Taking a DNA sample is as easy as swabbing your dog's mouth with a Q-tip and sealing the swab in a test tube provided with the DNA test kit.
Strep bacteria can be obtained by swabbing the back of the throat, the vagina, the rectum, or the infected area with a piece of sterile cotton.
If an infection is suspected or if an abrasion does not heal, then swabbing of the eye for microscopic culture may be done to definitively establish the organism involved.
The swabbing procedure may cause gagging but is not painful.
The care provider should wash his or her hands carefully after swabbing the throat and handling the specimen to prevent the spread of any infectious organisms.
