Pedro - The Mexican Mix

Pedro's loving owner, Carrie, provided the following note:

We just got our results from Pedro’s DNA test and this has got to be one of the most varied mixes on the blog! Pedro came from a shelter in Baja, Mexico, where there are lots of German Shepherds and Chihuahuas. After being told by the vet that he would be a 20 lb dog, we brought him home, where he barely survived Parvo and a subsequent hernia operation, then grew to be 60 lbs! The vet notes him as “Chow mix”, probably because of the black tongue, but we’ve always speculated he’s some kind of shepherd/collie mix. It turns out we were both pretty wrong:

• Boson Terrier: Level 3
• German Shorthaired Pointer: Level 3
• Bulldog: Level 4
• Chihuahua: Level 4
• Collie: Level 4
  

Thanks to Carrie! Happy New Year!

Tasha

Natasha's owner thought this regal beauty was possibly a Husky/Shepherd mix but was happy to learn she was all Siberian Husky.

• Siberian Husky - Level 1

From Tasha's owner:

"She was in a kill shelter when Husky House in Bridgewater NJ rescued her and brought her to me to adopt. We’re thrilled with the results. But then again we would have been happy with anything she is.

Barb"

Charley Booger Brown

Charley's proud owner adopted her from Posh Pets Rescue in New York City. Charley's owner says she's quite the jumper so she was curious about what she is. Turns out she's a classic mixed-breed dog with several different breeds in the mix. Charley's owner said she hoped to learn she was a Level 1 or Level two of something but said, "Still, this was fun!"

• Boston Terrier - Level 3
• Weimaraner - Level 3
• Dachsund - Level 4
• Saint Bernard - Level 4
• Schnauzer - Level 4

BioPet Vet Lab Results - Levels Explained

When a customer receives the Ancestry Analysis Certificate for their dog, the breeds that make up their pet are presented in five different levels, depending on the amount of DNA present. The levels are defined below:

• Level 1: Over 75% of the DNA found in your dog is from the breed listed.
• Level 2: Each breed listed represents between 37-74% of your dog’s DNA
• Level 3: Each breed listed represents between 20-36% of your dog’s DNA
• Level 4: Each breed listed represents between 10-19% of your dog’s DNA
• Level 5: Each breed listed represents less than 10% of your dog’s DNA.

As always, if you have questions about the test or your results, contact Happy Dog DNA using the contact page at www.HappyDogDNA.com.

Toby

Toby's owners submitted his results after receiving them about two weeks after ordering the test from Happy Dog DNA (including shipping time in three directions!). The following is the note from his proud owners:

Happydog,

Toby wanted me to send his picture along with the results of his DNA test:

• Cocker Spaniel: Level 2
• Chow Chow: Level 4
• Yorkshire Terrier: Level 4
• Dachshund: Level 5

He said he believes it all except the dachshund!

Thanks for such a cool product!

And thanks to Toby's owners for helping us out. Note from Happy Dog: Toby's Level 5 Dachsund indicates that he is less than 10% Dachsund which means the dominant characteristics of the Dachsund may not be evident.

Mickey

Mickey's owner wrote the following nice note after receiving Mickey's DNA test results:

• Cocker Spaniel - Level 1

happydog,

Thank you for the fast response to my puppy's DNA. I bought him as a purebred Cocker. Everyone was saying he looked more like Springer Spaniel so i used your service and he came out only Cocker Spaniel.

Thank you so much. I love him no matter what the outcome could have been. This is a great service.

Deidra

Eddie

Eddie's proud owners, Keith and Takai (shown with Eddie), were pretty sure that he was Shih Tzu and Lab, confirmed by the dog DNA test, but were surprised to also learn that he is also part Saluki and Poodle.

• Shih Tzu - Level 2
• Labrador Retriever - Level 3
• Saluki - Level 4
• Poodle - Level 4

Klinger

This from Klinger's happy owners:

"Klinger was adopted from Stray Rescue in St. Louis, Missouri. They told us that he was a Shepherd mix. Well, we received his results today and as it turns out he doesn't have any "Shepherd" in him at all. Strays are always a guessing game but often times the best type of dog. Klinger truly is the best and his results shed some light on his personality and behavior traits.

Thank you."

• Labrador Retriever - Level 2
  
• Chow Chow - Level 3
• German Shorthaired Pointer- Level 4
  
• Poodle - Level 4
• Rottweiler - Level 4
  

Kringle

Kringle's owners picked him up from the local SPCA and was told that he was a likely a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix. After testing his DNA with the BioPet Vet Lab test, they learned he was was mostly Chihuahua but also part Chow Chow. He is a cutey!

• Chihuahu - Level 1
• Chow Chow - Level 4

Roanoke Valley SPCA Howl-O-Ween Event!

Happy Dog DNA is a proud sponsor of the Roanoke Valley SPCA Howl-O-Ween fundraising event scheduled to take place on October 26 at Roanoke's Elmwood Park. The RVSPCA event is being held to raise much-needed funds to care for the animals housed at their facility. If you live in the area, please come out to support this worthy event!

Learn more: http://www.rvspca.org/announcements/DNATesting.php

Rosco

Rosco's proud owners, from Columbia, MO, learned from the BioPet Vet Lab Breed Identification Test that he is a mixture of the following breeds:

• Golden Retriever - Level 2
• Chinese Shar-Pei - Level 4
• Chow Chow - Level 4
• Bichon Frise - Level 5
• Mastiff - Level 5

More BioPet Vet Lab In The News

Today's (August 12, 2008) Virginia-Pilot ran Lisa Suhay's story about her satisfying experience with the BioPet Vet Lab Dog Breed ID Test. Lisa was happy to learn that her dog, Wag, is a Cadoodle!

read article here

McKenzie - The...?

The happy owners of McKenzie from Saranac Lake, NY provided this sweet photo and the test results from BioPet Vet Lab:

• German Shepherd Dog - Level 2
  
• Schnauzer - Level 4
  
• Doberman Pinscher - Level 5
  
• Lhasa Apso - Level 5
  

Name that mixed-breed mashup! Thanks to McKenzie's owners for providing the photo and the results.

Bruno - The Peking Cockapoo!

Bruno, this cute little guy from Marina Del Rey, is a "Peking Cocakpoo" (detected levels not reported):

• Pekingese
• Cocker Spaniel
• Poodle

Thank you to his owners for sharing his photo!

Cinder, the Knight Hound!

Occasionally we'll post photos and test results from Happy Dog DNA customers. Here is the first installment.

BioPet Vet Lab analyzed Cinder's DNA and sent back the following results:

• Italian Greyhound Level 3
• Chow Chow Level 3
• Saluki Level 4
• Poodle Level 4
• Keeshond Level 4
• Boston Terrier Level 4

Cinder's owners wrote:

"We were so excited to receive Cinder's test results. We were not surprised to learn that he is truly a mutt...a much loved one. We adopted him from the pound a day before he was to be destroyed. We are the lucky ones, for he has proved to be a happy little dog (30 lbs) and has brought much joy to our lives. We had lost our dog of 17 years and couldn't imagine a home without a dog. From now on, he is officially a "Knight Hound" - definitely one of a kind. Thanks a million."

Thanks to Cinder's owners for sending in the photo and the comments!

BioPet Vet Lab in USA Today... today

Dog DNA testing to determine the breeds in a mixed-breed dog continues to grow in popularity. People Magazine profiled several dogs a few months ago and now USA Today ran a full-page article on the benefits of getting your dog tested.

Dog owners are eager to learn about the potential health risks and the behavior characteristics that a particular breed may present. But, most of all, they simply want to be able to answer the question, "What kind of dog do you have?" Happy Dog DNA has sold hundreds of DNA tests to customers who now can confidently answer that question.

You can read the USA Today article here. Cool stuff.

Mardi Growl Parade

The First (Annual?) Mardi Growl was held Saturday, Feb. 2, in downtown Knoxville to celebrate the future site of the new downtown dog park scheduled to begin production this summer. Owners dressed up themselves and their pets and paraded from Market Square to the site at the southeast corner of Summit Hill and Central. The weather was brisk yet sunny and the turnout was fantastic.

Happy Dog DNA had a spiffy booth set up at the show and donated two DNA Breed Identification Tests as costume prizes. We had a great time introducing the product to the prospective customers.

Here are a few photos from the Parade.

If you made it to the parade, post a comment and let me know what you thought of it.

Mardi Growl Parade

Knoxville is hosting its first ever Mardi Growl Parade on Saturday, February 2 starting at 10:00. The dog and owner costume party will start at Market Square and continue up Gay Street to the site of the new dog park at the southeast corner of Summit Hill and Central.

Petsafe Village and Invisible Fence are sponsoring the event.

Happy Dog DNA is donating some dog DNA tests as prizes and will be hosting a booth to present the DNA test to the public.

Dress your dog and yourself and come join in the fun! To register your dog, call 865-215-2680.

BioPet Vet Lab in Knoxville News Sentinel

The Knoxville News Sentinel profiled BioPet Vet Lab's new DNA Breed Identification Test that has been available since January 1. BioPet Vet Lab is a division of EDP Biotech, a company that also is researching a cancer marker test that is about to be re-tested in trials. Exciting stuff.

http://knoxnews.com/news/2008/jan/17/determing-breed-a-breeze/

The DNA Breed Identification Test is available from www.happydogdna.com for $59.95 with free shipping through January.

I'm hoping to begin posting photos and stories from satisfied customers after they receive their test results.

Check back soon!

DNA Breed Testing Goes Mainstream

You know when People Magazine does an article on something, it's entered the mainstream and is quickly becoming the latest cool thing. On Page 134 of the current (Dec. 31, 2007) issue of People, they asked volunteers to submit a DNA sample of their mixed-breed dog to see what it's made of.

They came up with clever names for the different combinations: a "Cocker Samuel" for a Cocker Spaniel/Samoyed mix and a "Chug Chow" for a Chinese Shar-Pei, Pug, Chow mix.

Here's a cute story about a Yote, one of the dogs profiled in People: Yote.

Shameless Plug: You too can find out what your doggie is made of for the low price of less than sixty bucks (vs. 80 bucks for the test in the article). Check out www.happydogdna.com for more information.

The Proliferation of Dog Parks

Did you know that, according to the Humane Society, there are nearly 75-million dogs in the United States? That's more dogs than citizens of the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy or France. Owners of dogs have long needed a comfortable place to take their pets for a walk, a run, a splash in a fountain or simply a place to let there dogs socialize with other dogs. Strict leash laws that are now common in most urban areas are a good thing but they tend to (intentionally) limit a dog's freedom to do what dogs like to do.

Luckily for dog owners, and even non-dog owners, there has been an explosion of new dog parks springing up all over the country. Knoxville, TN, the scruffy little city I call home, has only one dog park inside the Victor Ashe Park. But, the City recently announced plans to build a new dog park inside the Tommy Schumpert Park and at an underutilized triangle of land in downtown adjacent to the Old City. It's hoped that the park will do wonders to alleviate the poop problem around the 100 Block of Gay Street. Now, if only the young hipsters who walk their dogs will go the extra block to the park... and pick up after their pets.

The two new Knoxville dog parks slated for opening in 2008 are made possible by a large contribution from PetSafe, local pet supply manufacturer, who makes dog doors, automatic feeders, wireless fence systems, etc. Hats off to them!

Happy New Year! Try to get to know your pets a little better this year and keep them healthy!