Adverse behaviours such as seizure, “glazing over”, episodic biting, and general loss of clarity, has been reported in the Belgian Malinois and attributed to certain genetic variants in the dopamine transporter gene.

The test detects certain genetic variants in the SLC6A3 gene which are known to be associated with owner reports of seizure, “glazing over” behaviours, episodic biting behaviours, and general loss of clarity in the Belgian Malinois. These polymorphisms have further been associated with increased aversive treatment of dogs by handlers, and increased stress in dogs in response to handlers. The association between these polymorphism(s) and behaviour/seizure has only been confirmed in the Belgian Malinois. Due to the complex nature of behaviour, it is possible that environmental factors such as stress may contribute to the expression of adverse owner-reported behaviours.

A mutation in the (SLC6A3) gene has been found to be more likely present in dogs which show this unpredictable aggression. Three possible variants of the gene have been identified: The A0 and A10 alleles are not associated with adverse behaviour, while the allele A22 is associated with undesirable aggression. Dogs that are heterozygous for A22 (A0/A22 or A10/A22) are reported to show behaviour considered by some owners to be adverse and/or potentially undesirable. However, dogs with the most extreme behaviour are more likely to have the homozygous genotype A22/A22.

Please note that behaviour is associated with many other factors that could influence or trigger aggressive behaviour (e.g. painful diseases, persistent environmental stress or inappropriate educational methods) besides to this genetic variant. Moreover, this test only provides information about a single genetic predisposition of the dog. This result does not allow any presumption about the actually trainability or communicative behaviour of the dog.