Tag archives: canine genetic disease testing

Genetic testing is important for any breed, for the dog’s individual health and wellbeing as well as for any breeding dogs to ensure healthy puppies in future generations. Paw Print Genetics offers genetic testing for three diseases known to occur in the Alaskan Malamute. Testing for these diseases provides you the information that you need to keep your dog healthy and to select appropriate breeding pairs to avoid producing affected puppies.

The first disease is the Alaskan Malamute Polyneuropathy. This disease is an inherited neuromuscular condition that affects dogs between the ages of 3 and 19 months of age. The first signs of this disease may be a change in their bark, noisy breathing, exercise intolerance and loss of hindlimb coordination. The disease is progressive resulting in muscle wasting, abnormal gait or inability to walk. Testing of this disease is required for CHIC and using results in your breeding program can eliminate producing affected pups.  This disease is inherited in a recessive manner meaning that two copies of the mutation are required to produce the symptoms of polyneuropathy. Dogs that have one copy of the mutation are carriers and are not affected. Breeding carriers to clear (normal) dogs will ...

Paw Print Genetics is special and I am not just saying that because I am the CEO. There is no other canine genetics laboratory like PPG. Seriously!  Paw Print Genetics is the only laboratory that has implemented human-based testing standards. What does this mean?  It means that PPG tests each mutation region twice with two different methods to ensure the highest accuracy possible. No laboratory can boast 100% accuracy, but PPG achieves 99.9% accuracy each and every day. This means that you can trust your results and use them confidently in your breeding program. In addition, PPG employs both PhD Geneticists and licensed Veterinarians on staff, in our offices, that oversee the testing and report the results. You can also call and speak to them if you have any questions or concerns. Finally, I am the only board certified geneticist in the canine field; I am board certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics. These three aspects - the 'double check testing', having geneticists and veterinarians on staff, and having a board certified geneticist on staff - are equivalent to the requirements found in human genetic testing laboratories.

In addition to our high testing standards and customer access ...

The breeding of dogs identified as genetic carriers of recessive disease is a hotly debated topic in the canine breeding world with many breeders firmly entrenched in their own personal approach to the issue. With increasing regularity, dog breeders and their clients are bringing genetic questions (including those about breeding carriers) to their veterinarians under the assumption that most veterinarians would be up to speed on the current information and genetic testing available. Unfortunately, at Paw Print Genetics we occasionally speak to breeders whose veterinarians have given them advice about breeding carriers that may not be in the best interest of the kennel or the breed. Given the large number of variables and differences between the way kennels are operated and the recessive disease risks of individual breeds, there is not necessarily a breeding approach that would be appropriate in 100% of cases. However, understanding some guiding principles and the potential ramifications of doing so, can help a veterinarian advise their dog breeding clients in a way that will help them meet their goals without increasing the incidence of recessive diseases in a kennel or in the breed.

What is a “Carrier” of a Recessive disease?

As a quick refresher ...

Paw Print Genetics offers exceptional discounts and sometimes you want to take advantage of those discounts, but you don't have any dogs to test today.  Keep in mind that your order never expires and remains open until we have received your samples and completed your testing.  Order as many dogs as you want in the same order and send them at your convenience.  We do not hold samples. Rather, we will test them as we receive them, so use some now and some later. The tests will be in your account until you need them. 

Here are some tips on how to order now to take advantage of the sale and use those tests in the future.

1. You must enter a call name, breed, date of birth (month/year) and sex for each dog in an order.  All of this information can be changed when you get ready to use the samples.  Many people call them Dog1, Dog2, etc or Pup1, Pup2, etc.  You can make them all males and put the current month and year as their date of birth. Having them all males with the same birth date helps as a reminder to change this information when ...

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 ...

Paw Print Genetics is celebrating the Australian Cattle Dog this week. Although generally considered a relatively healthy breed, like other purebred dogs, the Australian Cattle Dog is known to inherit several genetic diseases. Testing your dog prior to breeding prevents the disease through avoidance of producing puppies at-risk. This brief article describes a few of the diseases that can currently be tested for in Australian Cattle Dogs.  You can find a complete list and more information at  https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/breeds/91/.  All of these tests performed by Paw Print Genetics are accepted by the Orthopedic Foundation For Animals. 

Cystinuria is an inherited disease that is known to affect amino acid absorption by the kidneys. This abnormality leads to cysteine crystals and/or stones in the bladder that can block the ureters or urethra and stop the normal flow of urine. If not treated, urinary stones can cause urinary tract infections, kidney failure and even death.

Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) is a late-onset neurological disease found in over 100 breeds of dog.  Known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in humans, affected dogs typically begin to show signs of neurological weakness in ...

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 ...

Paw Print Genetics understands that our customers know what’s best for their breeding programs and what they need from a laboratory. Our customers are the experts and that’s why we listen closely and ask questions. Doing so has resulted in Paw Print Pedigrees, a free website that Paw Print Genetics customers can use to promote their kennels and show off their health tested dogs. Another feature recently added is our Clear by Parentage program, which allows the breeder to get Clear by Parentage certificates on any pup resulting from health tested, parentage-proven parents. Because our customers asked for it, Paw Print Genetics now offers an optional, Veterinary Verification for samples collected by a veterinarian and submitted to us for testing.

Veterinary Verification is an optional and voluntary program offered by Paw Print Genetics that allows breeders to confirm the identity of their dog by having a veterinarian collect the sample and verify a permanent identifier for that dog (microchip number or tattoo). There is a simple form that must be completed by the veterinarian and this form must accompany the sample to the laboratory.

Having a verified sample may provide puppy buyers extra assurance that the test results they receive ...

Brief personal history as credentials . . .

In the world of dog breeding, I started long before any genetic testing was readily available, with Chesapeakes, more than 25 years ago now. We performed OFA Hips and that was about it. Then I went back to my herding dog roots with Australian Shepherds, Miniature Australian Shepherds and now Miniature American Shepherds. What I have to say about genetic testing however, applies regardless of breed.

Some of you that have been in this for a while, may remember a company that offered a slew of testing, all in one package, for $25. It was the hottest item on the market. I remember feeling very virtuous about being able to test all my dogs, for a reasonable price, for a whole bunch of things that I didn't understand at the time. But as breeders we educated ourselves, found out that testing really DOES matter and learned how to breed away from some of the unfortunate genetics that our dogs carried. It really was an exciting time in breeding because it gave us such powerful, valuable information that increased the overall health of the dogs we produced. The problem was that this company was not all ...