A Toronto-based company that analyzes canine DNA is in the doghouse after an investigative report raised questions about the accuracy of its dog breed identification tests.
These DNA testing kits cost between $79.99 and $199.99 and are analyzed at the company’s office in Birch Cliff, a neighbourhood in the eastern part of Toronto.
An investigative team at WBZ News, located in Boston, Mass., decided to put DNA My Dog, and other pet DNA services like it, to the test.
But instead of sending in a cheek swab from a dog, they submitted DNA taken from the cheek of their reporter, Christina Hager.
But DNA My Dog determined that Hager was 40 per cent Alaskan Malamute, 35 per cent Shar-Pei and 25 per cent Labrador, according to the report.
🐶 A pet DNA testing company said a sample from my cheek shows I’m part Labrador #wbz https://t.co/lpIXB8VzIt — Christina Hager (@HagerWBZ) March 13, 2024.
“Our test is designed to measure canine DNA specifically, not DNA from humans nor any other species,” Barnett wrote. »