Question: can you tell which dog it is from there poo

Marisol Collins answered on 15 Nov 2016:

This is a really interesting question! There are lots of different tests we can do on poo that can tell us many things about the digestive system of a dog and whether it is carrying many types of infections or parasites, but I must admit, we don’t commonly use poo to identify which dog is which! However, this might be changing soon, and there are now tests available that can identify a particular dog from DNA isolated from its poo!

There are over 9 million dogs in the UK, and one big problem is all the mess they make with their poo, especially if owners are not picking it up and putting it in a poo bin. If you’ve ever trodden in dog poo, you will know how unpleasant this is! So, some councils are trying out a new way to trace which owners are not picking up their dog poo, by identifying the dog from its DNA from the poo found on the street or in the park. It is now the law that all dogs must have a microchip, so when the dog goes to the vet to have a microchip, some councils are now asking vets to also take a swab from the dog’s mouth as this can be used to collect a sample of the DNA. The DNA is a bit like a fingerprint, and by running a test that gives you a profile of the DNA, you can then identify the dog from this profile.

So now, in some parts of the UK, a sample of poo can be tested for the DNA and this can be matched with a dog on a database of all the DNA records collected at the vets. This is a way of catching naughty owners that are not picking up their dogs poo, so they can be given a fine or even go to jail! Clever detective work, huh?