We stumbled across our oldest dog on Craigslist as a puppy, and she was described as an American Bulldog/Parsons Terrier mix. In all honesty, I didn’t care what breed she was. I just knew that she was adorable. (I mean, come on, look at that adorable puppy face!) I never thought too much more about her breed until I would get the question from other people, and I didn’t really have an answer. They would suggest pit bull mix or a boxer mix maybe. My partner and I always said that we would do a breed test to finally answer the question of what makes our girl so special. I decided to do this as a Christmas gift for my partner not only for our oldest dog, Scylla, but also for our younger dog, Winston, who is also a rescue.
I ended up selecting Embark Dog DNA kit for our pups. I chose Embark because it not only tested for Scylla and Winston’s breeds, but it would also test for over 160 genetic diseases in my pups. Embark would also tell me which genes contributed to how my dogs look, which is appealing for me personally and professionally. Two other companies that offer dog breed testing is Wisdom Panel and DNA My Dog. For cat breed testing, Basepaws can help identify your furry feline’s ancestry.
We received our Embark DNA kit in no time at all after I placed our order. I hate to admit that I procrastinated doing the testing for a week or so because I assumed there would be restrictions for eating and drinking prior to testing, but it was way more convenient than I imagined. Here is a picture of what the kit looks like once opened.
It’s compact and colorful with very thorough instructions. They include one sponge-like cheek swab that you need to rub along the lower part of your dog’s cheek for 30 – 60 seconds. Once it is fully soaked with your doggy’s spit, you carefully screw the swab into the tube with the liquid for shipping. Once you’ve activated your DNA kit, this is sent back in the original box you received and then it’s just time to patiently wait for your results. We received an email alert from Embark once they received our samples and an email from them about a week later to let us know they were ready to begin processing our samples. They were really great about explaining how they do this by email, and they also let us know it would likely be one to two months before our results were ready.
I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email after only a few weeks that our results were ready! Drumroll, please…Scylla’s puppy advertisement was more exact than we ever imagined. Her top breeds were American Bulldog and American Pit Bull Terrier. Here is a link to her results so that you can see all that Embark offers: https://embarkvet.com/dog/SCYLLA. Embark even provided me with a report that I could share with my veterinarian.
If you’re interested in learning about preserving your perfect pooch’s unique genetics, please give us a call at 888-876-6104 to talk about our Genetic Preservation services for your pet.
By: Codi