Dog's Paternity in Doubt

More owners are turning to dog DNA tests when their dog's paternity is in doubt.

I purchased a Lab puppy three years ago from a breeder, and I was able to see his mother and father. I was assured both parents were AKC registered. Although I didn't plan to show him or use him at stud, I registered him with the AKC.

One week ago I received a letter from the AKC; a DNA analysis was done for my dog's litter and their named sire. It stated that regrettably, the registered sire was not a match, so my dog and his litter mates were removed from the AKC registry.

I questioned the breeder several times, and asked her to give a logical explanation. She said that regardless of what the DNA analysis said, my dog's father is indeed the sire in question. Is this possible in any remote way? I paid $800.00 with the confidence of getting a specific lineage, but now I am very upset, uncertain of my pet's heritage and I'm not getting any answers from the breeder. She is totally ignoring my requests for explanation.

Are there any avenues I can take to get answers and make sure the breeder doesn't get away with her behavior?

~~ Wasabi

Expert Reply

Wow, I'm sorry to hear about your predicament. There are a number of suggestions I can make, but are you sure you want to pursue this? If you were breeding and showing the dog it would be different because then you would be accountable for all the stud services. Consider yourself lucky that you just wanted your dog for a pet. In that respect you haven't lost anything.

I'm not clear about the DNA test. Did you request it, or did you just receive a courtesy notification of the test from AKC? If someone else requested the test, then they are probably already pursuing the breeder for the mistake.

First, if I were in your shoes, I would want to know whether a second test was run to confirm the results of the first test. Mistakes have been made by labs in the past, so it's worth checking.

Second, you could have the test done on your own dog to see if he's a match to the named sire. Since bitches send down multiple eggs, it's very possible that the breeder could have witnessed the breeding with the named sire, and another male could have also bred the bitch by accident and unnoticed. This could result in puppies from the same litter having different sires. It would also explain why she's so certain about which dog she believes the sire is.

I know it's difficult to have the pedigree pulled right out from under you like this, but I think it would be easier to let it go, and just love your dog for the wonderful pet he's been the last three years. All that has really changed is the name of his sire. If you don't feel like you can forget about it, I suppose you can gather up all the paperwork and take the breeder to small claims court.

If it were up to me, I'd chalk it up to experience and move forward.

~~ Kelly

Hi!

I have just bought a pair of Rotweiller puppies, and the person who sold them to me, claims that they are not brothers. Is there a test that we can conduct to prove whether or not they are brothers?

~~ Dimitris

Expert Reply

Hi Dimitiris,

Yes, fortunately there is a test that can show whether or not these puppies are related. A company called Metamophix makes and markets a Dog DNA Breed Test that shows if dogs have parents in common as well as confirms their lineage. So far the test is only useful for 38 breeds, but Rotweilers are on the list.

It will cost you approximately $65.00 for each test kit, but the process is very easy. All you have to do is swab the inside of each dog's check and seal the swab in the container provided. Label each one with the appropriate dog's info and send it back to Metamorphix. You'll have a report with the results in just a few weeks.

Thanks for your question~~ Kelly

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