wisdom panel dogs

Wisdom Panel

Want to get your dog or cat tested for breed or health issues? Wisdom Panel offer dog and cat dna tests for breeders and home owners so you can find out all the detail you need.

Who Are They?

Wisdom provide DNA testing for cats and dogs and to date have tested 2,000,000 dogs. This makes them the world’s leading canine genetics company. They launched in 2007.

 

 

Why Test Your Pet?

We probably all understand why humans would undergo DNA home testing but why would you DNA test your dog or cat? There are two main reasons dog owners do this. The first reason is to confirm or identify your dog’s breed. The second reason is to look at any health issues that may affect your dog, this can help you decide on whether it is right to breed from that dog or take preventative action if they are predisposed to a health issue. Some dog owners do worry about the difficulty of obtaining a sample but obtaining a cheek swab isn’t really that difficult and most test providers will guide you through that.

What Are The Products?

Wisdom offer two products; 

Wisdom Panel Essential

Wisdom Panel Premium.

What Is Wisdom Panel Essential?

This test gives you your dogs breed against a database of 350 breeds. It will also provide you with your dogs family tree, trait results covering coat, colour and body features and ideal weight. You will also receive 25+ health tests including medication sensitivity. This package is ideal if your main interest is your dogs breed. Results for this test are usually back in 2-3 weeks.

What Is Wisdom Panel Premium?

The premium test provides you with breed information plus additional information on how your dog is genetically diverse from its breed. You receive all the trait results as in the essential test but the biggest difference is in the field of health. The Premium test gives you 180+ tests looking at possible genetic disorders and if your test does indicate that your dog has an issue then a vet will follow up and speak to you about the results. You will also be made aware of any carrier status that your dog may have which again could be essential information for breeding purposes. So, this test is probably more relevant for those seeking to breed their dog or simply want more health information.

What The Science Behind The Test?

For a successful breed detection test you undoubtedly need a large breed database, the right algorithm and gene markers. Wisdom Panel argue they offer all of this, with 1800 markers which are assessed on 17MM calculations. They also do own the largest dog database in the world which is essential in detecting your dog’s breed. They use Illumina Infinium chips and all samples are analysed at GeneSeek labs which are ISO170325 certified. 1.5 million samples are analysed each year.

What’s The USP?

This is probably the most established and respected canine DNA test available and certainly offers the largest numbers of detectable breeds. The sheer volume of their work is very impressive. Many users also like the support given to animal charities, results are quick and another nice feature is that you are given 2 swabs should you struggle to get that sample. The only negative we could find from users is that the test can be more expensive than others on the market.