Customer Reviews

BioPet DNA Breed Identification Kit

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3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(84)

 

 

I have been rescueing pit bulls for about 20 years,and have been selling diagnostics(Lab equipment)for about the same time.Recently I purchased 4 of these so called breed tests from BioPet Vet Lab.There data base is only for AKC breeds,and pitbulls are not recognized by the AKC,I expected no match to be found.With the assistance of my DVM,we ran a test on a confiscated fighting dog I named "SweetPea", she is great with humans ,but like most pits she is very dog agressive,and after dealing with this breed for 20 years I assure you there is NO AKC blood here !Imagine my surprise that not only did we get back results ,but that this dog has 7 AKC breeds in it.I showed the results to my vet,which said she is a mix of Yorkshire terrier,border collie,and saint bernard to name a few.He laughed and asked if I wanted to do a little experiment,which was to run the same dogs DNA with a different name,with my vet as the owner so BioPet would not know what we were doing.The results for "doe5557"aka "sweetPea" came back as a different mix of AKC blood,this time instead of Rottweiler being in the mix,Rhodesian Ridgeback was in there, and the various levels of how much of each breed was also different.In lab speak testing accurracy is based on reproducability, with PCR (the technology used here)there is to much variability to be precise enough to tell what is in your dog! The first test result was flawed,and even though it was wrong the results of the second test should have been the same as the first.When "sweetPea" was confiscated from a local fighting ring she was pregnant,and had 8 beautiful pitbull puppies,one of which I decided should stay with us,I named him "Bubba",who with my DVM's help we decided to test.His test came up with another AKC mix,with 7 breeds that they DON'T share,when I showed the results to my vet He said; A)this was genetically impossible B)get your money back !Even though they say complete satisfaction or you can retest on them or get your money back,after 3 requests,I'm not holding my breath. My advice is to save the $60.00 and go get you dog a bunch of treats and toys!The technology they are using is outdated and Humans convicted of crimes using this type of testing have been overturned , unfortunatly there are no regulations on the claims they are making for this test as it is animal testing,not human.

We rescued a puppy from NSAL in long island NY in 10/08. She was supposedly a border collie mix. As she was growing larger than a border collie we new something wasn't right. we tested with biopet and she was classified as a chow, beagle, daschund & poodle mix. this made no sense to us as we couldn't match any of her physical characteristics to these breeds. Then we took her to the vets for a $200 blood dna test. Turns out our puppy is a chow, golden retriever & siberian husky mix. This combo explained everything about her looks and personality. Of course, we love her no matter what she is .....my advice? save the $50 and apply it to the $200....

I gave one of these to my wife as a gift, and she sent in a sample from our rescue dog. This dog has the body of a Doberman - deep chested, sleek, muscular, standing about 27" at the wither. His head is shaped more like that of a Shepherd. He is jet black.

My wife, who teaches biology and studies genetics for fun, actually burst into laughter when she read the results of the test. Our dog was analyzed as being a mix of 5 miniature breeds (fluffy lap dogs) with some Chow thrown in. No matter how you look at it, the results were preposterous.

We understand that mix-ups sometimes happen, and attempted to contact the supplier several times. A re-test would have been a reasonable restitution, but the manufacturer never responded in any way, shape, or form. Pretty poor.

This test seems to be a hit or miss proposition. Based on our experience, I suspect that sloppy handling in the lab may be a major factor. Perhaps the kit should include two test swabs, to be analyzed separately.

I regret making this purchase, though if money were no object, I'd be tempted to test the same dog again just for the entertainment value of reading the results...

I submitted my dog's DNA and was impressed at the quick turn around time. The information I received was clear and fully understandable. I felt that it was worth the money I paid. DNA doesn't lie, and just because one's dog does not look like a specific breed does not mean that the test is somehow flawed. One thing to consider is the scope of the database being used. Some labs offer a broader database, thus if you have a dog that you want tested you should check the breed list before ordering. After receiving my results a friend of mine wanted to have his dog tested. However, the breeds he suspects his dog of being are not included in the BioPet data base, so he went with another lab. Overall I was very happy.

When we got our dog, we also saw the mother - a pure golden retriever. Although many people mistake our dog for a pure bred golden, we always suspected the father may have had something else in him, perhaps collie. We got our results back and they said our dog has NO golden retriever in him but is primarily daschund. What a joke!!

Like others here who were excited about getting their results back we were too. Our dog? A mutt with definate cattle-dog and possibly german-shepherd mixed in. What did the results say? They were laughable, really. Afghan Hound, Airedale Terrier, Rottweiler, POODLE!, Miniature Pinscher, and of course, Chihuahua!

Unbelievable!

I am going to contact the lab and ask if they could have made a mistake and see if they'll do the test again or refund my money. It doesn't take a genius to take one look at our dog and tell that she has none of these breeds in her (well, remotely the rotty might be possible).

Very diaspponted.

Update: I contacted the lab and told them of the results. They responded very promptly and are sending out another kit. That's great customer service. I hope we get different results this time. :)

Update2: OK, sent the second test in. The results were virtually identical (sans the chihuahua this time). At least this shows there wasn't an error at the lab (I think). Who knows? Maybe our dog DOES have all these breeds in her. We kind of joke about it now. If she behaves a certain way we might say "hmm, that must be the airdale in her!". That's what I love about muts, they're so unpredictable....who knows what it's their ancestry!

I've always wondered what my mixed breed is. He is a pretty dog and I thought maybe he had Border Collie or maybe some German Shepherd in him. Turns out he's mostly Chow Chow which accounts for his coloration and his curved tail & purple tongue, Afghan Hound and Pembroke Welsh Corgi which is why his body seems long for his size, and he is part Collie which accounts for his instinct for herding. Now that I know his genetic background, I better understand his personality characteristics. It's just fun to know what my dog is made of, and I'm really glad that I had the test done!

We thought our little guy was a chihuahua mix, but it turns out NO chihuahua. He's part miniature pinscher (probably where the chihuahua looking face comes in), Newfoundland (no black on him but his mom, brother and sister are mostly black), Pembroke Welsh corgi (has corgi legs), cocker spaniel, and pekingese (has curled tail, mom does too). The Newfoundland surprised me as he is only 12 lbs. @ 5 mos. and his dad is also about 12 lbs. and mom is smaller! When he was born he was pure white -- looking like a polar bear cub. Now he is white w/buff from top of his head to his rump (corgi & cocker spaniel?) I'm waiting for results on my other dog now. Can't wait to see what she is!

I knew my dog was a German Shepherd mix, but we didn't know what he was mixed with. He's mixed with chow, which really explains the curly tail and black spots on his tounge. He is also mixed with boxer, which helps to explain some of his behaviors. I like this company because they don't ask you to send in a picture "to attach to the certificate". I know that this DNA test is authentic because they haven't seen my dog. I am definitely satisfied.

I got my DNA test done last week. i know that my dog is predominately collie, but was not sure what else he is mixed with. It came back level 2 Rottie level 3 chow level 4 dalmation. I was confused only because they didnt come back with collie. I have to say that their customer service is absolutely wonderful and they are testing the second swab in the kit for free! According to their terms, they did not have to do so. I will update with results when I have a chance. It has been fun and worth the price for the entertainment I got out of it!
UPDATE: The first test we administered to our Humane Society dog came back with Rotweiller~Chow~Dalmation. He was listed at the Humane Society as a Border Collie mix, but he looked almost exactly like a regular Collie. So we didn't believe the first results and contacted Bio-Pet. They ran a test on the second swab that was included in the first test set. They said the DNA on the first swab was minimal and could result in strange results. So, the second swab test is returned with the same results. They had already sent me a new test kit, so when I received it I retested him. By now they had a photo of Jed, who looks just like a Collie. The test results came back THE SAME. After looking through many photos of Chows and Rotweillers, I am now a believer. The customer service at Bio-Pet was fantastic, I have never been so well taken care of. They could have given me results based on the photo, but obviously they didn't.
I am very happy with this test kit and the company. I have posted a photo of Jed on [...], others can go there and post pics of their dog and their results for fun. Tell me if you can see Rotweiller or Chow in him........lol.