DNA testing for pets is similar to human DNA testing.
With dogs and cats, DNA testing is used to determine breed background. This information gives owners reliable information about their pet’s history. It also provides your vet with information that will help in preventive treatments for breeds that are prone to certain diseases.
When adopting a pet from an animal shelter, it’s useful to know the pet’s ancestry. The prospective owner then has an idea of physical characteristics as well as personality.
Pet DNA testing is also helpful in crime scenes. Fur, saliva or even feces left by an animal can provide useful information to investigators and can even lead to solving a crime.
Some people are just interested in knowing their pet’s background just for fun.
With pet birds, it’s often difficult to determine sex. This can be a problem as sometimes birds of the same sex do not get along. There can be other behavioral differences as well. In some species, males are better talkers than females. And determining sex can help your vet with treatment of your bird. For birds, you have to option to send the lab blood or fresh feathers for them to analyze.
Most labs that do DNA testing can be contacted online. They send you a kit with instructions which you then mail back to the lab and await the results. Be sure to use a reliable lab, don’t be fooled by cost.
DNA testing also satisfies our natural curiosity.
