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Chart of genetic tests available for dogs & labs that do the tests.
Here is a link to the OFA website where they keep a list of all the labs that do genetic testing for Dog diseases. The costs for these tests are much lower than ever before. Breeders and owners of purebred dogs will find this very helpful to plan their dogs future.
I have tested my dog for a Collie genetic disease (MDR1) for which he is a carrier and affected. But knowing he has one copy of the MDR1 gene means I can adjust the dose of certain drugs to prevent overdose and avoid other medication completely. In my case knowing avoided allot of possible harm. Since he is a carrier is out as a breeding dog and has been neutered. 70% of Collies have the defective gene causing MDR1 (Multidrug sensitivity) so the only way to reduce how many Collie’s get this genetic disease is to not bred all dog with a copy of the gene. Can’t see this disease on the outside of the dog. The only way is through a DNA test or when in a crisis of drug overdose which can be lethal. I would rather know.
Important info about – “Ractopamine” – what is this chemical and why do dog owners need to know about it?
Sometimes I wonder what could possibly be going on inside the brains of agriculture researchers. Here is a good example. Ractopamine is a drug that has been approved for use in beef and pork in 2006. Based on one study where six healthy male human volunteers given a single oral dose of 40 mg of ractopamine was approved as safe for human consumption.
What is it. Technically it is a drug, that is a beta-adenoreceptor agonists. These type of drugs are used to treat asthma in people. Beta- adenoreceptors exist through the body and when needed internal hormones bind to these receptors to dilate our blood vessels, speed up the heart, open the bronchial airway and alter the metabolisms of the nutrients we or animals eat. In food animals it is used to increase the percentage of their growth that goes to meat fiber production and lower the percentage of fat in the same muscles. It does this quite well and is approved for use in feed to cattle and pigs for the last month of life before slaughter. The result is an animal with leaner muscle with better rate of growth. The opposite of feeding estrogenic hormones in the 1960’s, which increased growth rates, but did so by adding a higher percentage of fat. The meat producers are certainly responding to public interest in leaner meat.
The meat from these animals does contain very low levels of remaining drug, called residues. The FDA had no choice but to approve it because of the lessening of their powers to control such things and the drug is know to disappear from the human blood stream with 24 to 48 hours and therefore is consider to be very low risk to humans.
Studies attempting to prove safety for the longer term feeding of this drug were reviewed and the main reviewer’s comment was “The study did not comply with appropriate standards for protocol and and was therefore not considered to be suitable for the assessment of the safety of residues of ractopamine.”
Dogs on the other hand were used in studies and found to be much more sensitive to the drug. It has been used experimentally, giving at several oral doses. The most common effects were rapid heart rate and restlessness even at the lowest dose test . More problems were seen in dogs than other species so they were no longer used as a research subjects. It is banned in racing animals.
What if you have a dog with multi-drug sensitivity? Yes this drug is a potential danger and the dose must be lowered by 50% to 70% depending on how many copies of the MDR-1 gene are present in a dog.
So is meat containing residues of this drug included in the general meat supply in America. The answer is yes. I have not found statements indicating meat with or without this “feed-additive” are identified or singled out in anyway. I recommend to owners of dog who have any health problems making your own dog food to get your meat locally or use organically grown only. The same receptors are in the muscle and secretory cells of the GI tract and will only make digestive problems worse.
Further what can we do as consumers. I certainly want to know which batch of meat I am eating has this residue or does not have it, so I can choose. Send this posting and attached article to every one that you know. Lets see if we can go viral to get the subject before the consuming public, doctors and congress. I see no benefit to humans that this residue is in the meat we eat. There are no studies that this meat will will consumed contribute to lowering of cholesterol of fatty acids in the blood that are related to heart disease in humans. Which I hope is the end goal of the meat producers. The averge amount of time for the drug to disapear from blood or meat when feed to animals is< 24 hours, but the metabolites can be in the meat and blood for 4 days in pigs.
Our meat is sold worldwide and many countries are discussing whether they will accept this meat and I think the American consumer should have the same option as consumers in Japan, Taiwan or China.
Chocolate Toxicity in Dogs – how to figure out if your dog ingested enough to be a problem.
Great article on how much of a dose it takes to be toxic to a dog, depending on their size. If you happen to own a Collie, Sheltie, Aussie, Border Collie, the dose may be 1/3 the dose calculated in this article.
This sensitivity of the heart to some chemicals is because the members of the “Herding Breeds” may inherit a Multi-Drug Sensitivity gene called MDR1. Washington State University, Veterinary Pathology laboratory has an inexpensive DNA test that can be done by owners to determine if your dog has any copies of the MDR1 gene. This information is important for planning on dosage of several drugs i.e.; heartworm preventatives, some antibiotics and chemicals that affect the heart, chemotherapy plus some anesthestics and tranquilzers. Simply knowing if your dog has the gene, allows your Vet to adjust the dose of the candidate drugs or choose another option when available. Follow the link below for more info:
Dr Smith Holistic Petcare 