetic-test providers? There's no standards. There's no regulations. There's no independent assessing body." Llewellyn-Zaidi is the project director for the Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs, a genetic database attempting to bring some order to the world of dog-DNA tests for health. "Veterinarians are rushing to catch up," she says. "Consumers are just going ahead and using the tests."
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Tuesday February 12 2019, @12:10PM (3 children)
There is so much going on in the dog world - some good and some bad - that it's hard to take a stand on something like this.
If you have a mutt, it might be interesting to know what all is in the mix. More curiousity than anything else.
If you have a purebred, from a breed with known potential problems, a good breeder should already be ensuring that those traits don't make it into the puppies. The dog owner shouldn't really have to worry about this.
If you have a purebred from a bad breeder? This should not happen, because you should check out your breeder before buying. Otherwise, you're likely to get what you deserve...
And for too many breeds, even the good breeders are part of the problem. So many breeds have been deliberately bred to be defective. Just a few examples:
And on and on, breed after breed. Sure, a DNA test may show that Fluffy doesn't have a heart problem, but Fluffy's entire breed is a genetic wasteland. Much of the dog-show and breeding world is guilty of deliberate animal cruelty.
There are breeds with fewer problems; these are mostly the working breeds that haven't been pushed in some weird cosmetic direction.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday February 12 2019, @01:09PM (2 children)
Incidentally, after reading the summary twice, I still don't understand what the problem is such that genetic testing is the solution unless it's an admission that the dog breeding world is a cesspit of cruelty and vanity. In which case, genetic tests are not the solution, nuking it from orbit is the solution.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @02:00PM
Build the wall to keep out the chihuahuas. It will be a small wall so it should be much cheaper.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Tuesday February 12 2019, @02:30PM
Slight correction that its the dog buying world demanding superficial stuff, and extreme optimization for feature A will probably result in inferior results for unoptimized feature Z.
Sorta like the human gene editing thing; we'd like to think people would breed for heart disease resistance, but you know it would end in a cesspool of boob size optimization and similar.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by VLM on Tuesday February 12 2019, @02:36PM (1 child)
I'm told breeds don't exist, genetics has nothing to do with characteristics, if you can't enumerate and identify by genetic data a precise number of breeds and genetic patterns then no breeds exist, breeds are not confined to political map boundaries therefore they don't exist, basically a bunch of nonsense.
So naturally its mere coincidence that a weiner dog had weiner dog parents and a dalmatian raised by weiner dogs would magically become a weiner dog, or raising golden retrievers on the magic dirt of Germany would magically turn them into German Shepherds in at most one generation, or that pit bulls happen to be aggressive so if one moves next door to your kids all that matters is "#notAllPitbulls" and the best thing for the world would be to intentionally breed nothing but undifferentiated mutts because no breed is "superior" for any definable task or lifestyle.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday February 12 2019, @06:08PM
genetics has nothing to do with characteristics
Ah, genetics are real all of a sudden?
"Cause you posted 16 times in the Darwin thread yesterday saying the opposite.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by mr_bad_influence on Tuesday February 12 2019, @04:15PM (2 children)
I have heard that some apartment buildings and homeowners associations require DNA testing for pets. Then they can identify the animal responsible for leaving their 'calling cards' scattered around and hold the owner responsible. We almost have more dogs than people in my town and I wish they'd require DNA testing for any pet licenses so we could identify the neighborhood culprits.
Sorry, too lazy to find references. Now, get off my lawn!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @06:35PM
what kind of fucking slave submits to licensing his pets?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @01:30AM
Can they do the same for San Francisco's homeless and H1B holders? Shit on the street, get sent back to India.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @05:19PM (1 child)
Send all dogs to hell and turn up the heat.
Filthy creatures that "hunt" only when in packs, and only of slow, sick animals. When one gets bitten by a cat, the screeching sound is worth hearing. A most funny moment is when one of the pack gets hit by a car. Nice. Real nice.
Dog-owners, keep your dogs on a leash and clearly marked with a collar so they won't get shot or run-over by vigilant citizens.
Thanks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @12:40AM
You Muslims also don't like bacon or alcohol. Losers!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @05:20PM
Thought I had a dog, got it DNA tested, turns out it's a cat.
Explains the cat shit in the house, I guess.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @05:26PM
It would be great to associate DNA with:
a. chance of biting
b. height of bite above ground (nearer to human faces)
c. jaw strength
d. powerful side-shaking (like pit bulls do)
You could then prove that your pit bull actually does have the DNA to be a safe dog. Before long, they'd all be that way, because we'd get the dangerous DNA out of the gene pool.