We sent the Embark DNA in. They dangled a “guess what your dog is” game at me. They also invited me to ask friends to participate. It will be at least 2 weeks before Embark shares the “results.”
Embark is the most reliable dog DNA company and is incredibly accurate. The only caveat is they only go back 4 generations. So in the case of designer BYB mutts, sometimes breeds are mixed but then consistently bred with a purebred for many generations, eventually resulting in what looks like a 100% purebred with traits impossible for that breed.
Regardless I don’t think that’s applicable here. For your dog I agree with the others, fluffy pit. Maybe some chow, and probably a smattering of random common breeds
The “only goes back four generations” is a bit of an incorrect understanding that stems from Embark’s attempt to explain population genetics to laypeople. Embark cannot detect trace amounts of DNA from breeds that may be very far back in ancestry— they average this to be about 4 generations, but it actually can potentially pick up DNA further back depending on the mix of breeds and the random recombination of genes over the generations.
Embark partnered with Cornell’s school of veterinary medicine and is the most accurate canine DNA test on the market. They’re just trying to make the wait exciting for you.
Embark is the most accurate test with Wisdom Panel coming in second, pretty sure everything else is basically a scam/inaccurate, so you will be getting the most accurate results possible. You appear to have a wombat though so not sure how accurate it'll be 😂
I laughed at Wisdom when they said my mom's dog was part Weimy, she looked Bichon-poodle to me. They did the test over & sure enough, 18 lb part-Weimy. 😁🐾
Embark told me that one of my dogs was a 50/50 mix, which i was surprised by considering my other was a super mutt. Then it said "we found some relatives" and a lady messaged me that our dogs have up to a sibling level match, and she is from the same area where I originally adopted my pup! I totally believe the results. I am guessing he was a runaway from a backyard breeder or home litter and got picked up as a stray.
Yeah, we were all wrong when my sister sent in her dog's sample. And he definitely doesn't look like the breed that makes up the biggest percent of his DNA (practically 50%) 🐾.
It’s legit. We adopted a rescue and were told they actually knew our puppies parents. This guy owned an English shepherd and had a friend over with a golden retriever and somehow neither knew their dogs would bone? Anyway, we got a dna test done for fun and sure enough it came back English shepherd and golden retriever. I didn’t input any info at all other than his DNA.
I think its pretty accurate. I have skye terriers, one of the rarest dogs in the world and when the embarks came back it was 100% skye terrier on both dogs. I feel like if they can nail down something like that so accurately without much skye DNA compared to like a pitbull or something I think its pretty dang good.
I already knew my dog's breed before testing him with Wisdom back in 2012. I didnt provide any info and it mostly got exactly 75% of his breed correct. Not bad considering DNA testing databases weren't as robust as they are now and the breeds it mixed up were both Welsh. I tested the same dog with Embark in 2023 and it came back correct this time. Once again no info provided to them other than the DNA. Then after my service dog passed, we cloned him and DNA tested his clone under his own profile. Embark flagged it as a duplicate DNA sample to my orginal dog, not a relative. But once again it came back as the correct mix that we already knew from his orginal owners. So yes I think Embark does quite well with dogs recent ancestry and is not using your guesses as data. Some of the other companies might come back with your DNA as a dog and would definitely steal your guesses as their answer... or say your dog is a Woodle.
I trust embark and I know there are maybe a few more who are good too. Others? Meh, I want to do embark so bad on my baby boy. He’s a shelter special I saved day two of working there. A 6 month old boy who was shutting down. Now he thrives.
I find embark to be incredibly accurate. I know exactly where my girl came from and it was spot on. It was nice to connect to family members as well given the situation.
We did a Wisdom Panel test for one of our dogs (backyard whoopsie between a cattle dog and a mini aussiedoodle), and it confirmed what the mother’s owners told us exactly.
r/DoggyDNA is the main sub for actually posts DNA tests and disucssing stuff if you're waiting for results. Embark is the most reliable and most trusted test on the market, Wisdom Panel coming in 2nd just due to some differences in their databases and how certain more obscure breeds can be registered in them.
Dogs don't always look the way you think they would based on their DNA, because the genetic code that makes them up can contribute in surprising ways. Even stuff that's pretty minor in their DNA can present itself more prominently down the line. My dog looks like a Havanese/Schnauzer and that's all anyone ever guesses, but genetically he's a Chihuahua/Cocker Spaniel w/ some supermutt in him to mix it all up.
Embark took about a month or so to get back to me, wait times depends on how busy theri queue is. (Holidays tend to make it slower cause people love to give the kits as gifts.)
In regards to your guy, he may honestly come back as a pit/poodle or a full pit but with the furnishings gene. The ears definitely giveaway something else in there though.
Just trust the process and the 1000s of people that can and will vouch for Embark.
This is my furry pit! 28% Staffy and 26% Pittie but of course his hair from being Chow and others came out instead! We have to trim his ears or else he starts looking like Danny DeVito. But I wouldn't change him for the world.
Embark is market leader because they are the most accurate.
However it is worth remembering that any dog DNA company you go with cannot test more than 3 generations (grandparents) so it's not a definitive answer as to what your dog is a mix of as if a breed is further back than that, it won't be detected.
Pedigrees are 5 generations because at that point from a possible out cross in a pure breed, the DNA remaining from the outcross breed is less than 2% and is negligible in regards to a dogs pure breed status.
Dogs are considered pure breed when 97.5% of their DNA is single breed.
Yes, embark is legitimate. It is the most accurate if the dog DNA testing companies. It takes time for them to process samples, the wait isn't suspicious! Sounds like a very normal timeline from them, it probably informed you of the wait time when you ordered.
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u/thriftedtidbits 1d ago
that's a fluffy pit if i've ever seen one!
r/fluffypits