VetGen - The leader in veterinary genetic disease research and genetic disease detection services for purebred animals

Breeds Serviced

  • Airdale Terrier
  • Akita
  • Alaskan Malamute
  • American Bulldog
  • American Staffordshire Terrier
  • Australian Cattle Dog
  • Australian Labradoodle
  • Australian Shepherd
  • Belgian Groenendael
  • Belgian Laekenois
  • Belgian Shepherd
  • Belgian Tervuren
  • Bernedoodle
  • Bernese Mountain Dog-SOD1A & SOD1-B
  • Bichon Frise
  • Border Collie
  • Borzoi
  • Boxer
  • Bulldog
  • Cardigan Welsh Corgi
  • Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
  • Chesapeake Bay Retriever
  • Chinese Crested
  • Chow Chow
  • Cockapoo
  • Cocker Spaniel
  • Collie
  • Coton de Tulear
  • Doberman Pinscher
  • English Springer Spaniel
  • Flat-Coated Retriever
  • French Bulldog
  • German Shepherd Dog
  • Golden Retriever
  • Goldendoodle
  • Great Pyrenees
  • Irish Setter
  • Irish Terrier
  • Jack/Parson Russell Terrier
  • Kerry Blue Terrier
  • Kuvasz
  • Labradoodle
  • Labrador Retriever
  • Lakeland Terrier
  • Mastiff
  • Miniature Schnauzer
  • Newfoundland
  • Olde English Bulldogge
  • Parson/Jack Russell Terrier
  • Pembroke Welsh Corgi
  • Pitbull
  • Poodle (Miniature)
  • Poodle (Standard)
  • Poodle (Toy)
  • Portuguese Water Dog
  • Pug
  • Puli
  • Pumi
  • Rhodesian Ridgeback
  • Rottweiler
  • Saint Bernard
  • Samoyed
  • Sealyham Terrier
  • Shetland Sheepdog
  • Shih Tzu
  • Siberian Husky
  • Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
  • Staffordshire Bull Terrier
  • Tibetan Terrier
  • Weimaraner
  • Welsh Terrier
  • White Swiss Shepherd
  • Wirehaired Fox Terrier
  • Several other breeds

Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)

Degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that occurs in many breeds of dog. The test we offer is based on the research done at the University of Missouri which identified mutations in the SOD1-A gene. To date, the major mutation associated with this disease has been detected in 124 breeds, with a second mutation, SOD1-B limited to the Bernese Mountain Dog. The test for this second mutation is DM-exon1.

The disease is an adult-onset condition that has ALS like symptoms: progressive limb weakness and muscle loss, tremors, difficulty rising, and stumbling. Affected animals develop spinal and hind end problems later in life. It is inherited as a recessive disease based on these mutations, but there is also ongoing work to determine other factors that may play a role in severity and age of onset.

The mutant allele has about a 7% frequency in Labrador Retriever.