Knowing the risk of developing a gastrointestinal disorder is relatively easy for a purebred dog. The risk of genetic gastrointestinal disorders is well understood for many breeds.
However, the risk of a gastrointestinal disorder for a mixed breed dog is hard to determine, since the exact breeds that make up a mixed breed dog aren’t often known.
However, mixed breed Dog DNA tests now provide a way to find out the breeds that make up a mixed breed. Once a dog’s parents or grandparents breeds are known, a vet can determine if a mixed breed may be at risk of a genetic gastrointestinal disorder.