CanineJournal.com Your one stop resource for everything dog and pup! 
To sustain this free service, we receive affiliate commissions via some of our links. This doesn’t affect rankings. Our review process.
| 1st |  |
| 2nd |  |
| 3rd |  |
Have you been dying to know what breeds make up your one-of-a-kind pup? Are you concerned about certain hereditary diseases your dog might develop one day?
Thanks to recent developments in canine science, you can get answers to these questions and even learn about your dog’s traits and ancestry. DNA dog tests are a fun and informative way to get to understand who your pooch is — and to help you develop a better health plan for his future.
How Does Dog DNA Testing Work?
A dog DNA test is easier than you might think! All you have to do with at-home dog DNA tests is order the test online, take a simple cheek swab from your dog, place the swab in the provided container and mail it back in a prepaid envelope.
In just a few weeks, you’ll receive a report that includes your dog’s DNA results. Depending on the company, you’ll see the percentage breakdown of your dog’s breeds and risks for developing some hereditary diseases. Some companies also offer purebred and designer dog testing.
What’s The Best Dog DNA Test
We’ve chosen several of the best DNA dog tests on the market and given you detailed information about what you can learn from each one. All of our DNA dog test reviews are at-home cheek-swab tests, but each test differs in the type of results you’ll receive.
Embark Review
#1
The Embark Dog DNA Test takes our top spot as the best DNA test for dogs. This test is one of a kind and backed by sound science. Embark DNA is a comprehensive dog DNA test that screens for breed identification, traits, ancestry and genetic disease risk (for 160 known canine genetic health problems).
Your test results even include a detailed vet report to help you and your veterinarian plan the best care for your dog. Embark partners with scientists from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine to conduct ongoing research into dog genetic testing — and you have the option to include your dog’s DNA data in their research. What’s more, Embark contributes funding and genetic testing to animal shelters in the U.S. and Nepal! The downside? Embark’s dog DNA test cost is significantly higher than breed-only DNA tests.
Pros | Cons |
|
|
Embark Pricing
- $199.99
Embark Coupon
Embark has a Father's day promotion! Customers will be able to save $20 off their order with coupon code DAD20. Just use this link to get started.
Wisdom Panel Review
#2
Wisdom Health’s (formerly Mars Veterinary) Wisdom Panel wins our number two spot as the best DNA dog test. Both the Wisdom Panel 3.0 and Wisdom Panel 4.0 tests cover more than 250 breeds, types and varieties, including 99% of AKC-recognized breeds. And you can choose whether you want them to run your dog’s DNA test for mixed-breed, designer or purebred dogs.
Wisdom Panel’s at-home DNA dog tests only screen for MDR1 disease and Exercise-Induced Collapse, but their tests are licensed by Washington State University and their team of scientists. Wisdom Panel 4.0 is only available through the company’s website.
Pros | Cons |
|
|
Wisdom Panel Pricing
- Wisdom Panel 4.0: MSRP $84.99 (only available on company’s website at this time)
- Wisdom Panel 3.0:
$79.98
- Wisdom Panel 2.0:
$85.47
What’s the difference between Wisdom Panel 2.0 vs. 3.0? Wisdom Panel 2.0 only covers 321 genetic markers, whereas Wisdom Panel 3.0 and 4.0 cover 1,800 genetic markers. Translation: Wisdom Panel’s newer products are much more accurate.
Read our Wisdom Panel DNA Review
Wisdom Panel Coupon
Wisdom Panel is often offered at a discount from the MSRP price on Amazon.
DNA My Dog Review
#3
DNA My Dog comes in third place because their test just doesn’t have the bark for your buck. Although you get a report on your dog’s dominant breeds, personality traits and health concerns (based on breed only), DNA My Dog is mediocre compared to Wisdom Panel, even though the two products are in roughly the same price range.
DNA My Dog has far fewer breeds in its database, meaning you’re not going to get the level of accuracy you would with Embark or Wisdom. And many Amazon reviewers agree that their test lacks accuracy. But if you’re on a budget, DNA My Dog is the least expensive alternative.
Pros | Cons |
|
|
DNA My Dog Pricing
DNA My Dog Coupon
There are no DNA My Dog coupons at this time.
Other Dog DNA Tests Reviewed
Although PetConfirm didn’t make our top three list, it’s a popular dog DNA test. Here’s our review for your consideration.
PetConfirm Review
PetConfirm is one of many health-related testing kits produced by Confirm BioSciences (most are for humans). The PetConfirm dog DNA test is nearly identical to the DNA My Dog test regarding the company’s breed database and the results you’ll receive.
Like DNA My Dog, PetConfirm gives you a breed percentage report, a custom breed analysis certificate and an outline of the generic health concerns and personality traits for every breed found in your dog’s genetic profile.
Pros | Cons |
|
|
PetConfirm Pricing
- N/A
What Breed Is My Rescue Dog?
Unless you’ve gone through AKC’s Rescue Network, where you can find purebred rescue pups, you likely don’t know what your rescue dog is. That’s where a dog DNA test comes in handy! Check out the following video where some rescue dog parents learn about their pup’s breeds.
Dog DNA Test Infographic
Learn more about how Dog DNA Tests work in this infographic:
To embed this on your website, simply copy and paste this code:
How Can a DNA Test Benefit My Dog’s Health?
Learn About the Benefits of DNA Testing For Dogs
Knowing your dog’s breed mix can help you and your vet devise a better health plan for your dog. If you get genetic mutation testing, you’ll know your dog has a genetic predisposition for certain diseases he could develop in the future.
But even knowing what breeds are in his mix can inform you about genetic health concerns associated with each breed. Then you’ll know to look for early warning signs, and you can take precautionary measures before it’s too late.
If you are interested in a DNA test for yourself, checkout our best DNA ancestry test article on our sister site, Exploring Life’s Mysteries.
What surprises did you find after having your pup do a dog DNA test?
Leave a Reply
27 Comments on "Dog DNA Tests Reviews 2018: DNA My Dog vs Wisdom Panel vs Embark vs PetConfirm"
We paid the money and received the swab kit.
Results were to come in 14 days.
It is now 22 days, i have sent several emails and no reply,a bit of research and it seems many people are in the same boat,looks like we and many others have been scammed,
My dog’s mother is a full Border Collie. My dog behaves like a Border Collie. You can physically see that she’s got some Border Collie in her. We did the test to learn more about the father and did not submit a picture or give any clue about her mother…
Results :
Level 2 Belgian Malinois
Level 4 Boxer
Level 4 Alaskan Malamute
I asked them how come they did not find Border Collie in her and attached a picture. They replied very promptly (the only thing they did well!) and simply claimed it was NOT POSSIBLE her mother was a BC because it would have showed in her DNA (duh!) and then proceeded to describe how they could perfectly see the Belgian malinois and alaskan malamute in her.
I guess I should inform the owners of the mother that their dog is not a Border Collie and suggest they should send her DNA to Dnamydog to find out what is her breed. I am sure they will come up with Chihuahua instead.
Our third dog has been tested by Mars Wisdom panel. Her results came back quite detailed and noted many breeds which make up her unique appearance. Some of these breeds are obvious by looking at her too. She came back as a mix of Chihuahua, Toy Poodle, Pekingese, Shih Tzu, and American Bull Terrier. Again, quite the mix, but she displays traits for many of these breeds in her behavior and appearance.
We’re thinking of having the undetermined terrier mix tested with Mars Wisdom panel now that there are many more breeds determined since we first had her tested almost a decade ago.
Thank you
If you need further help let me know, I’d be happy to help! 🙂
Her previous owners were shady / weird, and I wasn’t told anything about her details at the time of acquiring her (it was essentially a 3rd party deal), other than that she is a Jack Russell terrier, and she was 3 months old; but then I later discovered that there was a discrepancy in her recorded birth date (barely any records were given by her previous owners) by a few months! My dog’s unclear background and the small hints of unfit ownership I got from that brief transaction at the previous owner’s house made left me forever concerned about my unusual-for-a-Jack-Russell, not-exactly-small, not-quite-medium, doesn’t-look-like-any-Jack-Russell-I’ve-seen, unique girl.
More recently, I found about the Chilean fox terrier, and other similar fox-rat terriers, notably the Brazilian fox terrier and Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz (something like that)–and immediately, I saw my dog! The distinct markings and patterns on her face and back, which were comparable, but significantly different from, hundreds of images of Jack Russell terriers seen through the years, was immediately recognizable from the first few, pictures of the mentioned fox-rat terriers that I saw.
For years, searching web images of Jack Russell terriers, after seeing several encountered ones and the ones in movies, showed that they looked like each other, but not my dog. That bothered me. To me, my dog deviated from the Jack Russell in appearing like a “Doberman” (the facial shape, weight, typical “melanistic mask” pattern), Chihuahua (for having less of a bearded squared-off snout), kind of Papillon, at times a larger pointy-eared breed, almost a beagle, sometimes a “bull-” breed. Then I see that some other breeds look a lot more like my dog than the breed that I was told that she is. This has been a long-time mystery and frustration of “not knowing” my dog, adding to some infirm despair of suspecting that the previous owners didn’t take care of her right (they passed on a mostly-empty large bag of “Ol’ Roy” brand adult dog food specifically for large breeds–she was the only dog in that house, and was said to be 3 months old; my first impression of her at the time being that she was “the tiniest dog I’ve seen”), a large not-new looking plastic food bowl and not much else….plus, oddly, the children in the house seemed mostly indifferent that the dog was leaving.
The point is, I am sincerely interested in a DNA test for my dog, and the breed detection accuracy and ideally, health insights that a test can provide is very important for me. I don’t know if my dog is mixed or purebred, and her now being old and showing experience-related and other telltale illnesses, a genetic health screening is worth it (money is an issue). Should I wait for technological improvement (old girl is getting old)? What is the most appropriate DNA test service for my situation?
In terms of the breeds you mentioned that your dog may be (Jack Russell Terrier, Chilean fox terrier, Brazilian fox terrier, Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz, Doberman, Chihuahua or Papillon), Embark and Wisdom Panel test the following.
Embark:
-Jack Russell Terrier
-various Fox Terriers (not Brazilian)
-Rat Terrier
-Doberman
-Chihuahua
-Papillion
Wisdom Panel:
-Russell Terrier
-various Fox Terriers (not Brazilian)
-Rat Terrier
-Doberman
-Chihuahua
-Papillion
As you can see, they practically test for the same breeds that you listed however, Wisdom Panel does not test Jack Russell Terrier specifically.
I tested both Embark and Wisdom Panel on my Sally and wrote a comparison article. It may help you decide which test you’d like to move forward with. You can read the article here. Let me know if you have any other questions I can help you with!