Embark | Dog DNA Test | Breed & Health Kit | Breed Identification & Canine Genetic Health Screening

I decided to get my pup dna tested and I chose embark as they are the most accurate and most reliable canine dna test on the market. I am in the UK, so I expected it to take quite a while to receive the results considering that embark is based in America, but it actually only took just over 3 weeks, which is shorter than what was estimated. First I had to swab my dog, which was pretty easy as my girl just wants to put everything in her mouth lol. Then I had to send it off, which I did using the pre paid envelope included in the kit, as Embark states on their website if purchased from Amazon UK, you can use the envelope supplied and it will be sent to their UK warehouse, and then rerouted to their lab in the USA. After I sent it, it took 2 days to be received in the UK warehouse, and then just under 2 weeks to arrive at the lab. A week after it was received at the lab I was emailed the results. We were told that my girl was a german shepherd x belgian malinois mix, with her mum being a pedigree german shepherd. And her dad being a working Malinois cross. Her results came back 60% german shepherd, 20% Belgian Malinois, and 20% dutch herder, which all make sense. She also came back with completely clear health so it was well worth doing just for that. The only things that I would say don't seem completely accurate are the family tree, the weight estimate, and the relative match. On my dog's family tree, her mother is listed as having a belgian malinois mix grandparent, which I know is incorrect as her mum has a pedigree to prove it. It does have a disclaimer however, that the family tree displayed is just what the algorithm determined was most likely, and that it is not the only possible one. So I would take this with a pinch of salt. The adult weight estimate also seems to be off, my girl is only 10 months old and weighs 92 lbs, yet it predicted that her adult weight would be 63 lbs. After looking other dog's results online, most of the weight estimates seem to be incorrect by quite alot. The relative match is not necessarily incorrect, but is not explained very well. For example my girl matched with alot of purebred German shepherds that embark claims are "close relatives" as they share 35-36% of her dna, even though it says this for every single pure German shepherd I compared her with, and they are definitely not all "close relatives". After speaking with other people online, apparently this is the case with most dogs that are primarily a breed that's known to have low diversity. But it is somewhat misleading to say a dog is another dog's "close relative" when they are actually no more related then any two dogs of that breed. The actual shared dna percentage is seemingly off too. So it definitely has it's flaws, but is still definitely the most reliable compared to the other tests that are available, and the actual parts of the test that matter are reliable. If you want to find out your dog's breed, I would definitely recommend.

Having adopted a dog from Cyprus we were curious about her breed mix. The breed we were advised she was came out as dominant, however, the other mix of breeds going back as far as her great grandparents made perfect sense and we can definitely see traits of them all knowing our girl. More impressive was the fact I provided no information to Embark, so I didn't tell them what breed I thought she might be or provide a picture so the results were literally just from the DNA swab. I definitely think it's worth the cost. :)

Our gorgeous rescue dog was found on the streets in Bulgaria, adopted by a UK family but shortly given up by them as well. The British rescue that took her in told us they thought she was a "staffie cross" - utterly adorable, very gentle and loving with people but a bit anxious. Over time, we realised that she was also not comfortable around other dogs. All totally manageable and she's come on a long way but we wanted to know how much of her behaviour was nature vs nurture. And we could see that she didn't have the big staffie head - but more of a German Shepherd shape - so we were very curious. That said, on reading the reviews about the US focus and mainstream breeds, we were fully prepared to just get a DNA report that said "European Village Dog" or "100% supermutt". As it happens, the report came back saying that she was in fact a majority mix of GSD, but with some Rottweiler, American Pit Bull and American Staffie too. We imagine she was bred to be a fighting dog or a breed bitch for the same but her timid nature and anxiety issues meant she wasn't cut out for the task! Hence being thrown out onto the streets. The genetics explain why she's not 100% happy around other dogs so we can manage our expectations of her accordingly. The health report flagged a genetic predisposition that we'll flag to our vet too - and would only have been diagnosed through expensive blood tests here. Literally, the only thing that wasn't spot on was that she was "likely to have blue eyes" - here's are orange. Otherwise, the age, weight, coat colour etc. was all totally spot on - and we didn't supply ANY information about her before the results came in. So, all in all, it's worked out great for us and I'd highly recommend it.

I was very impressed with the results. I put up no photo and gave no details of my dog. The results were very accurate in the coat colour and body size, breed. The result came up with 2 risks. 1 high risk and one notable. One is high risk for IVDD and as he already is getting nerve pain and needs an MRI then this is a likely diagnosed once he has the scan . I wanted to know of health risks. The only piece that was inaccurate was the weight . It was a bit out of range. I have seen mention of this on other reviews but apart from this the results were very good . The swab is a little big when you have an anxious dog. I just managed with some anxiety meds.

We live in London and got this to test our dog. It's super easy to swab your dog (just a little earbud swab that goes under their mouth flaps to get saliva). Because Embark is based in America you can't use their pre-paid bag to ship the sample back to their lab, but you can use the bag as a bag for shipping. We just went into the Royal Mail post office and paid for it to be shipped over so they slapped a label on the bag for us. I think it was like £10? On the shipping label we just wrote "dog DNA sample". It took a while to get there (maybe 2 weeks?) but eventually we got an email saying they had received it and were shipping it to their processing lab. Then we waited just under a week and got an email saying it was processing. And then around the 4 week mark we got the results. Really pleased with the communication from Embark! We wish the results were a bit more exciting but it was a fun experience!

This is the second time I’ve purchased this DNA kit. Once for my previous dog and again for my current puppy. It is well worth it. The kit is very easy to use, and the results are both thorough and accurate. While I would love my dog regardless of breed, it was fun and informative to see which breeds contributed to his personality and physical traits. The health component also provided valuable peace of mind by identifying potential health conditions. I can confidently say the results are accurate, as my first dog was diagnosed with Intervertebral Disc Disease, which the test correctly identified. One of my coworkers, who is a breeder, also uses this test to assess which traits her dogs may potentially pass on to their puppies. I appreciated learning that my dog is 0% inbred, has close relatives who have also completed the DNA test, and seeing his allergy risk, among many other detailed insights. My only suggestion for improvement would be to include an additional $5 toward postage for Canadian customers, as the provided stamps did not fully cover the mailing fee.

Very happy with the product and the handling. Fast delivery (US to AU in 1 week), fast processing (3 weeks). Useful and cheery email updates along the way. The results are presented in a very accessible prose. Although we managed to contaminate the swab with a few bits of beef liver treats, the analysis seemed to have worked (otherwise our dog would have come out as like 20% cow). This test achieved three goals: * Screen for hereditary diseases, estimate treatment cost, compare to pet insurance premiums/cover and estimate whether pet insurance will be worth the investment (in our case for a completely healthy puppy - likely not). * As a bday present for my wife, she was super happy to learn more about our rescue puppy. The photos and character descriptions of our puppy's relatives on the embark website are a delight! * The daily, hour-long discussions about which dog breeds look similar to our puppy and what breeds she might be a mix of now have found a satisfying resolution. This test is definitely good value for very young dogs to evaluate pet insurance ROI. If hereditary conditions are found, early treatment can give your pup a longer, healthier life.

I had such a great experience with the Embark Breed & Health Test Kit! The results were accurate and so much fun to read through. It gives you tons of detailed information. not just about your dog’s breed mix, but also health traits, genetic risks, and even fun personality insights. The breed breakdown was super thorough and easy to understand, and I loved learning more about where my dog’s traits come from. The health section was especially helpful and gave me peace of mind. Overall, it’s informative, easy to use, and really exciting to go through when the results come in. I’d definitely recommend it to any dog owner who’s curious about their pup’s background!

Fantastic product with fantastic information provided about your dog. If buying in Australia - be aware you'll have to ship it back to the USA at your own cost (approx $25). Worth every cent to see valuable information about your pet dog.

This test is amazing , HIGHLY recommend. You find out soo many things about your dog with a tiny bit of dna and its super easy to do.