DNA testing from hair roots
Did you know that hair roots contain DNA? We can use hair to test for colour, coat and health traits in your dog.
When you send us hair from your dog make sure that it only contains material from your dog. Hair, saliva, blood or semen from another dog or another animal will contaminate the sample. Food will also contaminate the sample: you don't want us testing your dog food and not your dog!
The benefits of hair samples
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Hair travels very well, and it should reach us in good condition
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Hair is less prone to contamination (compared to mouth swabs) by food or other dogs, except in the case of pups that are regularly groomed by their mother
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Hair is the best alternative to mouth swabs when your dog cannot tolerate its mouth being handled
How to take dog hair samples
Label a clean envelope with the sample ID you received for your dog when you ordered.
Make sure your hands are clean and that the hair you collect is not likely to be contaminated by other animals.
Choose a section of hair that contains as many coarse guard hairs as possible.
Get a large pinch of hair (as much as you can hold between a thumb and forefinger) in a firm grip and quickly pull it out. Use your other hand to hold the skin down while you do it so that the hair roots pull out cleanly. Give your dog positive verbal feedback because having hair pulled is not comfortable.
Place the hair sample in the labeled envelope you prepared earlier. It is good if all the roots stay together.
How much should you send?
Samples need to be at least this large.
You can put multiple sealed sample envelopes together in a larger envelope to send them to the lab. Our address is:
Dog Breeding Science
40 Boronia St
Redfern NSW 2016
AUSTRALIA
