Leading science and care for animals

DNA profiling and parentage testing discount scheme

We are now offering dog and breed clubs a discount scheme for DNA profiling and parentage testing for their members. If you are a dog or breed club and would like to offer your members the opportunity to carry out DNA profiling and parentage testing at a saving, contact us for details of the scheme. The value of the discount will depend on the numbers of samples submitted by your members. The more samples you submit, the more your members will save!

With increased interest in this technology generally, and with DNA parentage testing now becoming mandatory in some countries, this is a good moment to consider profiling stock. Health schemes for genetic diseases, incorporating DNA testing, often include hereditarily clear status for dogs where both parents have been DNA tested clear. Such status is only valid as long as parentage records are entirely accurate. Indeed any inaccuracies may be perpetuated from generation to generation along with the hereditarily clear status, putting the success of the scheme at risk.

DNA profiling has become the standard method for verifying parentage in humans and animals. It is widely used to confirm the integrity of breeding records for livestock, such as cattle and sheep, in Thoroughbred racing and in an increasing number of dog registrations. A DNA profile for a dog is unique to that individual; the only exception to this would be for identical twins. By profiling their stock, breeders can make sure that there can be no concerns about the authenticity of their lines.

A DNA profile consists of a set of individual DNA markers, selected for their variability in the pedigree dog population. For parentage testing, the DNA profile of a puppy is compared with the profiles of possible sires and dams. Every dog has two copies of each DNA marker in its profile, one copy inherited from the sire and one from the dam: one of those copies in the pup must match one of the copies in the sire and the other copy in the pup match one in the dam. If any of the markers show a mis-match then that parentage can be excluded. We record all DNA profiles on our database and can access those records whenever they are required for parentage checking or to confirm the identity of a dog.

Our current price for DNA parentage verification is £25 excluding VAT. Representatives of dog or breed clubs who may want to offer DNA profiling and parentage checking to their members should contact us on dnatesting@aht.org.uk or, by telephone, 01638 555621, for details of the scheme.

We are an ISO17025 accredited laboratory for canine DNA profiling and parentage analysis.