The Michigan Pet Fund Alliance encourages shelters and home-based rescue organization to operate with full transparency concerning the breed of dogs in their care. Dogs for which breed heritage is unknown should be labeled as "Unknown", "Mixed Breed" or "American Rescue/Shelter Dog". Only dogs for which pedigreed paperwork is provided or DNA analysis is conclusive of the breed, shall be designated by breed. Dogs for which a pedigree parent can be verified or for which DNA analysis is provided, can be noted as a mix-(noting the prominent breed) on kennel card - as long as a copy of the analysis/pedigree document is included.
Background: What kind of dog is that? A question many dog guardians, veterinarians, shelter and rescue staff and volunteers have heard countless times. Individuals ask for a variety of reasons: they like the size and looks, they believe certain breeds are smart or dangerous, if it is a puppy they want to know what size to expect when it is fully grown, they expect certain behaviors from certain breeds - i.e. they believe that all retrievers love the water, they are trying to determine exercise needs, potential for barking or they are just making conversation.
Veterinarians and animal welfare workers have traditionally used physical appearance as the primary means of breed identification when of unknown origin, with characteristics such as the dog's size, weight, musculature, legs, tail and coat.
Research: In a study conducted in 2009 by Voith, Ingram, Mitsouras, and Irizarry, 20 dogs that were breed labeled and adopted by 17 different shelters were then DNA tested. In this test 31% of the dogs showed some DNA evidence of the labeled breed that the adoption agencies provided. However, 90% of the dogs that had a predominant breed in their DNA analysis did not have that breed in the label they were given.
A 2013 study by the same researchers with the same 20 dogs asked 923 animal professionals to visually label the dogs. Fewer than half were able to correctly identify any breed heritage as indicated in the DNA analysis for 70% of the dogs. Agreement among the respondents was also very poor, disagreeing on breed selections about 75% of the time.
The most recent study that examined visual breed identification and objective DNA results (Gunter et al., 2018) used the largest sample of dogs to date (all the dogs entering two large limited admission shelters over a year-long study period) to look at the breed composition of the dogs in the shelters. Labels were still completely wrong for 33% of the dogs in the shelter, meaning that one out of three dogs were labeled with a breed that could not be found in their DNA even at the great-grandparent level.
Researchers have known for decades that even first-generation crossbreeds often look dramatically different than either parent (Scott & Fuller, 1960). All research to date has found that visual identification of breeds based on morphology (the form and structure of the animal) has failed to accurately and consistently identify a dog's primary make-up when compared to DNA analysis.
Implications: The public selecting a dog from a shelter or homebased rescue expects the information they receive to be true and accurate, especially from a government shelter when tax dollars are used to support the operation. Placing a label on a dog is communicating that dog's genetic make-up is known, the same as indicating its sex, weight, color etc. Identifying a breed make-up when unknown can also erroneously set an expectation the animal may possess certain behaviors associated with the particular breed. When dogs are labeled lab-mix, shepherd-mix, terrier-mix, beagle-mix, etc.; unfounded assumptions such as, a lab is a good family dog, shepherds are good protectors or a beagle will be good for hunting may be made.
However, breed labels can have a much more damaging effect for the family and dog. It can prohibit the owner from securing certain housing, living in certain communities, make it impossible or difficult to secure insurance and if insurance is secured, it is with higher premiums.
Unless the dog is a registered breed, or if a DNA test is conducted; research suggests that accuracy in determining the breed make-up of a dog based upon its looks, especially among mixed-breed dogs is highly inaccurate.
Alternatives: Labeling should reflect what is known. If a dog is surrendered with pedigree paperwork then the breed should be noted. If a dog is surrendered with a DNA profile or if the agency conducts a DNA analysis then the result of the analysis for breed that is 50% or greater in the profile can be noted with the mix.
Dogs for which breed is unknown should be marked "Unknown Breed", "Mixed-Breed" or "American Shelter/Rescue Mixed Breed".
Using breed identification made by other organizations should only be used if they are verified by pedigree paperwork or DNA analysis.
Additional Information: Animal Farm Foundation has a complete listing of research, FAQ's, shelter software work arounds and suggestions for implementing changes: https://animalfarmfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Breed-Labels-ebook.pdf
About the Michigan Pet Fund Alliance
The single mission of Michigan Pet Fund Alliance is to stop the killing of healthy and treatable homeless cats and dogs in Michigan shelters. It is an all-volunteer organization collaborating with shelter and rescue organizations to achieve No Kill through training, technical assistance, education and advocacy. For more information visit www.michiganpetfund.org.
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