Pet owners are getting their furry friends DNA tested to discover if they have a deadly disease, what their ancestral background is and even discover if they have a GREEDY gene.

Costing about 40 for a postal test, where you swab your pets cheek with a little brush, dogs are the domestic animals most commonly screened but it is also possible to get your cats DNA examined.

The Animal Health Trust (AHT), a charity which fights disease and injury in animals, offers over 30 DNA tests, reinvesting profits for further research.

Cathryn Mellersh, head of canine genetics at the organisation, explained: Our focus is on health and preventing disease. For dog breeders, having their animals DNA tested, which you only need to do once in their lifetime, is responsible because it means they can make sensible breeding decisions.

Vets use the DNA test to help diagnose what the dog has wrong with it, so they might find out a dog has two copies of the mutation that causes a particular eye disease.

For owners, it can be useful to know that the dog is going to develop a disease. If my dog has the inherited glaucoma gene its better to have regular eye tests so the early signs can be spotted.

Cathryn says DNA testing is continually developing and the AHTs brand new test shows a glimpse of the future for dog owners.

Our most recent DNA test is for a mutation that has been shown to make a dog more interested in food, more greedy and more likely to become obese, she says. Think labradors and flat-coated retrievers.

Were aiming that test really at the dog owner and in particular the puppy buyer. If you know your puppy has two copies of that mutation, on average they are about 4kg heavier than dogs without the mutation.

You can be aware throughout that dogs life they are likely to be extra greedy, so you can keep an eye on its treats and make sure it gets lots of extra exercise.

Pet DNA testing can also be undertaken for more lighthearted reasons.

If youve got a dog from a rescue centre that looks a bit like a Labrador you can have its DNA tested for about 50 or 60, Cathryn explains. They will estimate for you what its breed make-up is.

I have a crossbreed and they were able to tell me one parent was probably a German Shepherd and the other parent was a Greyhound crossed with a Saluki. But it depends how much of a Heinz 57 your dog is, that will determine how much information they can give you.

A new company in the States, Embark, will tell you where the dogs ancestors came from. Certain breeds were developed in Asia, some Africa. DNA has quite distinct signatures.

Developments in DNA testing for pets can even help to advance human genetic research.

Sometimes the research that we do points us to genes that may be responsible for the same disease in humans, explains Cathryn.

A couple of years ago we found a mutation that caused a neurological disease in Parson Russell Terriers and Jack Russell Terriers.

Since we published our findings people working on humans have found mutations in the same gene cause the same disease in humans.

Continue reading here:

Dog owners can now give pets a DNA test to see if their pooch overeats - Mirror.co.uk