Bank your dog’s DNA Preserving your Belgian’s DNA will benefit other Belgians now and in the future. Research that is pertinent to the Belgian often needs particular dogs that are healthy and free from a particular health disorder or dogs that exhibit that disorder. For example, the current gastric carcinoma study being conducted at Michigan State - if the samples were already collected, the research could progress much more rapidly. Further, if genetic tests become available, then your dog could be tested even if the dog has passed on.
Please consider submitting your dog’s DNA now and then updating as health conditions change or remain stable. While blood submissions are preferable for some research applications, buccal swab submissions are also highly valuable. It is better to have DNA from any source than not to have it at all. How can you submit DNA from your Belgian? Send it to CGAP at UCDavis (http:cgap.ucdavis.edu) and we will process and store the DNA for use in the epilepsy study as well as for future studies (as we will coordinate through the CHIC DNA repository). There are two ways: a blood sample or a buccal swab sample. For the blood sample, the veterinarian of your choice will collect the blood from your dog which you submit along with the downloadable form (Download Blood Submission Instructions and Questionnaire). Please note, CGAP is not responsible for costs incurred for blood collection and shipping. We require 3-5 cc of whole blood in purple-topped (EDTA) blood tubes. Some veterinarians may collect and ship samples at no charge for research purposes – please check with your veterinarian. For a buccal swab sample, when you request a kit (Request a Buccal Swab Kit), we send you a swab kit that includes detailed instructions. Briefly, you place the swab on the inside of the dog’s cheek and swirl vigorously and then mail the swabs and questionnaire back to us. If you agree to have the DNA made available to other researchers through the CHIC DNA repository, there is no fee associated with CHIC submission when the excess DNA is submitted through CGAP. |
