Dr. Randy Aronson breaks down the critical reasons why DNA testing for pets is essential for all pet parents. Beyond simple breed identification, learn how tests like Embark and Wisdom can screen for hundreds of heritable diseases, allowing for a proactive, personalized approach to your pet's health. Discover how early knowledge of genetic risks, such as cardiomyopathy, can revolutionize your pet's diet and supplement plan, giving you the power to prevent disease before it starts.
Welcome, everybody, to a deep dive into using genetic information for better pet care. I'm Dr. Randy, and here's what I want you to remember: DNA testing isn't just about identifying breeds—it's a powerful tool for understanding your pet's unique behavioral quirks and getting ahead of potential health issues. We discuss how breed traits influence behaviors like herding or pulling on the leash, and more importantly, how identifying genetic mutations allows you and your veterinarian to create a customized, preventative care plan long before symptoms appear. Tune in to learn why this simple cheek swab can unlock a lifetime of better health and personalized care for your dog or cat.
#DNATestingForPets #HolisticPetHealth #PetParents
DNA Test Kits:
Embark: https://embarkvet.com/
Wisdom: https://www.wisdompanel.com/en-us
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Episode Transcript
Dr.
Randy here, and we're going totalk about DNA testing for our
pets.
SPEAKER_00 (00:14):
And it's good to be back.
It's Olivia here too.
Our question today is why shouldI get a DNA test done for my
pet?
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
This is a really great question.
And of course, up until somewhatrecently, we really didn't have
those available to us.
Yeah.
But we now have a couple greattests out there that can really
help.
And the idea is most peoplethink, oh, I'm going to get a
DNA test on my little mixedbreed dog because I'd love to
know what the breeds are.
SPEAKER_00 (00:39):
And I've done that.
SPEAKER_01 (00:40):
And that actually is a really good reason to do it
because there are breedcharacteristics that we want to
learn from.
You know, if you have a uh anAussie in your breeding uh or a
border collie, these are herdingdogs.
And that herding behavior can bereally helpful in abnormal
behaviors that they may exhibitat the house.
That makes a lot of sense.
Why is that uh why is that dogmoving my three-year-old around
(01:02):
and or chasing and biting at hisheels?
Well, that could be the reason.
So, but there's even better, Ilike a better reason for DNA
testing, and that is that DNAtesting now can relay uh a
number of heredable diseasesthat we might do something about
or be able to do something aboutif we're proactive.
You know, for example, there aretwo tests that I really talk
(01:24):
about.
Okay.
Embark and wisdom.
Okay.
So embark uh will do up to 300um specific DNA tests for
genetic diseases in our pets.
And that's amazing because, youknow, if your dog, for example,
comes up with uh congestiveheart failure or cardiomyopathy,
which is an enlargement of theheart, it's nice to know that up
(01:46):
front we can talk aboutheart-related uh diets,
supplements, that's so kind ofget into the preventative
measures of we know this mighthappen down the road, so let's
kind of address it now.
Absolutely.
You know, and it really um itreally kind of helps us with
personalized care for every pet,having those answers in place.
So I I love having that.
Um the um the wisdom panel doesa few less of those DNA tests,
(02:10):
but still can be very, verypositive.
So just so you know, thesepanels come as like little test
kit with swabs.
SPEAKER_00 (02:16):
Okay, and so do we just like swab the inside of our
dog's mouth?
SPEAKER_01 (02:19):
Absolutely.
You swab the inside of the dog'smouth, you send it over to
embark or wisdom, and in no timeyou'll have those answers.
And obviously, you really wantto make sure you share that with
your veterinarian.
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
And that's really interesting because I've always
heard of, you know, oh, we wantto test them to see if they have
any of these mutations in theirgenes, if they have anything
spooky that's going on.
I've never considered abehavioral aspect of it that if
you have a herding dog or ifthere's if they have husky in
there, maybe that's why they'repulling on the leash so much,
you know.
SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
Right, and run off suddenly and don't come back for
24 hours.
I have three huskies.
This can happen.
Yeah.
This can happen as you know.
SPEAKER_00 (02:51):
Yes, yes, it happens quite frequently.
Um, but that's a really goodpoint.
And that's really interesting,kind of taking it from a a
broader approach instead of justbeing, you know, here's what
they're predisposed to.
Well, here's also, you know, whythey're exhibiting that behavior
and kind of leaning into maybehe needs a job, maybe he needs
to do this.
So that's really interesting.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (03:09):
So thanks for joining us uh on DNA and hope
we'll provide more.
You can find more of us at Dr.
Randy Petvet or at Dr.
D R S A C C I, Dr.
Satchi.
And um, please uh follow us onYouTube, subscribe, uh, follow
us on Instagram, and tell yourpet uh friends who have pets uh
(03:31):
also.
It gives us a great ability tofor Olivia and I to bring more
information to you all the time.
SPEAKER_00 (03:35):
Perfect.
And if you guys have anyquestions or your friends have
any questions, all of thoseplatforms, uh, YouTube,
Instagram, those are greatplaces to put those questions,
those comments, um, as and alsoyour website.
SPEAKER_01 (03:46):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (03:47):
So feel free to do that.
And thank you guys so much forjoining us.
SPEAKER_01 (03:49):
Thank you for joining us.
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