How Dog DNA Testing Works

Your dog's DNA and appearance don't always match — and that's totally normal.

Genetic recombination creates unique DNA mixes for each sibling.

Learn about the causes and symptoms of seasonal allergies in dogs and the best ways to provide them with allergy relief.

We explain some basic concepts in dog genetics and define common DNA terms that you might see in your dog’s Embark results.

Using DNA methylation, a form of epigenetics, we can estimate age and birthday.

To ensure the highest accuracy of its dog DNA test, Embark uses automated probes to test each dog's DNA from 3 up to 8 times.

We explain the science behind how dog DNA tests work, from a cheek swab to a genotyping microarray to results.

Accurate and reliable DNA test results are important to both breeders and pet owners. Why you can depend on our methodology and o...

Explore topics like genotype vs phenotype, dominant and recessive alleles, and Punnett squares.

Why do canine littermates look different from each other? Learn about genetic inheritance in dogs in this video with Dr. Adam Boyko.

What does recombination mean? Learn more about this genetics term and how it explains puppies from the same litter looking differ...

How is microarray technology different from the single mutation tests from other services?

Explanation of how your dog's DNA is processed into the genotype data that we analyze to understand breed ancestry and health risks.

Learn more about genetic recombination and DNA testing results.

Unique genetic signatures of each breed allows us to differentiate closely related breeds.

Evidence that ancestors of dogs in both the Arctic and Africa bred fairly frequently with wild canids, like wolves.