Tag archives: Genetic Counseling

With the rapid expansion of feline and canine genetic disease testing popularity over the past several years, today it is more common than ever for veterinarians to be asked to interpret genetic test results for their clients and offer recommendations based upon the results. However, the team at Paw Print Genetics (PPG) realizes that genetic counseling has not been a traditional part of veterinary education. For this reason, PPG offers no-cost genetic consultations for veterinarians and veterinary staff to assist their clients with genetic questions. Here we will discuss some of the many factors to be considered when assisting the veterinary team with interpreting genetic test results, assessing disease risk, and making breeding recommendations for the 300+ genetic tests offered at PPG.

Disease Inheritance

Understanding exactly how a specific disease is inherited by offspring can alter your assessment of disease risk and recommendations for breeding. The most common inheritance types discussed in animal genetics are autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, and X-linked recessive inheritance. However, less common inheritance patterns may also be seen for some animal diseases. Disease risk in animals inheriting one copy of a disease-associated mutation varies based upon the specific mode of inheritance. For example, dogs carrying one ...

A fascinating and enlightening weekend was enjoyed by those attending the AKC-CHF Parent Club health conference in St. Louis, MO August 9-11.  Thank you to the AKC-CHF and sponsor Nestle Purina for hosting such a fun, educational, informative and classy event!  I was able to attend many presentations on new gene discoveries and gene testing/diagnostics available and coming for our dogs. In addition, I learned about new treatments and therapies including stem cell therapy for injuries, certainly not my area of expertise but absolutely fascinating and exciting for the future of dogs and man!

Something I noticed from many attendees with regard to new genetic testing were many questions and a seeming frustration and/or concern about what to do with this new information - namely what does a dog "with the gene" mean for the breeding of that dog?  One thing that people were told was that dogs may have a dominant gene and in turn have the potential to produce affected puppies, but that they should be concerned about the "gene pool" and about removing dogs with the gene from breeding, especially if a large percentage of dogs in the breed have the gene mutation ...

At Paw Print Genetics, we’re seeking to raise the standard of canine genetic diagnostic and carrier screening testing from start to finish. We strive to provide the best customer service in the industry and have implemented procedures that are above and beyond those currently used in the marketplace. Here’s just a quick look at what we’re doing to help serve you and your dog better:

Postal Standards: The U.S. Postal Service has outlined how animal specimens may be shipped, and that includes cheek swab samples tested in labs all across the country. Among those requirements: triple-packaging of samples, a rigid fiberboard or equivalent container to protect the samples, the use of the international biohazard symbol on the second packaging and the words “exempt animal specimen” on the outside of the shipping package. Because these standards are necessary and exact, we provide the kits to you with each order that conforms to the USPS standards.

Reports: Our detailed reports will clearly state the results of every test you ordered and will give actionable information that you can use. These interpretations and recommendations give you the knowledge to breed your dog more conscientiously, information about any known genetic ...

Paw Print Genetics is committed to excellence in customer service. To that end, we are reaching out to our potential customer base by providing seminars to various breed, specialty and community clubs, becoming involved in individual breeder’s breeding programs and attending dog shows.  We attended the Rose City Classic dog show in Portland, Ore in January and talked with hundreds of attendees that were concerned about the genetic health of their dog.  The breeders and dog owners expressed the desire to do informed breeding whereby they use genetic information to avoid producing puppies with inherited disease and eventually “breed out” the genetic diseases to produce healthier lines.

We have provided seminars on genetics to several clubs in the Spokane, Wash area including the Inland Empire Collie Club, Panorama Poodle Club of Mt. Spokane, and the Inland Empire Kennel Association.  We are delighted to provide these presentations as it gives us an opportunity to interact with club members and really understand their needs and concerns regarding inherited genetic disease.

This week, we will be at the Spokane Kennel Club dog show at the Spokane County Fairgrounds, Friday-Sunday, May 24-26.  Please stop by our booth to talk about ...

Everyone at Paw Print Genetics^TM is excited about our grand opening and bringing our clinical genetic testing services to the canine community.  As discussed in the last blog by founder and CEO, Dr. Lisa Shaffer, a great deal of time and care has gone into ensuring the quality and accuracy of our testing.  I cannot stress enough how incredibly important this validation process is and the need for the laboratory to have checks and balances to truly make certain that your canine genetic test results are accurate.

Several years ago, a friend ordered genetic testing to determine if all of the puppies her black male produced would be black or if he would have the potential to produce the other colors found in the breed.  She had several individuals who were interested in using her male but a portion of these were only interested in using him if he could produce more colors in his puppies than only black.  After paying and waiting for the results, she received the news from the laboratory that did the testing that he would only sire black puppies and informed the interested parties of this result.  Several of ...