Casey Ehrlich

Why do littermates look different from each other? How is breed ancestry inherited? Learn more in this introductory video on genetic inheritance. What is genetic inheritance? How does genetic recombination work? Why do human siblings not look exactly alike? Why do canine littermates often look different from each other? Even though puppies will receive half...

Many dog owners are surprised to see ancestry from this breed Sometimes chow ancestry appears in the dog you’d least suspect. Many owners are surprised to learn their dog has some Chow Chow ancestry. Why are Chows common in mixed breeds and uncommon as purebreds? Learn more about this common breed result from Embark’s Chief...

Spots and ticking can have a surprising origin in your dog A dog’s breed is more than coat deep. Dalmatian? Maybe not. Some dogs have spots on areas of white fur, commonly called “ticking”. While this is a characteristic of Dalmatians, many breeds can be spotted, such as Border Collies and American Staffordshire Terriers. Sometimes...

The splotchy coat pattern called merle can come from many breeds A dog’s breed is more than coat deep. Many assume that dogs with a splotchy, merle coat pattern have ancestry from Australian Shepherds or Catahoula Leopard Dogs. However, this isn’t always true. Merle can be inherited from many breeds, including Collie, Great Dane, Dachshund,...

What are village dogs, and how do they relate to today’s modern breeds? Did you know that not all dogs have ancestry from breeds? There are dogs all over the world, but not all of them have ancestry from purebreds. In fact, about 1% of Embark-tested dogs come from populations of free-ranging, free-breedings dogs called...