﻿ VetGen: Veterinary Genetic Services - Canine - List of Services

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List of Services

Sampling is easy: Oral Cheek Swab!

VetGen is continually doing research on many different diseases and genetic traits. Below is a list of services that VetGen currently offers.

Breed Identification Tests

Mixed Breed Dogs

Over 25 million mixed-breed dog owners know their dogs...but not as well as they could. With the simple swipe of a cheek swab, Wisdom Panel® Insights can determine the ancestry of a mixed-breed dog by testing for more than 185 breeds, the largest database on the market. Within three weeks, dog owners will be e-mailed an official Ancestry Report that reveals the dog's genetic background. more

Designer Dogs

Wisdom Panel® Designer Dog certification test kit provides Designer Dog owners with the peace of mind that they:

  1. Own a true Designer Dog with purebred parents.
  2. Possess the knowledge to care for their specific Designer Dog type.

Purebred Dogs

Wisdom Panel® Purebred evaluates the genetic patterns within your dog compared with the genetic signatures observed in our database of known purebred dogs. more

Genetic Trait Tests

Color traits

For many years geneticists and breeders have been aware of several "loci" that are responsible for the color patterns we see in dogs and other mammals. Each of these loci are known to be responsible for one or more traits either independently, or in conjunction with another locus. more

Non-color traits

Coat Length

While it is not a color trait, the length of a dog's coat is of interest to many. more


Furnishings refer to the variation of longer facial hair seen in all wire haired breeds as well as some others. more


A mutation responsible for curly coat in dogs has recently been identified in the KRT71 gene. more

sp & sw

S Locus-testing for particolor, piebald, and extreme white. more

Genetic Disease Tests

Albinism in Doberman Pinscher

Researchers at Michigan State University recently identified a mutation that is tied to Oculocutaneous Albinism in Doberman Pinschers. more


Alaskan Husky Encephalopathy - AHE more


Canine Hereditary Ataxia - CHA more

Catalase Deficiency

Catalase Deficiency more


The tests for CMR1 and CMR2 offered by Vetgen are based on the work presented by Zangerl et al. at the fifth international symposium on "Advances in Canine and Feline Genomics and Inherited Disease. more


Canine Multisystem Degeneration/Progressive Neuronal Abiotrophy more


Canine cyclic neutropenia (CN), also known as gray collie syndrome (GCS), is an autosomal recessive disease. Both parents must carry the abnormal gene for the offspring to be affected. more


Centronuclear Myopathy (CNM) in Labrador Retrievers is a recessively inherited muscular disease. This disease was previously known as Labrador muscular myopathy. more

Chondrodysplasia - CD

Chondrodysplasia - CD more

Cobalamin Malabsorption

Cobalamin (B12) Malabsorption more

CT-Copper Toxicosis

Canine copper toxicosis ("CT") is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper accumulation which results in severe liver disease in several dog breeds. Unless specific anti-copper treatment is instituted, most affected dogs die at three to seven years of age. CT is, in particular, a severe problem in Bedlington Terriers. more


Cystinuria in the Newfoundland dog is indicated by the presence of cystine stones in the kidney, bladder or ureter. Failure by the kidneys to reabsorb amino acids results in the formation of these stones. more

Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DWLM)

DCM is a disease of the heart that can result in sudden death of relatively young dogs. more

Dry Eye Curly Coat - DECC

Dry Eye Curly Coat - DECC... more

Degenerative Myeolopathy- DM

Degenerative Myeolopathy- DM... more


Dandy Walker-Like Malformation Syndrome (DWLM) more


Episodic Falling Syndrome (EFS). more

Factor VII Deficiency

Factor VII deficiency is a generally mild bleeding disorder. more

Factor XI Deficiency

Factor XI deficiency is a clotting (coagulation) factor deficiencies that affects Kerry Blue Terriers. more

Fetal-Onset Neuroaxonal dystrophy

Fetal-Onset Neuroaxonal dystrophy... more

Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia

Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia... more

Globoid Cell Leukodystrophy (GCL)

Globoid Cell Leukodystrophy... more


Fucosidosis. more

Hemophilia A

FVIII deficiency, or Hemophilia A as it is more commonly known, is a clotting disorder which leads to excessive bleeding in affected animals. more

Hemophilia B


Hereditary Footpad Hyperkeratosis (HFH)

Hereditary footpad hyperkeratosis is an autosomal recessive skin condition found in certain breeds of dogs in which the foot pads become hardened, losing their normal elasticity, developing painful cracks that are prone to infections that can lead to lameness. more

Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis (HNPK)

Hereditary nasal parakeratosis is an inherited autosomal recessive skin disorder found in Labrador Retriever. more


Hereditary nephritis in the Samoyed is a dominant, X-linked disease that affects young male dogs more severely than females. more

Hyperuricosuria (HU)

Inherited hyperuricosuria causes dogs to produce urine with very high levels of uric acid. This can lead to bladder stones, and less frequently kidney stones. more


Hypomyelination ... more

Juvenile Cataract

There are several types of inherited cataract in the dog which vary in both their appearance and age of onset. The majority of these are inherited as autosomal recessive traits, but some are inherited as dominant or perhaps polygenic trait. more

L2-Hydroxyglutaric Aciduria (L2-HGA)

L2-HGA more

Malinois Behavior

Malinois Behaviour more

Musladin-Leuke Syndrome (MLS)

Musladin-Leuke Syndrome (MLS)... more

Macrothrombocytopenia (MTC)

Macrothrombocytopenia (MTC) more


Mucopolysaccharidosis more

Myotubular Myopathy

Myotubular Myopathy more

Neonatal Ataxia (NA)

Vetgen’s test is based on the work presented by O’Brien et al at the 2010 Advances in Canine and Feline Genomics and Inherited Disease. more


Narcolepsy more


Neutropenia more

Neonatal cerebellar cortical degeneration (NCCD)

Neonatal cerebellar cortical degeneration (NCCD) ... more

NCL-Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses are a group of an inherited autosomal recessive metabolic cell storage disorders caused by defective lycosomes, subcellular material that allows enzymes within the cell to process, use and discard unwanted and waste material. (Awano et al 2006) more

Neonatal Encephalopathy (NE)

Neonatal encephalopathy is a recessive developmental brain disease. more


Osteochondrodysplasia... more

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) - Brittle Bone Disease (BBD)

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) - Brittle Bone Disease (BBD) more


Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Phosphatase 1 deficiency is characterized by exercise intolerance and post-exercised collapse. more

PFK-Phosphofructokinase deficiency


PK-Pyruvate Kinase deficiency

Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency in Basenji dogs is an inherited lack of an enzyme (pyruvate kinase) in the red blood cells of an affected animal. more

Pituitary Dwarfism

Pituitary Dwarfism more

Primary Hyperoxaluria

Primary Hyperoxaluria more

PLL-Primary Lens Luxation

PLL is an inherited condition that affects many breeds of dog. It is characterized my movement of the lens away from its normal location in the eye. more

Greyhound Polyneuropathy (PN)

Greyhound Polyneuropathy is a severe and progressive disease which is found in show lines of the Greyhound breed. more

Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)

Progressive Retinal Atrophy-Overview more





PRA (rcd1)

PRA (rcd1)

PRA (rcd3)

PRA (rcd3)

PRA (rcd4)

PRA (rcd4)

PRA (crd4/cord-1)

Cone-Rod Dystrophy 1 - Progressive Retinal Atrophy (cord1 - PRA) is an inherited disease of the eye that affects the cone and rod cells that make up the dog's retina and often leading to blindness. more





Prekallikrein deficiency, Fletcher factor deficiency

Prekallikrein deficiency, Fletcher factor deficiency. more


Renal Cystadenocarcinoma Nodular Dermatofibrosis (RCND) is a naturally occurring canine kidney cancer syndrome that was originally described in German Shepherd dogs. more

Sensory ataxic neuropathy (SAN)

Sensory ataxic neuropathy (SAN)

Canine Severe Combine Immunodeficiency Syndrome (SCID)

Canine Severe Combine Immunodeficiency Syndrome (SCID) more

Skeletal Dysplasia 2 (SD2)

Skeletal Dysplasia 2 (SD2) more


Thrombopathia more


von Willebrand’s disease has been identified in a wide range of canine breeds, and is the most common of the inherited bleeding disorders. As with humans, there are three classifications of this disease, Types I, II, and III.  These are based on the concentration and nature of plasma vWF. more

Type I vWD

VetGen scientists, in collaboration with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, proudly announce the discovery of the mutation that causes Type I von Willebrand's Disease (vWD) and the offering of a DNA test to detect vWD in the above breeds. more

Type II vWD

Type II vWD is characterized by abnormal vWF, as opposed to low levels of normal vWF. This type is not as common as Type I, but a mutation causing it has been identified in some pointing breeds and Deutch Drahthaar. more

Type III vWD

Canine von Willebrand's disease (vWD) in Scotties is an autosomal recessive genetic disease with a gene frequency estimated to be 15% of the Scottie population. more

Other Genetic Services


In addition to offering genetic testing services for the detection of color genes and of targeted canine diseases, VetGen offers other valuable services. These services, DNA Profiling, DNA Parentage and DNA Storage, can be ordered at the time a genetic test is requested, or at any other time, independent of other tests.

Other Services

OFA Registration of Disease Test Results

OFA Registry. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (ofa), has created a voluntary registry for the results of all VetGen DNA disease tests. We encourage you to register your dog's test findings with the OFA. more