Breed & Health Kit - Dog DNA Testing Kit - Discover Breed, Ancestry, Relative Finder, Genetic Health, Traits, Allergy Risk Scores

Fun and easy. The test is very easy and simple, and they include the envelope to mail back. I bought and sent my dog's test on December 6 and got results before the new year. so even during holidays the turnaround is very quick.

The Embark Breed & Health Kit is one of the most comprehensive DNA tests you can get for your dog, and it lives up to the hype in real use. Setup is easy — swab the cheek, send it back, and within a few weeks you get a detailed online report that goes way beyond basic breed guesses. What you get Breed & ancestry breakdown: A deep dive into your dog’s genetic makeup with precise percentages and lineage insights. It’s far more accurate and detailed than basic breed tests. Health risk screening: Identifies dozens of genetic conditions and predispositions, so you can catch potential issues early or discuss risk management with your vet. Traits & characteristics: Adds fun, scientifically backed insights into things like coat type, size predictions, and even behavioral tendencies. Relative finder: Connects your dog with genetically related pups in the Embark database — a neat feature if you’re curious about lineage or want to connect with other owners. Real-world value Many owners find the health insights alone worth the investment, especially if you have a purebred or mixed dog with unknown background. The online dashboard is user-friendly, with clear explanations and links to research — no guesswork or data-dump overwhelm. Results feel actionable rather than vague, so you can talk specifics with your vet or plan training/health care with solid data. Bottom line: If you want a real genetic portrait of your dog — not just a throwaway breed percentage — this kit delivers. It’s comprehensive, scientifically grounded, and actually helpful for care, curiosity, and long-term wellbeing. Worth it for any devoted pet owner who wants to understand their dog at a deeper level.

I’ve ordered two of these kits so far and I love how detailed they are in the results! It’s definitely worth the money, especially if you can find it when it’s on sale! The steps are easy to follow and you get updates throughout the entire process. I’ll be getting another one for my third dog for sure!

Incredibly professional, very valuable information in regards to HEALTH screening and super fun to figure out his DNA. We rescued our boy in November and we’re not positive of what he was. It wouldn’t have mattered because we love them anyway, but it was fun to find out his DNA. This was way more than just finding out what type of dog he is. This helped identify genes that he had. It tested for over 400 different health screenings. I found them to be highly professional accurate and very reasonable priced for the amount of information you get. If a human wanted to figure out this kind of information, it would’ve been thousands of dollars.

We adopted a 2-3 yr old rescue, who was believed to be mostly Yellow Labrador Retriever. As you can see in her photo, she looks like an English Pale Yellow Lab, with the same size (71 lbs), blocky head, otter tail and body. But, her ears are smaller, higher, with spotted vs ombre tips, her eyes are smaller & almond-shaped, her muzzle fur is thin, with freckled skin, and she has no undercoat. She is also very mellow & reserved, low-energy & less playful than a Lab, and has minimal interest in food or treats. She also has behaviors like nocturnal roaming indoors & barking at night, and her bark & whine are very different than any of our past dogs (Labs, German Shepherds, Husky, Hound). As a rescue, her health history & that of her parents is unknown. We've had other dogs that developed life-altering or fatal issues due to genetic issues, that could have been avoided or better & less expensively treated if uncovered earlier via DNA screening. So, we decided to do a DNA test to learn more about this dog's breed mix and heath. We decided on Embark after reading several reviews in Wirecutter and on other sites, which compared results between Embark and other brands. Another factor was that Embark works with Cornell, not just to have the latest, most relevant technology and scientific information, but to contribute results & info from tested dogs to Cornell to help with research on canine health and traits that can help improve and develop care and medical treatments to benefit all dogs. Collecting my dog's DNA sample was extremely easy to do. We created our Embark account to activate the test code when we opened the box, took the sample, and put it in our mailbox. Embark actually sent us an email the next day, shortly after it picked up & brought to our local post office, to let us know that it was enroute and being tracked by them in the postal system. A few days later we received another email, letting us know that they'd received the package and would start processing on the next business day. Then another, telling us when processing began. About 2 weeks later, our first results - breed - were ready, and 2 days after that, we received her health results. Big surprises! First, Embark was very accurate re:her physical traits. I didn't provide any photo or info, other than her estimated age & sex. They got her exact size, coloring - even the faint fawn spots - coat & fur length and texture, dew claws, eye, nail & nose colors, weight, tail, etc. The breed results were very helpful, and surprising to us, the rescue, and our vet. Based on her ears, face, deep "woof" and nocturnal barking, we speculated she might have a trace of Kuvasz, or even, way back, Great Pyrenees. Her muzzle, with with freckled skin & thin fur, and smaller, almond eyes, made us wonder about American Bulldog, Staffordshire, Bull, Jack Russell or Pitbull Terrier, or even Beagle. Embark identified two genetic health issues, one that she only carries, so we don't have to address, since she is neutered. The other, though, affects her, and is important for our vet to know if she develops certain illnesses or injuries, or needs certain medications. Knowing will allow it to be monitored easily at her annual check-ups, and allow us to avoid treatments, diets or medications which could aggravate it and make her seriously ill or damage her liver. The breed results were the biggest surprise. She is only 12.9% Lab! As well as 12.9% each Australian Cattle Dog, Pit Bull, and Hungarian Komondor. But she she is 50% Great Pyrenees. It was really neat to see the breakdown that Embark did of parents/grandparents/great-grandparents. Everything about makes sense now. The area where she was found is rural farm country, where Great Pyrenees, and a few Komondors, are popular on farms as livestock guardians, bred to roam the perimeter of farms & pastures at night, discouraging predators, warning herds/flocks & alerting caretakers by barking, then resting in the daytime. It makes us think she likely resulted from a stray mix + pure bred GP mom, and spent her puppyhood in such an environment, learning to be a guardian/herder. Knowing this helped remendously in understanding and successfully addressing behaviors like herding & nighttime barking that are purposely bred into those breeds. It also helped us adjust how we interact with her, and her training. After years of Labs & other breed mixes, we were used to dogs that easily & quickly trained using food motivation, and who were more excitable, active, affectionate & playful. And now we know where her freckled ears & nose come from! She is a very sweet, wonderful dog, and Embark's health & breed results provided info that let us know what potential health issues we need to work with our vet to watch for, and that we needed to adjust her diet to keep her weight healthy, as well as adapting our routines & training methods to better her suit her dominant Great Pyrenees breed. It's really made a difference. Instead of trying to control & train her behaviour like our other dogs, we worked with her instincts, recognizing her need to do the job she was bred for, that her breed has done for thousands of years. Within 2 weeks, her "new rescue" adjustment period stress was *gone*, her nocturnal barking & whining was 99% ended, and we communicated better, understanding why she needs a "last call" late night walk in the yard & around the house, and that she responds to calm, gentle acknowledgement & ear rubs vs stern correction or training treats.

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 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.

Super cool testing if shows your breed and other statistics so much to read about your pet allergies foods etc Yes this was worth it!

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.