You Chose a Better Diet. Now Know How It’s Working.
You put thought, time, and care into feeding your pet well. But even the best diet cannot show how your individual dog or cat digests, absorbs, and utilizes nutrition. VDI laboratory testing helps replace guessing with objective information you can review with your veterinarian.
✓ Test kits available for pet parents
✓ Reports to review with your veterinarian
The Food Label Tells You What Goes In—Not What Your Pet Gets Out.
Raw, fresh, home-prepared, freeze-dried, premium kibble, and carefully selected supplements can all be thoughtful choices. The unanswered question is how that plan is working for your individual pet.
Every pet is different. Age, digestive health, the gut microbiome, metabolism, environmental exposure, and medical history can all influence nutritional status—even when two pets eat the same diet.
- Ingredients and guaranteed analysis
- Feeding amounts and formulation claims
- What was added to the food
- General recommendations for a population
- Individual vitamin information
- Mineral and element patterns
- Gut microbiome context
- Information related to selected exposures
Skip ahead to the individual kits and bundled nutrition panels.
Nutrition Is a Process, Not Just an Ingredient List
Testing helps you and your veterinarian consider more of the path between the food you choose and the information your pet’s body can provide.
Food & Supplements
Digestion
Absorption
Microbiome
Vitamin Status
Mineral Patterns
Selected Exposures
Whole-Pet Context
Testing measures what happens after the bowl.
Diet Decisions Should Not Depend on Guessing Alone
Ingredients, marketing claims, and online reviews can help you choose a food. Laboratory information can help add individual context.
Guessing
- Food label and ingredient list
- Brand or formulation claims
- General online recommendations
- Visible changes alone
Adding Testing
- Measured vitamin information
- Mineral and element patterns
- Gut microbiome findings
- Selected exposure information
Testing Can Add Context Across Many Feeding Approaches
You do not need to wait for a crisis to ask better questions about nutrition. Testing may be useful when establishing a baseline, evaluating a change, or discussing a specific concern with your veterinarian.
Specialty Testing Built for Companion Animals
VDI was founded to expand advanced diagnostic options for companion animals and works with pet parents and veterinary professionals across specialty areas including nutrition, GI health, allergy, toxins, wellness, and cancer.
Start Focused—or Look at More Together
Choose one area of interest or a bundled panel based on the questions you want to discuss with your veterinarian.
Not sure where to start? A focused panel works well when you have one main question. A bundled panel can be helpful when diet, digestion, mineral patterns, and exposure concerns overlap.
Essential Vitamins
A focused blood-based panel evaluating four important nutritional markers.
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin B12
- Folate
- Magnesium
Mineral & Toxic Metal Fur Analysis
Uses fur to evaluate longer-term patterns involving nutritional elements and environmental or toxic metals.
- 30 elements
- Nutritional minerals
- Environmental and toxic metals
- Element ratios for added context
GI Microbiome Panel
Evaluates the gut microbial environment that helps shape digestion, dietary response, and intestinal health.
- Bacterial and fungal findings
- Dysbiosis-related insights
- Diet and fiber context
- Action-oriented reporting
Nutrition Panel – Complete
Brings multiple nutrition-related areas together for pet parents who want a broader laboratory evaluation.
- Essential Vitamins
- Mineral & Toxic Metal Fur Analysis
- GI Microbiome Panel
- Allergy Panel
- A broader view of diet and nutritional health
Match the Panel to the Question
Use this matrix as a starting point, then confirm the current included tests and sample requirements on each product page.
| Area Evaluated | Essential Vitamins | Fur Analysis | GI Microbiome | Complete | Flagship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin D, B12, Folate & Magnesium | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mineral Status & Element Ratios | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Environmental & Toxic Metals | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| GI Microbiome | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Allergy-Related Assessment | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mycotoxin & Glyphosate Evaluation | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
Panel configurations can change. Product pages should be treated as the source of truth for current included tests, pricing, and sample requirements.
For Pet Parents Who Want VDI’s Broadest Diet-Focused Evaluation
The Flagship panel brings together multiple specialty evaluations related to nutritional status, mineral patterns, the GI microbiome, allergy, mycotoxins, glyphosate, and other diet- or exposure-related questions.
It may be appropriate when several questions overlap or when you prefer one broad starting point rather than a step-by-step testing path.
A Broader Evaluation May Include
- Essential Vitamins
- Fur Mineral Analysis
- GI Microbiome Panel
- Allergy Panel
- Mycotoxin Panel
- Glyphosate Panel
- Additional sample types and collection steps
Review the current product page for the exact panel configuration and required samples.
Learn More About the Areas Being Evaluated
Not every visitor is ready to order immediately. These resources answer common questions without sending you to a generic homepage.
Gut HealthGI Microbiome TestingExplore the relationship between microbial balance, digestion, and dietary response.Learn more →
MineralsFur Mineral AnalysisSee how fur can be used to evaluate nutritional elements and toxic metals.Learn more →
ToxinsMycotoxin TestingUnderstand how VDI evaluates selected mycotoxin exposure in dogs and cats.Learn more →
ExposureGlyphosate TestingLearn about testing for glyphosate exposure and available sample options.Learn more →
AllergyAllergy TestingReview VDI’s IgE allergy testing and how it may complement other evaluations.Learn more →
Before You Order
Do I need to believe my pet’s current diet is “bad” before testing?
No. Testing can be used to add objective context to a diet you already feel good about, establish a baseline, or help evaluate questions that cannot be answered by the food label alone.
Is this only for raw- or fresh-fed pets?
No. VDI nutrition-related testing may be used with raw, fresh, home-prepared, freeze-dried, kibble, canned, or supplemented feeding plans. The goal is individual information, not endorsement of one diet format.
Can every sample be collected at home?
No. Fur, urine, and stool may be collected at home depending on the kit, but panels requiring serum need a blood draw performed by a veterinarian or qualified veterinary professional.
Does testing tell me exactly which food to buy?
No. Testing provides laboratory information about selected nutritional, mineral, microbial, allergy-related, or exposure-related areas. Results should be interpreted with your pet’s full clinical picture and used to support a discussion with your veterinarian.
Can I order without a veterinary account?
Yes. Pet-parent test kits can be purchased online. A veterinarian is still needed for sample collection when a blood draw is required.
Which panel is the best place to start?
Choose a focused panel when you have one main question. Consider a bundled panel when several areas overlap. Confirm the included tests and required samples on the current product page before ordering.
Where can I learn how pet-parent testing with VDI works?
Visit the Working with VDI page for ordering, registration, sample collection, and result-review information.
Stop Wondering Whether Your Pet’s Diet Is Working.
Choose a focused test, compare bundled panels, or continue exploring your options before you decide.