What breed is my dog? DNA test for pets aims to reveal genetic secrets – animal experts in Hong Kong weigh in on the pros and cons

Sootie is a mixed-breed rescue puppy. She was only eight weeks old when I adopted her and she has grown to be a strong girl in the last two years. Born in a kennel, she is supposed to be part terrier – but there are aspects to her that just do not add up. For one, Sootie’s hair can grow very long, and she has an underbite that gives her an endearingly dopey expression. She is very excitable yet territorial, and she has a weird sneeze. When biotechnology company Prenetics released CirclePaw, a test that examines cat and dog DNA, I thought that there was no harm in learning more about her origins. The procedure was simple enough; its app provides step-by-step instructions on swabbing, storing and organising the delivery of samples. The process was smooth and I got my in-app results in a few weeks. They were a big surprise: Sootie was not part terrier at all. “I get a lot of these results from adopters,” says Catherine Lumsden, founder of dog shelter Catherine’s Puppies in Sai Kung, in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Lumsden is an acquaintance I had met on my journey to adopt a rescue puppy. These trained dogs rescue tourists from Sydney’s worst food thieves “One of these came back for a puppy that was a mix of six different breeds. The results said she was 55 per cent poodle and 19 per cent Thai ridgeback and, somewhere in there, she was five per cent Tibetan mastiff. “So far, she’s a small little thing, no sign of the mastiff lineage anywhere,” she says. Asked if the ability to know a rescue dog’s breed is a good or bad thing, Lumsden believes it is a double-edged sword. For people looking to adopt a dog from a rescue organisation, knowing the mix of breeds may provide insights into the types of health problems the dog might experience. For example, Labradors and German shepherds are prone to hip problems as they age. Collies have a tendency to develop cataracts – a clouding of the lens of the eye – later in life. However, this does not mean a dog that has some of a breed’s DNA is going to develop the problems of that breed. Lumsden says she has seen a small percentage of DNA tests return results that show a dog has a mix from a breed that may be considered dangerous or that potential adopters see as less desirable. “This can mean a beautiful mixed-breed dog doesn’t get a home.” Shelter dogs and cats bring calm to beginner yoga classes – and find homes Hong Kong veterinary surgeon Pauline Taylor wonders about the accuracy of such DNA tests. “The only way to really know would be to buy a few of these tests to cross- reference, but that would be quite expensive.” CirclePaw’s pet test starts at HK$1,690 (US$220) and a DNA kit from Hong Kong company Lucky Pets will set you back HK$2,968. Registered veterinary professional Edmund Wong says pet DNA tests can cause anxiety for pet owners. “A lot of pet owners want to test their dog or cat to see if it’s prone to certain cancers. This leads to making decisions about buying insurance for, or even deciding if they can carry the financial burden of treating, their pet before anything has happened.” Wong sees a wider application for DNA tests for a pet – they could be used after a cat or dog has been diagnosed with a disease. “There are services like Fido Cure which are genome-testing dogs that have been diagnosed with cancer to help determine which therapy is best for treating them. It’s like targeted therapy for your dog. That’s pretty cutting-edge stuff.” While it may be interesting to learn what breeds your rescue puppy is made up of, the results might not provide much useful information. Is having a pet good for your health? Studies show heart and brain benefits While it was good to know that Sootie is 40 per cent Lhasa apso and 30 per cent shar pei with some German shepherd and bichon frisé thrown into the mix, the rest of the findings given were less accurate. The results stated that Sootie is a dog that rarely barks; she barks quite a lot. They also suggested that she had a high chance of developing cutaneous histiocytomas, or benign tumours. “Any dog can get cancer,” remarks Taylor. “As for behavioural traits, if you think about how IQ [intelligence quotient] and EQ [emotional quotient] can vary greatly when [comparing] humans, then you can imagine how they can vary greatly between animals, regardless of what they are naturally predisposed to.” Finding out that Sootie is almost half Lhasa apso has helped me figure out in what style to tell the groomers to cut her hair. As for the health problems, I will deal with whatever may come along as they arise. Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.