Tag archives: canine DNA test

I like to use this time of year to reflect on the challenges and accomplishments of the past year. Paw Print Genetics (PPG) was founded only a few short years ago, launching our first set of canine disease tests in 2013.  Our commitment to excellence in both testing accuracy and customer service quickly propelled us to the top of the canine testing industry. In no other testing laboratory can you find the highly skilled staff of veterinarians and PhD geneticists eager to help answer your questions and guide you to the useful and informative testing that you need for your breeding program. Aiming to be the best, our web-based ordering system is unparalleled in the industry.  This didn’t happen by chance, as we continuously talked to our customers about how we could improve our systems and deliver a product that was user friendly and met their high standards, comparable to their own breeding principles.

This year was not without its challenges, but overcoming obstacles makes us stronger.  We ended litigation over PRA-prcd and CEA, allowing us to be listed as an approved laboratory with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. Fighting for our customers’ rights to have a ...

Providing a unique DNA profile to identify a dog or performing paternity to qualify a sire is not new. In both humans and canines, these services have been around for decades, but so has the technology.  The use of microsatellite markers has been the mainstream technology for identifying people and dogs since the early 1980’s.  However, these particular markers are best used to exclude a suspect or exclude a sire, but trying to prove identity or prove that a sample is from the one and only possible sire is much more difficult.

Welcome to the 21^st century!  The old microsatellite markers were just not good enough, in some cases, to distinguish a sire from his sons or brothers from one another.  And in true Paw Print Genetics fashion, we are just compelled to do everything better than anyone else! Introducing single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs. These are small changes in the DNA that tend to be different between individuals, including relatives.  Paw Print Genetics is using a proprietary set of 99 distinct SNPs found in different locations throughout the canine genome to uniquely identify individuals and better qualify sires.

Take a look at the ‘heat map’ ...

At Paw Print Genetics, we are so thankful for our customers. Without you, we simply wouldn't exist. Without your input, we wouldn't have some of our recently launched programs such as Veterinary Verification reporting, Paw Print Pedigrees and Clear by Parentage certificates, as these, and many other features and tests that we offer have been suggested by our customers.  We see our customers as our partners, suggesting changes, tests and features that enhance your testing experience with us.  

After a report has been issued, I send each customer an email thanking them for their business and for their commitment to healthy dogs.  These take time, but I feel that these emails are important to send. The emails remind me of how important it is to connect with our customers, to reach out to see if there is anything else that we can do for them, to ask if there are ways we can improve our service, and to provide a little reward for being a responsible breeder with a discount on their next order.  Will I be able to keep this up as we grow?  I hope so.  It provides such a great opportunity to get feedback from our customers and I receive ...

The following is a review written by a Paw Print Genetics' customer, Tina Cox, reposted here with her permission.  You can find her entire review on her website. 

Paw Print Genetics Review
by Tina Cox

Recently I used Paw Print Genetics to do some genetic testing on Maia.

I was introduced to them a couple years ago through friends on Facebook. I kept seeing all these posts about the site so I thought I should check this out. What I found was a place to do my major genetic testing at a price I could afford while not skimping on quality. This is from the homepage of their website…

Highest Industry Standards and Accuracy

Our laboratory is staffed with expertly trained geneticists, veterinarians, and technicians. We are equipped with the latest testing technology and analyze each mutation with two independent methods to provide you the highest accuracy in the industry. 

• All mutations offered are based on the published, medical literature
• Board-certified geneticist by the American Board of Medical Genetics on staff
• Each mutation is tested twice, with two independent methods
• All results are reviewed and reported by both a PhD geneticist and a veterinarian
• Majority of test results accepted ...

Do you have an upcoming litter? Have you thought about the genetic testing that you will need?  It is important to plan ahead to save time and money, but also to ensure that you get results in time for sending your puppies off to their new home, each with a Canine Genetic Health Certificate^TM.

By testing your dams and sires before they are bred, you will be able to avoid genetic disease in your puppies. As you plan your breeding, you can select to breed any carriers for a particular disease to a clear (normal) dog for that same disease. Although you are likely to produce carriers, for recessive conditions you will not produce pups at-risk for these diseases.  Now that your dams and sires have been fully tested with a Paw Print Genetics breed-specific panel, you are in great shape to select Mr. Right for each of your dams.

After carefully selecting your breeding pair, you now know what disease mutations your pups might carry.  This is when you should start planning genetic testing for your new litters. Paw Print Genetics has litter discounts every day to help you save money while being a responsible ...