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Originally Posted by chattiesmom  This thread has been the most exciting/enlightening/educating thread I've had the pleasure of reading - all 577 posts. It took several days to catch up between taking care of our injured stallion and playing with my 10 year old grandson. How fascinating to read all of the info on doggie DNA. I do have a question - and this isn't meant to stir the pot or change the direction of this thread.
If I am reading correctly the results of Minnie's DNA test is entirely a result of the Mars testing in which they compared the DNA samples of 10,000 dogs to Minnie's sample. I know 10,000 is a big number, but is it really when we consider all of the different dog breeds and mixes and DNA combinations possible?
Also, how many Yorkies were DNA'd to come up with the Yorkie DNA identification analysis -- and how were the Yorkies samples that were tested proven to be 100% Yorkie?
Knowing that Mars is a "for profit" company I am a bit hesitant to take the results at face value. I know I know, I'm a bit suspicious, just like I am of the dog food comparisons that are "owned by the dog food company that comes out on top.
Some time back there was a long thread about Mars testing in a Beiwer vs Parti Yorkie vs Yorkie discussion. That one got rather heated and I certainly don't want to visit that again, but after reading through that long thread and reading some of the Mars site, I kinda doubted the validity of the testing. Anywho, with that thread we didn't have a genetic expert on board to help explain all the ins and outs.
Oki, I'm done - I hope I didn't offend, I'm not even trying to be a devil's advocate and look at the flip side, I honestly want to know when and how to believe test result. |
No offense taken! I sent an email to MARS Labs asking how many Yorkies were in their DNA database, and how they were certified as purebred. They replied that they had a little over 300 Yorkies in their database. The US ones were all AKC registered with pedigrees. The Canadian dogs were all Canadian Kennel Club dogs with pedigrees. The European ones were certified by the European clubs.
I think that the quality of dogs in their database is good, but they really need to add more Yorkie DNA samples to their database.
Here's a bit of interesting information about the MARS parent company:
Mars brands include: Petcare -- PEDIGREE(R) , ROYAL CANIN(R) , WHISKAS(R) , KITEKAT(R) , BANFIELD(R) Pet Hospital and NUTRO(R) ; Chocolate -- M&M'S(R) , SNICKERS(R) , DOVE(R) , GALAXY(R) , MARS(R) , MILKY WAY(R) and TWIX(R) ; Wrigley -- DOUBLEMINT(R) , EXTRA(R) , ORBIT(R) and 5(TM) chewing gums, SKITTLES(R) and STARBURST(R) candies, and ALTOIDS(R) AND LIFESAVERS(R) mints. Food -- UNCLE BEN'S(R) , DOLMIO(R) , EBLY(R) , MASTERFOODS(R) , SEEDS OF CHANGE(R) and ROYCO(R) ; Drinks -- ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS(TM), THE BRIGHT TEA COMPANY(TM), KLIX(R) and FLAVIA(R) ; Symbioscience -- COCOAVIA(R) WISDOM PANEL(R) and SERAMIS(R) .
From:
New Improved Dog DNA Test Now Covers 200+ Breeds And Varieties - WSJ.com