LAS VEGAS -- Ever wonder what your pet's heritage is? Well, there are a few new companies that have canine DNA tests available. These will allow the owner to swab the animal's mouth, send it to a lab and discover what breeds comprise the animal's history.

"If you would have asked us would we be able to do this kind of testing as little as 10 years ago, we would have said 'No,'" said Dr. Dennis Kantin with MMI Genomics, a company that provides doggy DNA testing. "The technology is now available to do that. Everybody wants to know where they come from, and a pet is part of a family. They want know where their pets came from, too."

After owners turn in the sample, doctors at MMI separate the animals DNA and compare it to known breeds. Each breed has certain genetic characteristics, which allow the technicians to determine what breed the animal comes from. Physicians said knowing the breed of a pet can also help determine breed-specific conditions.

"(It helps determine) whether a pup is going to be predisposed to have arthritic conditions," Kantin said. "If we know that very early on in life, then there may be ways we can better manage that better."

The company can currently test for 38 breeds, but hope a new test will expand their basis to 112 breeds. They hope to develop a similar test for cats soon.