Paws, Reflect & Heal with Dr. Randy

A DNA Test Could Save Your Pet's Life

• Dr. Randy Pet Vet • Episode 37

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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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Products and Resources I Recommend
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SPEAKER_01:

Dr. Randy here, and we're going to talk about DNA testing for our pets.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's good to be back. It's Olivia here too. Our question today is why should I get a DNA test done for my pet?

SPEAKER_01:

This is a really great question. And of course, up until somewhat recently, we really didn't have those available to us. Yeah. But we now have a couple great tests out there that can really help. And the idea is most people think, oh, I'm going to get a DNA test on my little mixed breed dog because I'd love to know what the breeds are.

SPEAKER_00:

And I've done that.

SPEAKER_01:

And that actually is a really good reason to do it because there are breed characteristics that we want to learn from. You know, if you have a uh an Aussie in your breeding uh or a border collie, these are herding dogs. And that herding behavior can be really helpful in abnormal behaviors that they may exhibit at the house. That makes a lot of sense. Why is that uh why is that dog moving my three-year-old around and or chasing and biting at his heels? Well, that could be the reason. So, but there's even better, I like a better reason for DNA testing, and that is that DNA testing now can relay uh a number of heredable diseases that we might do something about or be able to do something about if we're proactive. You know, for example, there are two tests that I really talk about. Okay. Embark and wisdom. Okay. So embark uh will do up to 300 um specific DNA tests for genetic diseases in our pets. And that's amazing because, you know, if your dog, for example, comes up with uh congestive heart failure or cardiomyopathy, which is an enlargement of the heart, it's nice to know that up front we can talk about heart-related uh diets, supplements, that's so kind of get into the preventative measures of we know this might happen down the road, so let's kind of address it now. Absolutely. You know, and it really um it really 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 does a few less of those DNA tests, but still can be very, very positive. So just so you know, these panels come as like little test kit with swabs.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, and so do we just like swab the inside of our dog's mouth?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. You swab the inside of the dog's mouth, you send it over to embark or wisdom, and in no time you'll have those answers. And obviously, you really want to make sure you share that with your veterinarian.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's really interesting because I've always heard of, you know, oh, we want to test them to see if they have any of these mutations in their genes, if they have anything spooky that's going on. I've never considered a behavioral aspect of it that if you have a herding dog or if there's if they have husky in there, maybe that's why they're pulling on the leash so much, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

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:

Yes, yes, it happens quite frequently. Um, but that's a really good point. And that's really interesting, kind of taking it from a a broader approach instead of just being, you know, here's what they're predisposed to. Well, here's also, you know, why they're exhibiting that behavior and kind of leaning into maybe he needs a job, maybe he needs to do this. So that's really interesting. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

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 on YouTube, subscribe, uh, follow us on Instagram, and tell your pet uh friends who have pets uh also. It gives us a great ability to for Olivia and I to bring more information to you all the time.

SPEAKER_00:

Perfect. And if you guys have any questions or your friends have any questions, all of those platforms, uh, YouTube, Instagram, those are great places to put those questions, those comments, um, as and also your website.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

So feel free to do that. And thank you guys so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for joining us.