Frequently Asked Questions

Knowing your breed is only a small part of the story. This easy, at-home test screens you dog’s DNA for a variety of genetic variants causing inherited diseases and traits. Canine HealthCheck was designed to test any dog, regardless of breed (purebred or mixed breed) and is the largest, most comprehensive genetic screen on the market. Learning these results will provide insight on how to best care for your furry family member throughout their life. If a problem is identified on your dog, you will be able to care for any genetic disease that is treatable, intervene early before your dog is symptomatic, prevent inherited diseases through selective breeding, and prepare for potential pet emergencies. The Canine HealthCheck is not a breed identification test.

The Canine HealthCheck is not a breed identification test. It is a genetic health test that screens more than 325 changes in genes that are responsible for inherited diseases and traits in dogs. All genes are found in all breeds, but certain variants may be found in only specific breeds. You will learn more about each genetic change as you review the Canine HealthCheck results on your dog.

The Canine HealthCheck is the only genetic screen for your dog that has been developed by veterinarians and PhD geneticists expertly trained in genetic diagnostics. Your testing will be handled by the best trained geneticists, veterinarians, and technicians available within a laboratory equipped with the latest technology for the testing and analysis of canine genetic diseases. We are one of the few laboratories that follow the published standards and guidelines for clinical canine genetic testing that are based on human genetic testing standards. Analyzed at Neogen, your sample will receive the utmost care in the hands of experts trained in clinical testing.

Neogen has achieved accredidation for ISO 17025 with A2lA . ISO 17025 accredidation is achieved through development of rigorous quality systems and constant monitoring to ensure all quality objectives are met. Having ISO 17025 accredidation is a world-wide achievement and signals that the services offered within our laboratory can be trusted with the highest confidence.

You will need to first purchase a kit. The Canine HealthCheck can be ordered online at www.caninehealthcheck.com or you can call us to purchase your kit over the phone. US, Canada, and UK customers who elect to have us ship them a kit will receive everything they need to collect cheek cells and send the sample to our laboratory. For customers outside the US, Canada, and the UK, we will help you find the cheek swabs needed for testing. Just contact us.

We will ship kits to customers within the United States, Canada, and UK. Just follow the instructions during the ordering process. However, we accept samples from all over the world. Please contact us if you have questions about providing your own samples. Please be sure to place an order before shipping any samples to our laboratory.

Although our kits no longer require activation codes with new purchases through our website, we still accept any Canine HealthCheck kits that have a code. Simply follow this link to activate your kit and find instructions to send your sample to our laboratory.

For customers in the US, Canada, and UK, the Canine HealthCheck kit contains everything that you need including cheek swabs, swabbing instructions, and a prepaid return mailer for sending the samples to our laboratory. Canadian customers can select to have kits sent to them. For other international customers, please refer to our sample collection guidelines.

You will receive an email when the laboratory has received your samples.

Results will be uploaded to your secure, online account that you created when you activated your kit or purchased your kits within 14 business days of the laboratory receiving your samples. If you are using a sample already in our inventory, or if your sample needs to be reprocessed, please allow for an additional 14 business days to receive the final results.

Yes, you will receive an email when your results have been completed and your report is ready to be viewed in your secure, online account.

No, results will not be mailed to you. All results for your dog will be uploaded to your secure, online account. From your dog's results page, you can view your results, download a PDF to your computer or print the report.

If you need to have the information changed on a dog, please contact us and we can help you with changing your dog's information.

The Canine HealthCheck was developed at Paw Print Genetics®, where its performance was also determined. Unique variations in the genetic code of some individuals may exist and cause certain regions of the genome to not perform properly in this test. In addition, suboptimal sampling of the dog’s cheek cells could also result in poor sample performance due to inadequate cell counts, bacterial and fungal growth, or the presence of other test inhibitors. An acceptable level of “No Result” assays at any particular genomic location has been determined by Paw Print Genetics®. Customers with an unacceptable level of no reportable results will be contacted for a new sample.

This simply means that we were unable to get a result for that particular test. This could have occurred for a variety of reasons and doesn’t mean that anything is wrong with your dog. If you have concerns about a ‘no result’ test, please contact our laboratory to discuss this with one of our directors.

Being a "carrier" indicates that your dog may have inherited only one copy of a mutation that has been reported to cause genetic disease. Your dog is not clinically affected by this mutation because two copies of the mutation are required to cause disease. Additional information about the genetic disease and the clinical symptoms can be found by reviewing the disease descriptions.

Being "at-risk" indicates that your dog may have inherited one or two copies of a mutation that has been reported to cause genetic disease. Depending on the mode of genetic inheritance for a particular disease, inheriting one or two mutant copies of the gene may result in the disease that was identified in your dog's DNA. Additional information about the genetic disease and the clinical symptoms can be found by reviewing the disease descriptions. If your Canine HealthCheck results indicate that your dog is 'at-risk' for a disease you may want to consider ordering follow-up testing to confirm the results of this initial genetic screen.

The Canine HealthCheck is a comprehensive genetic screen of inherited diseases and traits found in dogs. In some cases, you will learn that your dog is at-risk for a disease. You may order a follow-up test from Paw Print Genetics® to again test your dog's DNA for that specific mutation for an additional cost. In most cases, Paw Print Genetics® can use the DNA obtained from the Canine HealthCheck to run the follow-up test. You can call Paw Print Genetics® any time to discuss your concerns at 509-483-5950 Mon-Fri 8am-5pm CST. To order a confirmatory test, please visit www.pawprintgenetics.com.

You can call the laboratory to discuss your results or any concerns toll-free (US and Canada) at 855-202-4889 or direct at 509-483-5950 Mon-Fri 8am-5pm Central time zone or send us an email at info@caninehealthcheck.com and we will get back with you the next business day. For UK customers, please email neogengenomics@neogen.com, or call us on 44 (0) 1292 526 094.

The Canine HealthCheck is a genetic screen of inherited diseases and traits in dogs. This is not a diagnostic test. Any abnormal result (carrier or at-risk), or any result that concerns you, should be followed-up using a diagnostic or confirmatory test. In addition, not every mutation known in dogs is included on the Canine HealthCheck. If your dog is symptomatic, consult with your veterinarian on appropriate DNA testing. Normal results do not exclude inherited mutations not tested in these or other genes that may cause medical problems or may be passed on to offspring. Diagnostic testing is available from Paw Print Genetics® for Canine HealthCheck customers. In most cases, DNA will already be available to perform the follow-up tests at Paw Print Genetics®. In addition, this genetic screen should not be used for determining suitability for breeding because breed-specific tests, that may not be included on the Canine HealthCheck, might be more appropriate. Breed registries may not accept results from the Canine HealthCheck. Check with your breed registry for submission requirements prior to ordering the Canine HealthCheck. In most cases, results from the Canine HealthCheck are accepted by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA).

Determinants of coat colors and traits are complex. Many of these variants are known and many of the genes screened in this assay interact. In addition, not all of the genetic factors that contribute to a dog's coat color and traits are known. Because of the complexities in gene-gene interactions, the coat colors and traits shown in the Canine HealthCheck results for your dog may vary from your dog's actual appearance. Individual differences in genes throughout the canine genome, not tested in this assay, may also affect the final coat color or traits seen in your dog.

Our refund policy has been updated to reflect the following terms: If you decide to cancel your order, there will be no processing fee. However, please note that any cancellation or modification must be made within 24 months from the time of purchase. Refund requests can be accommodated prior to your samples being received by the laboratory. Once the samples are received by the laboratory, no refunds will be issued, and testing will proceed as scheduled. In extenuating circumstances, please contact Canine HealthCheck during normal business hours to discuss cancellation and credit options. We value our customers' satisfaction above all else. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, please reach out to our customer support team. We are committed to resolving any issues promptly and ensuring your experience with us is positive. **Please note that shipping will not be refunded or credited once kits have been shipped.

If you have already completed testing on a dog in the past or if you have an unused kit with an activation code, we currently do not offer an option to upgrade. We apologize for this inconvenience and hope to launch this option soon. However, customers who purchase a new Canine HealthCheck or have yet to use their Comprehensive Canine HealthCheck purchased from our website will automatically receive the upgraded Premium Canine HealthCheck for their dog when the samples are received after July 14, 2023. Please contact our Customer Service if you have additional questions.

We include instructions in every kit. In addition, you can reference swabbing instructions or watch our video instructions below :

To ensure the seamless progression of your test, please submit your sample within 24 months from the date of purchase. Tests beyond this timeframe cannot be accommodated, and refunds will not be issued.