No new information; breeders listed without permission
592621
Imagine my surprise to find my cattery and website listed without permission...and much of the 'author's' information comes from sources such as CFA.org.  Much information is outdated, incomplete or inaccurate.
1222593
Matthew Bille's book "Rumors of Existence" was published in 1995, and is therefore probably out of date. After all, it's subtitled "Newly Discovered, Supposedly Extinct, and Unconfirmed Inhabitants of the Animal Kingdom". Still, it's a relatively interesting "nerd book" for those interested in the wilder strands of zoology (pun intended).

However, the book is not strictly speaking cryptozoological, since the author has a very respectable and almost "Mandarin" attitude to his subject. If a strange animal is observed by a trained zoologist or equivalent thereof, it's included. If not, it's a no-no. Thus, poor Bigfoot (actually caught on tape by Patterson) doesn't exist, while animals spotted only once or twice, with no further evidence, do exist, if the observer was some obscure French biologist circa 1850.

Ironically, this attempt to play it safe with the guys over at the Smithsonian sometimes backfires, as when Bille is forced to include Ivan Sanderson as a reliable eye-witness - Sanderson, after all, was a zoologist! He was also something of a maverick, due to his seeming belief in underwater UFO bases, the Abominable Snowman, giant penguins on the loose in Florida, etc. Thus, two "living dinosaurs", Kongamato and Mokele-Mbembe (or perhaps a giant bat and an equally jumbo-sized monitor), have been included in this officially-sounding compilation, thanx to Bro. Ivan, Certified Explorer of the Twilight Zone (and the Cameroons). And yet, Sanderson never caught anything on tape and was fooled by several crude hoaxes... :P

OK, sorry, just had to point that out...

The most interesting section of Bille's book is, of course, "The Mystery Animals". I admit that I never heard of some of these creatures before. A giant octopus &aacute; la the giant squid? A lion with leopard-like spots? Dolphins with two dorsal fins? A giant salamander right in California? Others, I've actually mentioned in some of my previous reviews: the Double-Banded Argus (a bird only known from one feather of unknown provenance - please call Sherlock Holmes) and Legaut's Mystery Bird or Legaut's Giant, which was eaten rather than preserved by its discoverer, a French amateur naturalist. Hoped it tasted well, Monsieur.

Final complaint. The author believes it's self-evident that we should launch scientific expeditions to explore the last frontiers, catching and cataloguing the unknown species. Well, I don't. I think it's a good thing that some mysteries will remain unsolved, and some animals will live out their lives oblivious to the aberrant primate Homo sapiens...
3981605
Yes - there is concern about puppy mills in this book - but most people  - especially kids - will only look at the photos and say "I want one of those!!!!" - know this from experience!  People like to say there is a difference in the conditions the mothers and pups live in between breeders and puppy mills - this is true - but think about it - the end result is almost the same - buy from a puppy mill or fancy breeder - and guess what - that's one shelter dog that was not adpoted - for every puppy born to be sold for profit....no matter the conditions.

I'm not saying the pics aren't adorable in this book - they just make me sad - because all those little ones - no matter how "responsible and reputable" their breeders are - they are all produced to be sold for profit - and again - that's one less shelter dog adopted.  Also - there are dogs from "reputable" breeders that DO end up in shelters too - if you have intimate knowledge of the shelter world.

Buy her Shelter Dogs book instead!  Hopefully she will only do books on shelter dogs (and their puppies!) from now on!
196789
Results seemed far from our expectations or reality of our dog. I have no faith in these results matching my dog's dna/breed or ultimate size& weight.  The concluding breeds do not resemble my dog at all, not even close.  And if it is pure dna test, why do they need age, weight & height of current dog except to skew the results on non-dna data...
1909505
Works with quotes from breeders. Every breeder is different and gives you sometimes opposing advice. It tells you something about the breed itself but I don't find it indispensable
564260
How is one supose to aquire information about a book if you list NONE???
There is no picture, no information at all. Kind of like buying a pig in a poke!!!
1762085
This book was disappointing. I wanted more detail on their personality and how to train them. I believe this book is mainly for people that are interested in breeding.
707489
Got my results the other day and they said my dog was a Mini Schnauzer and a Japanese Chin mix.  Taking one look at my dog you can easily tell he is mostly Chihuahua.  Sent an email to the company and got the below response:

"Dear XXXXXX,

Thank you for contacting Mars Veterinary, the creators of Wisdom Panel Insights(tm), the best-in-class cheek swab DNA test for mixed-breed dogs.  We have received your comments regarding Tonka's  results and are sorry to hear our test did not meet your expectations. Tonka's profile shows that he is a very mixed dog and our computer had trouble identifying with confidence even the two great grandparents. A main point of our testing is that visual identification is almost impossible; even practiced vets are only able to correctly guess one breed about 30% of the time, and much less when they try to identify more breeds in a mix. This happens most often with supposed 'Lab mixes' because of their collection of dominant traits, making many combinations come together to resemble a Lab.

With Tonka, he has such a wide variety in his mix (from Chihuahua and Japanese Chin to Boxer and Large Munsterlander) that he has a possibility for a vast array of different physical characteristics. However, since we were only able to identify one great grandparent with high confidence, this is grounds for a possible refund. Since you did not purchase the kit directly through us, you will need to obtain your refund through the distributor you bought it through. If you have any problems, please let us know.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at customercare@marsveterinary.com or 888-K9 PET TEST (1-888-597-3883).

Regards,

XXXX

Mars Veterinary
Customer Care Department
[...]"

Their website states: "If you are still not satisfied with your results after you have consulted with our customer care team through either e-mail or our toll free number we will be happy to offer a 100% money back guarantee."  yet now they are telling me to contact the seller for a refund?  I'm still waiting to hear back from Amazon but something tells me that isn't going to float.

I was so excited to use this product when I first read about it, its a shame it didn't work out.
1529297
This booklet, or rather brochure, doesn't contain any more information than any amateur website on Chows. In fact some information is so incorrect that I doubt that the author has ever owned a Chow. Save your money or get a beer and find an Internet forum on Chow Chows.
4209542
This book looks like an illustrated checklist : 10 birds by plates and very small description ! No pointers on plates to see the difference between 2 species ! In the Index there are birds not describe and illustrated ... ghost birds ! No alternative names and very strange taxonomy for some birds ! We are now in 2008 and this book isn't updated : many bird species missing !
3608729
So I followed all the instructions and waited my 3 weeks to get my results back for my dog Apollo. Pretty much got totally scammed. His results are entirely inaccurate and ridiculous. They had his DNA as a mixture of coonhound, boxer, GSD, and husky. And 37.5% undetermined, which is super helpful (not). We were told that my dog is an Australian Kelpie mix, and he is full grown at 45 lbs. The results say his adult weight will be between 57-70 lbs which is absurd. This is either a total sham or they updloaded the wrong report for my sample. Here is a picture of my dog, compared to a coonhound (which apparently he is 25% of), you can decide if you think my dog has coonhound and boxer in him. Waste of time and money.
2382861
Not worth 4.99 - it does not contain any information that is breed specific.
1684676
So I have to admit, when my fiance got this for my birthday, I had my doubts.  Pretty much the same as everyone elses, but what the heck I thought, and we followed all the steps to the t.  We had always been told our dog Cosmo was a "field-bred lab," but we always suspected something else in him... we got him at 5 weeks as a free puppy from a guy off facebook who only told his "my dog had puppies and i have to get rid of them."

Here is my PROOF this thing works, the names have been changed:

Claire:  Hey! Just wanted to tell you that we did a DNA kit on Cosmo and he's part Lab and part Siberian Husky. One dog is completely lab and one dog is a lab/husky mix. Thought it was interesting! : )
Like    See Friendship

Lucas:  O I thought I told u that  the dads name was Mr brown lol
7 hours ago via mobile  Like

Claire:  Oh, you knew?!
7 hours ago  Like

Lucas:  Well when I say dad I mean my dogs dad .. her mom was pure bred .. so Nollie met Meat which was also a pure bred gold lab and then there was cosmo lol
7 hours ago via mobile  Unlike  1

Claire:  Haha! Well, now we gotta do Gus! It makes sense, Cosmo howls and is pretty small for a male lab- he weighs 70 something lbs...and he's stubborn as hell which can be a Husky trait! Not to mention the digging...lol
7 hours ago  Edited  Like

Tristen:  We thought nollies dad ( mr. Brown) was Alaskan malamute. Siberian is even cooler, thanks for sharing Claire  I'm glad you love your dog
2155836
Ordered this product with high hopes of figuring out what breeds were in my rescue pup, Kona.  I felt pretty confident about what the shelter had told us (she was surrendered by owner) about the breeds in her but thought it would be fun to find out more!  The results were done before the expected 2-3 weeks which was pretty exciting.  Unfortunately, my excitement diminished after I read the results.  It was disheartening reading she was 50% mixed breed.  I knew before purchasing this kit there was a chance the researchers wouldn't be able to identify specific breeds, but I went for it anyway.

I have to agree with the others when they said if you know you have a mixed breed with several different breeds, save your money and spend it on your pup!! However, if your dog only has 2 or 3 breeds involved i'm sure this kit would be worth your money! Also, I will add that I do agree with the breeds they identified...just wish they could identify more.
4007245
Wish the authors had discussed chihuahua ADOPTION!! Due to the fact that Chihuahuas are a "fad" breed these days, there are lots and lots of wonderful Chis available for adoption at shelters and rescues across the country.

The authors also need to advise readers about the dangers of "puppymill" puppies.

It would have been nice to see references to great groups like Chihuahuarescue.com that are so helpful in placing dogs and educating chihuahua owners about care of these little dogs.

There also should be info about protecting chihuahuas from attacks from big dogs, a dangerous possibility with these small dogs.

Many topics left uncovered!
2301186
Very biased reports on some breeds that the author did not approve of for different reasons. Also no actual dog photos, only drawings. Does have some information on the breeds but not enough to warrant purchasing.
3308275
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. This book is POORLY researched and the author has MISREPRESENTED my breeder. I have a dog represented by one of "commercial breeders" mentioned on page 170.  Her "kennel" is not in fact a kennel, but a very loving home which I have visited many times. This reputable breeder, whom I know personally, treats her dogs and the breed with the utmost respect. In fact, she serves in a position with me on the board of a breed club whose VOLUNTEER position is to connect future puppy owners with other reputable breeders and to guide them away from "commercial breeders." She PROTECTS and SERVES the breed. Shame on this author.