Database Search Setup Options
In order to run the database search, you need to enter your dogID and password
as presented in your results packet. In addition, there is one option that you can
currently set: a check box with the option to "ignore mixes" (note: this is the current
default setting).
When the option is set at the default value (i.e. "ignore mixes" checked") then the
database comparison algorithm will compare your dog to a database of purebred dogs. The
comparison algorithm works by comparing the allele calls at the 204 loci of your dog to
those in the database.
When the "ignore mixes" option is unchecked then your dog is compared to a database of
purebred and computationally-derived single-parent purebred mixes.
Which should I choose?
In general, you should leave the option "ignore mixes" checked. The mixed-breed
search approach requires many examples of each parent to generate accurate
statistics used by the search procedure. The absence from the database of parental breeds, as potentially present in your dog, may
cause spurious results. In some cases, however, it provides a good match and can be informative.
One should use some discretion in interpreting the result with this option unchecked.
Note: in all cases, the presence of parental breeds in the database is a
requirement for accurate search results!
