The DNAffirm ($49) test for dogs is the least expensive dog DNA kit we've tested, but don't let that tempt you.
In our testing, it got just about everything wrong, from misidentifying the ancestry of a purebred pup, to giving two different sets of results for the same mutt.
In addition, test results were late, postage is not included, and packaging is flimsy.
It may cost $100 more, but the Editors' Choice Wisdom Panel test is better in just about every way.
If you don't want to spend that much more, we recommend any other dog DNA kit we've tested over DNAffirm.
DNA Breed Analysis Only
DNAffirm comes from Viaguard Accu-metrics, which has tests for not only canines but also for felines and birds (it'll tell you the avian's gender, because no one wants to check out a cockatoo's junk).
A visit to Accu-Metrics.com shows a company for which DNA testing of all kinds, from animals to people, is just a small part of the services it renders.
It offers take-at-home tests for paternity, prenatal gender, Alzheimer's, genome disposition, and even infidelity if you find a suspicious stain.
For this price, you don't get genetic medical results on your pup—except for two gratis tests.
That's not surprising, as the cost to screen on multiple disorders pushes the price up to $180 or more with competitors like Wisdom Panel and Embark.
As with all the canine DNA kits, you should register the DNAffirm kit online before you send it in, so the company is waiting for your case ID/PIN number.
You can track the results, but it also emails you updates.
Similar Products
DNA My Dog Breed Identification Test
Embark Dog DNA Test (Breed + Health Kit)
DNAffirm is the only vendor that required me to upload a picture of the dog being tested.
You can't register without it.
The claim is that the company wants the photo for the final document it sends to you.
That Accu-metrics also asks what you suspect the dog's breed is gives the impression that you're doing the work for it.
DNA Collection
The packaging for DNAffirm is a simple envelope, not exactly the advanced box you get with the higher-cost tests like Embark and Wisdom Panel.
Inside is the return mailing envelope, sample envelope, a couple of sterile swabs, a business card preprinted with the case ID you need for tracking, and a sheet of paper with instructions on registration and how to swab.
Mine had a couple of typographical errors, which is not a confidence instiller from a company checking deoxyribonucleic acid.
Swabbing your dog for a sample with DNAffirm's kit is identical to that of DNA My Dog.
You get a couple of sterile long-handled swabs, put them in the cheek pouch of the dog's mouth (between the lower gums and cheek), and rub it around for 20 seconds.
Do that with each swab, place them in a specimen envelope, wait 20 minutes for them to air dry, and put them all in the pre-addressed envelope to mail out.
DNAffirm's Dog DNA test was the only one I tested that didn't include postage-paid on the return envelope.
That 50 cents to send the oversized envelope to its lab in Hamburg, NY, was annoying, especially considering the results (which we'll get to in a minute).
Estimated time to get a response from DNAffirm is confusing at best.
In one spot it says "seven days" but another says "14 days to process." My results arrived in 16 days from mailing, missing both deadlines.
DNA Reports
You'll get a few emails from Accu-metrics as you wait, reporting first on if your samples passed quality control, then that testing is under way, and finally that your results are ready.
That last one is a message with a link to download the PDF report.
The paperwork claims you can get the results at https://results.accu-metrics.com/, but logging in there with the codes for my tests resulted in a notice that case IDs with my number are only available via email.
The PDF is labeled "Canine Breed Composition DNA Analysis" and consists of a certificate that is signed by a laboratory director and specifies the breeds found at different levels, from Level 1 (your dog's major DNA breeds) to Level 5 (the lowest level of breeds present at 5 percent or less), if present.
This is also where DNAffirm sticks that picture of your pup it required, with a caption (also asked for at registration) plus the words "Semper Fidelis" ("always loyal" in Latin).
The various levels of breed composition, from 1 to 5, are the meat of the report.
Your dog only gets a level 1 if he or she has 75 percent or more of a specific breed.
Generally, your dog is only given a breed at Level 2 if one of the parents is a purebred.
With each level, the percentage of the listed breeds reduces, so more could show up.
The following pages are filled with info about dominant characteristics found in the breeds that make up your dog, all boilerplate descriptions listing possible health issues—the report doesn't specifically say your dog has them or doesn't.
Then comes the important page: the ancestry tree.
Even if your dog didn't get a listing under Level 1, 2, or 3, you'll see what DNAffirm considers the primary genetic makeup.
There's a listing of Your Dog's Unique Genetic Sequence, a 420-character block representing the four chemical bases of DNA: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C) and guanine (G).
I hoped they weren't simply random order, because who would know? Not to mention its useless to a doggie parent.
I'll get more into that sequence below.
Finally, there's a page with MDR1 (the multi-drug resistance gene mutation found mostly in herding breeds, but also in mixed breeds) and EIC (exercise induced collapse) screening test results.
Those are a nice addition, but some more details, even links to more information about the conditions, would have been helpful.
DNA Results
Here's the methodology I followed to evaluate the DNA kits.
I had three tests.
I used one on a purebred Golden Retriever named Griffin, owned by a friend.
The other two I used on my own dog and constant testing companion, Madison, a mutt of indeterminate origin.
I entered the first test with a decent picture of her with her real moniker and my name on the registration.
The second test was incognito: Madison's required picture has her head obscured by a hat, I called her "Daisy," (the name she had when adopted), and I put all the registration info in my wife's name.
The expected results for Griffin would be that he's 100 percent AKC standard Golden Retriever—it's the third most popular breed in the world.
With all the other DNA test services, that was the case.
DNAffirm, however, was the only provider to specify that while he's a Level 1 Golden, at Level 4 (great-grandparents, aka one-quarter of his DNA) he's Irish Setter.
Griffin's breeder and owner would disagree, and the other DNA tests from DNA My Dog, Embark, and Wisdom Panel all pegged him as Golden all the way back to great-great grandparents.
I expected the mutt's makeup to be all over the place, and the results concurred.
According to the first DNAffirm test performed, one parent was half American Staffordshire Terrier and half Beagle; the other parent was a mix of Italian Greyhound (first grandparent) and half Labrador/half Jack Russell Terrier (second grandparent).
That's fine—but the second test for "Daisy" claimed one parent was half Italian Greyhound and half Jack Russell, while the other parent had a mix of Whippet, Dachshund, and Rat Terrier.
Where did all that Am Staff, Labrador, and Beagle go?
Worse: I looked at the so-called "unique" genetic sequence provided in each report.
I tried to go through all 420 characters letter by letter, but finally used technology: I pasted the sequences into separate Microsoft Word documents and used the Compare feature to find differences.
There are none.
So, supposedly Madison and Griffin are genetically identical.
That page is nonsense filler.
The results lend credence to the complaints that the results provided go more by the photographic evidence than the DNA.
I emailed Accu-Metrics to ask about the different breed results and the sequencing appearing identical and didn't get a response.
Genetic Conclusions
If it's not clear: I don't trust the results of DNAffirm.
The differences between tests on the same dog, and the identical info appearing in results on different dogs, all bode ill.
While the price of the test is certainly the least expensive among the services we tested, what good is that savings if the results aren't worth what you put in a poop bag at the park? Do not buy the DNAffirm test if you're really interested in finding out anything about your canine best friend's genes.
Any of the other kits we tested are better options, especially the more expensive, but much more accurate, Wisdom Panel.
DNAffirm DNA Dog Breed Test
The Bottom Line
Despite its low cost, DNAffirm's inaccurate results mean you should look elsewhere to test your dog's DNA.
The DNAffirm ($49) test for dogs is the least expensive dog DNA kit we've tested, but don't let that tempt you.
In our testing, it got just about everything wrong, from misidentifying the ancestry of a purebred pup, to giving two different sets of results for the same mutt.
In addition, test results were late, postage is not included, and packaging is flimsy.
It may cost $100 more, but the Editors' Choice Wisdom Panel test is better in just about every way.
If you don't want to spend that much more, we recommend any other dog DNA kit we've tested over DNAffirm.
DNA Breed Analysis Only
DNAffirm comes from Viaguard Accu-metrics, which has tests for not only canines but also for felines and birds (it'll tell you the avian's gender, because no one wants to check out a cockatoo's junk).
A visit to Accu-Metrics.com shows a company for which DNA testing of all kinds, from animals to people, is just a small part of the services it renders.
It offers take-at-home tests for paternity, prenatal gender, Alzheimer's, genome disposition, and even infidelity if you find a suspicious stain.
For this price, you don't get genetic medical results on your pup—except for two gratis tests.
That's not surprising, as the cost to screen on multiple disorders pushes the price up to $180 or more with competitors like Wisdom Panel and Embark.
As with all the canine DNA kits, you should register the DNAffirm kit online before you send it in, so the company is waiting for your case ID/PIN number.
You can track the results, but it also emails you updates.
Similar Products
DNA My Dog Breed Identification Test
Embark Dog DNA Test (Breed + Health Kit)
DNAffirm is the only vendor that required me to upload a picture of the dog being tested.
You can't register without it.
The claim is that the company wants the photo for the final document it sends to you.
That Accu-metrics also asks what you suspect the dog's breed is gives the impression that you're doing the work for it.
DNA Collection
The packaging for DNAffirm is a simple envelope, not exactly the advanced box you get with the higher-cost tests like Embark and Wisdom Panel.
Inside is the return mailing envelope, sample envelope, a couple of sterile swabs, a business card preprinted with the case ID you need for tracking, and a sheet of paper with instructions on registration and how to swab.
Mine had a couple of typographical errors, which is not a confidence instiller from a company checking deoxyribonucleic acid.
Swabbing your dog for a sample with DNAffirm's kit is identical to that of DNA My Dog.
You get a couple of sterile long-handled swabs, put them in the cheek pouch of the dog's mouth (between the lower gums and cheek), and rub it around for 20 seconds.
Do that with each swab, place them in a specimen envelope, wait 20 minutes for them to air dry, and put them all in the pre-addressed envelope to mail out.
DNAffirm's Dog DNA test was the only one I tested that didn't include postage-paid on the return envelope.
That 50 cents to send the oversized envelope to its lab in Hamburg, NY, was annoying, especially considering the results (which we'll get to in a minute).
Estimated time to get a response from DNAffirm is confusing at best.
In one spot it says "seven days" but another says "14 days to process." My results arrived in 16 days from mailing, missing both deadlines.
DNA Reports
You'll get a few emails from Accu-metrics as you wait, reporting first on if your samples passed quality control, then that testing is under way, and finally that your results are ready.
That last one is a message with a link to download the PDF report.
The paperwork claims you can get the results at https://results.accu-metrics.com/, but logging in there with the codes for my tests resulted in a notice that case IDs with my number are only available via email.
The PDF is labeled "Canine Breed Composition DNA Analysis" and consists of a certificate that is signed by a laboratory director and specifies the breeds found at different levels, from Level 1 (your dog's major DNA breeds) to Level 5 (the lowest level of breeds present at 5 percent or less), if present.
This is also where DNAffirm sticks that picture of your pup it required, with a caption (also asked for at registration) plus the words "Semper Fidelis" ("always loyal" in Latin).
The various levels of breed composition, from 1 to 5, are the meat of the report.
Your dog only gets a level 1 if he or she has 75 percent or more of a specific breed.
Generally, your dog is only given a breed at Level 2 if one of the parents is a purebred.
With each level, the percentage of the listed breeds reduces, so more could show up.
The following pages are filled with info about dominant characteristics found in the breeds that make up your dog, all boilerplate descriptions listing possible health issues—the report doesn't specifically say your dog has them or doesn't.
Then comes the important page: the ancestry tree.
Even if your dog didn't get a listing under Level 1, 2, or 3, you'll see what DNAffirm considers the primary genetic makeup.
There's a listing of Your Dog's Unique Genetic Sequence, a 420-character block representing the four chemical bases of DNA: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C) and guanine (G).
I hoped they weren't simply random order, because who would know? Not to mention its useless to a doggie parent.
I'll get more into that sequence below.
Finally, there's a page with MDR1 (the multi-drug resistance gene mutation found mostly in herding breeds, but also in mixed breeds) and EIC (exercise induced collapse) screening test results.
Those are a nice addition, but some more details, even links to more information about the conditions, would have been helpful.
DNA Results
Here's the methodology I followed to evaluate the DNA kits.
I had three tests.
I used one on a purebred Golden Retriever named Griffin, owned by a friend.
The other two I used on my own dog and constant testing companion, Madison, a mutt of indeterminate origin.
I entered the first test with a decent picture of her with her real moniker and my name on the registration.
The second test was incognito: Madison's required picture has her head obscured by a hat, I called her "Daisy," (the name she had when adopted), and I put all the registration info in my wife's name.
The expected results for Griffin would be that he's 100 percent AKC standard Golden Retriever—it's the third most popular breed in the world.
With all the other DNA test services, that was the case.
DNAffirm, however, was the only provider to specify that while he's a Level 1 Golden, at Level 4 (great-grandparents, aka one-quarter of his DNA) he's Irish Setter.
Griffin's breeder and owner would disagree, and the other DNA tests from DNA My Dog, Embark, and Wisdom Panel all pegged him as Golden all the way back to great-great grandparents.
I expected the mutt's makeup to be all over the place, and the results concurred.
According to the first DNAffirm test performed, one parent was half American Staffordshire Terrier and half Beagle; the other parent was a mix of Italian Greyhound (first grandparent) and half Labrador/half Jack Russell Terrier (second grandparent).
That's fine—but the second test for "Daisy" claimed one parent was half Italian Greyhound and half Jack Russell, while the other parent had a mix of Whippet, Dachshund, and Rat Terrier.
Where did all that Am Staff, Labrador, and Beagle go?
Worse: I looked at the so-called "unique" genetic sequence provided in each report.
I tried to go through all 420 characters letter by letter, but finally used technology: I pasted the sequences into separate Microsoft Word documents and used the Compare feature to find differences.
There are none.
So, supposedly Madison and Griffin are genetically identical.
That page is nonsense filler.
The results lend credence to the complaints that the results provided go more by the photographic evidence than the DNA.
I emailed Accu-Metrics to ask about the different breed results and the sequencing appearing identical and didn't get a response.
Genetic Conclusions
If it's not clear: I don't trust the results of DNAffirm.
The differences between tests on the same dog, and the identical info appearing in results on different dogs, all bode ill.
While the price of the test is certainly the least expensive among the services we tested, what good is that savings if the results aren't worth what you put in a poop bag at the park? Do not buy the DNAffirm test if you're really interested in finding out anything about your canine best friend's genes.
Any of the other kits we tested are better options, especially the more expensive, but much more accurate, Wisdom Panel.
DNAffirm DNA Dog Breed Test
The Bottom Line
Despite its low cost, DNAffirm's inaccurate results mean you should look elsewhere to test your dog's DNA.
