Some dogs come with AKC papers, and their heritage is crystal clear in their looks. Others may come from pet stores and have AKC papers, but their looks may be deceiving — was there a slip-up at the puppy mill? And many wonderful people adopt their dogs from rescues or animal shelters. Still others may find stray or abandoned dogs in the street and keep them. Another dog may clearly be a German shepherd mix or a beagle mix. Others might have a bully look. Some have hound-like long, silky ears. And another might be touted as a malitpoo, a goldendoodle or a labradoodle — in reality, all adorable mutts. But science says that trying to determine a dog’s breed from its looks is not only unscientific, but most of the time leads to incorrect guesses.

Studies have shown that when shelter workers guess a dog’s breed, they are often wrong. And in shelters where bully breeds are subject to BSL, or breed specific legislation, that can literally kill a dog. There is only one way to definitively find out who Fido’s ancestors were — using Fido’s DNA to trace his or her lineage.