Breed Surprise

Can a Registered Purebred Dog Appear as Mixed Breed on a DNA Test?

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Dog fanciers are passionate about their breeds and the unique attributes that define breed type, characteristics, and temperament. Generations of careful breeding and selection have helped to refine these breed-specific traits and allow everyone to enjoy the remarkable variation that is represented in hundreds of purebred dog breeds. At Embark, we celebrate and support the...

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Accuracy & Reliability: How Embark Provides Results you can Trust
Accuracy

Accuracy & Reliability: How Embark Provides Results You Can Trust

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DNA testing is rapidly growing among breeders, giving them increasingly detailed information to manage and improve the genetic health, diversity, and physical traits of their breeding lines. Given the importance of these test results to the health of not only each dog but also that of future generations of dogs, we believe it’s critical to...

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Illustrated puppies with different color coats due to Mendelian inheritance
How Dog DNA Testing Works

Mendelian Inheritance Explained

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All living things inherit their traits from their parents, whether it’s a person’s height, a dog’s coat type, or a flower’s petal color. Traits aren’t copied with 100% accuracy from parent to offspring, though. Since traits are inherited from both parents, all sorts of mixing and matching can occur on the genetic level. The environment...

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Two puppies, one black and white and the other brown and white, sitting on the ground and looking up.
How Dog DNA Testing Works

Genetic Inheritance and Recombination

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Why do littermates look different from each other? How is breed ancestry inherited? Learn more in this introductory video on genetic inheritance with Embark cofounder Adam Boyko, PhD. 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?...

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image of an introduction to genetics quiz
Dog DNA Testing

Intro to Genetics Quiz

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Current science geek, future genetics whiz?   Keep watching for more boredom busters from Embark, including word searches, crosswords, and more quizzes. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. 

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puppy litter with different colors
Understanding Results

Recombination Explained: How Littermates Can Look Different

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When two different purebred dogs have puppies, the resulting litter can have a wide spectrum of looks. This effect is compounded if the parents themselves are mixed breed. Sometimes it can be hard to believe the puppies are related going solely off their appearance. While it’s possible for one litter of puppies to have multiple...

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A Chow Chow dog runs through a field with their blue-black tongue sticking out.
Breed Surprise

Why Do So Many Dogs Have Chow Chow Ancestry?

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People are often surprised to learn their dog has some Chow Chow ancestry. Why are Chows common in mixed-breed dogs, but uncommon as purebreds? Learn more about this surprisingly common breed result with Embark’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Adam Boyko. Chow Chows were popular in the 1980s Although we don’t see as many purebred Chows...

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pointer
Breed Surprise

How a Dog Gets Their Spots

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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...

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Catahoula Leopard dog
Breed Surprise

All Splotch, No Catahoula

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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,...

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happy dog
Breed Surprise

Why Your Dog’s Genetic Breed Results May Not Be What You Expected

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Every day, we hear from Embark customers who are surprised by their dog’s breed results. This often happens with mixed-breed dogs that don’t quite look like you’d imagine based on their breed breakdown.  These expectation-defying differences are possible because of how genetic inheritance works. Just like you, your dog gets one set of genes from...

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microarray
How Dog DNA Testing Works

Ins and Outs of Microarray-Based Dog DNA Testing

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Hi everyone! Erin, Embark’s Senior Veterinary Geneticist, here. As more people have been choosing Embark for their genetic testing needs, I’ve been receiving quite a few questions about our technology — what is “DNA microarray technology?” “Is it proprietary?” “How do you know it’s accurate?” “How is it different from the single mutation tests that...

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Close up of a lab technician's hands wearing blue latex gloves while holding and washing a thin glass slide known as a microarray.
How Dog DNA Testing Works

How DNA Genotyping Works

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Occasionally, we get questions from customers curious about how their dog’s DNA is processed into the genotype data that we analyze to understand breed ancestry and health risks. Once we receive your dog’s cheek swab, the DNA contained in the sample is copied many times in a process called amplification. Next, all of those copies...

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Dog DNA Testing

Learn all about dog DNA testing with expert guidance designed for veterinarians, pet owners, and breeders. These resources answer common questions about the dog DNA testing process, from comparing dog DNA tests to understanding what a dog’s genetic results could mean for their health.

At Embark, science is at the heart of everything we do. That’s why our scientists are hard at work making new discoveries in canine genetics. Dive into the science behind topics like how dog DNA tests work, which dog DNA tests are accurate, and how we can use genetics to help dogs live healthier lives.