I bought a BioPet DNA breed identification kit for the Funk a few months back and Robert and I finally got around to submitting it a few weeks ago. Yesterday I was giddy with glee to see the results envelope in my mailbox but I waited for Robert to get home so we could open it together. When the time finally came and we got to see just what kind of ears Garfunkel really has, we were flabbergasted to find that Lab was not listed as one of the five (that's right - five!) breeds on his result sheet! WTF?!! According to BioPet, Garfunkel is comprised of:
- 10 - 19% Shar-Pei
- 10 -19% German Shepherd
- 10 - 19% Border Collie
- Less than 10% Chow Chow
- Less than 10% Keeshond
This is a black lab puppy:
And this is the Funk:
Eerily similar, no?But BioPet wants me to believe that
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Really? Garfunkel does have a curly tail and erect-but-floppy ears, so I do see some traits of the listed dogs in him. But there has GOT to be some Lab, I tell you! Stupid $50 DNA test. You SUCK!
* One of Garfunkel's litter mates had a Mars Panel done and her DNA came back as part Chow Chow, part Australian Cattle Dog. So I guess the Chow Chow bit of the Funk's analysis is at least a wee bit correct. Weird. Who the frak knows what the puppies actually are?! Yeesh. (The Mars Panel is $125 so even if it's more reliable, I don't believe we will be purchasing one. Sorry, Funk. You'll just have to be a mutt of unknown origins!)
4 comments:
I see that Biopet says this about the DNA Breed ID product: "The aim was therefore to be able to accurately identify the breeds that are likely to be present in the mixed breed dog." Hardly a compelling results guarantee, but then again the web is not awash with outraged posts outing this as a bogus product, so who knows? Wrong sample analyzed, or maybe the labrador nucleotides fell off during the mailing process.... Whatever the reason, he still looks enough like a lab to be a lab, from my perspective.
The picture of The Funk as a puppy is spot-on to the picture of the lab puppy, but now that I see the picture of the black German Shepherd that you posted, I'm convinced that's what he is. Flop those dog's ears, and you've got The Funk.
I agree - I haven't read any 'BioPet sucks!' posts anywhere, either... but I'm still not bowled over. Supposedly, the cheek swab tests (like BioPet) are less reliable than blood tests (like Wisdom Panel) but still!
And I agree, Robert, that the Funk does look like the black German Shepherd... but his tail is still super curly (Chow?) and his paws are webbed, damn it! Where does that come from?
And how to explain the incessant chewing up of stuff?
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