written 05/27/23

What

Comparison of dog DNA and health panel test between Embark Dog DNA Test and Wisdom Panel

Quick Comparison Chart

	Embark	Wisdom
Date Bought	Sept 1, 2020	May 8, 2023
Cost	$179.14	$127.99
Sample Received	Sept 14	May 17
Results Received	Sept 30	May 27
Test Duration	16 days (12 business)	10 days (7 business)
Breeds Tested	350+	350+
Sample Type	Saliva	Cheek Cells
Date Founded	2015	2005
Tests Run	?	2 million (2020)

My Opinion

Between the 2 tests, and as a lay person, I prefer Embark. Wisdom Panel has a larger participant pool having been in practice for 10 more years, and therefore has more information to pull from (veterinarians tend to use Wisdom Panel). In my opinion, Embark is not only more pleasing to look at and easier to use from a user perspective, but seems to test for more breeds. In a way, Wisdom Panel might be too precise, that it analyzes into the breeds that make up some breeds. For instance, the Mountain Cur is a breed from the time of the American settlers that likely crossbred with native species as well as others. Wisdom does not include them. Then again, the larger pool of information to work from means more possible relatives, like in my case (dad, brother, and uncle)! Embark tests for ancient lines like dingoes and wolf ancestry, Wisdom does not.

Bottom Line: Embark is prettier with slightly more breeds. If you want cheaper and faster, go Wisdom Panel. Either way, the results appear similar to each other, and both offer fun insights into your dog! I bought both, and I’m glad I did!

Date Bought and Turnaround (Sample Received to Results)

	Date Bought	Turnaround	Turnaround (Days)
Embark	09/01/2020	09/14 – 09/30	16
Wisdom	05/08/2023	05/08 – 05/27	10

Cost

	MSRP	Discount	Shipping	State Taxes	Total
Embark	$199	$30 (15%)	$0	Yes	$179.14
Wisdom	$159	$32 (20%)	$0	No	$127.99

Both offer prepaid sample shipping through USPS

Science Stuff

Embark: utilizes custom SNP Microarray developed in partnership with Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

Wisdom: uses Neogen Genomics; Parent company: Mars Petcare

Both labs are CLIA certified

Kit Activation and Account

Both tests require activation before sample collection and testing. They both come with easy-to-follow instructions to activate via mobile or desktop.

Optional profile build including pictures and small bio available for both accounts. There is no requirement for sharing of information, but it’s fun to find DNA relatives especially with pictures!

Sample Collection

Embark: Saliva

Wisdom: Cheek cells

NO Food or drink for 30 minutes prior to collection

Embark uses a single swab that is spongy and thicker. Swab for at least 60 seconds, focusing on collecting saliva, not scraping. It is recommended to show your dog a treat (not give it to them yet!) to induce salivation. Turn the swab around into the stabilizing liquid, screw it closed, and send it back.

Wisdom uses 2 swabs that have harder bristles. Swab the inside of the cheek for about 15 seconds using firm pressure with each swab (make sure there is no food debris inside the mouth!), let air dry for 15 minutes, then return to sleeve and send the box back.

Results

Breed and Ancestry

For her predominant breed, both tests come up with about 21% Treeing Walker Coonhound. Both tests also list American Pit Bull terrier, Australian Cattle Dog, Labrador Retriever, and Boxer as the other main breeds. As a whole, both tests show similar results.

What about that Mountain Cur from Embark’s side? It’s not even mentioned in Wisdom! Even when I only had Embark’s results, I think that the Mountain Cur is such a mix of breeds that the other breeds that show up might actually be part of the Mountain Cur itself. When comparing images of the Treeing Walker Coonhound, the Mountain Cur, and the American Pitbull Terrier to Cora, combined with her temperament and habits, I have to side with Embark on this one. Wisdom doesn’t even mention the Mountain Cur anywhere in the list.

Now compare it to my weirdly proportioned dog. I strongly feel like the Embark results are accurate. Super long legs of the Treeing Walker, half-long floppy ears, half-square and half-long snout, sausage-shaped chonky body, back that raises into the air as opposed to curving down as it reaches the tail which she holds up when she tracks, but otherwise terminates at her hocks, and not much of a neck. Her head also isn’t super large like a pit bull’s usually is. However, I do think she does have pittie in her given the full-butt wiggles when she’s happy and the super chewer tendencies. She has a strong protection instinct, but also has an interesting habit of liking to scramble around rocks and elevation.

Family Tree

Both tests suggest possible Family Trees

Genetics

Both tests display breed chromosome breakdowns. Wisdom groups them via breed type (e.g. Guard, Sporting, Hound, etc) while Embark focuses on the breeds themselves. Perhaps because Wisdom gave more breeds for my dog?

DNA Relatives

One of the most fun features of both tests are finding genetic relatives! Interestingly, Wisdom Panel found Cora’s father and brother! Unfortunately, neither profile is fleshed out with pictures or descriptions, but has enough information to be useful to me. For instance, Cora’s brother is 3 years and 3 months old…which means that my guess that her birthday was in February of 2020 is the same! Her Father was mostly Treeing Walker Coonhound. I really wish they had pictures to compare!

Cora’s Dad and Brother (Wisdom)

Health

Embark came back with 3 genetic anomalies to look out for, while Wisdom didn’t catch anything of note

Traits

This is neato to see the breakdown of traits. Both tests allow downloading of technical reports that break it all down. I won’t post it all here, since there’s too many. They cover traits such as: fur coat, weight, muscle bulk, altitude tolerance, and body features. Here is a sample, however.

What if your dog is purebred?

I have often wondered how accurate these tests are. Like, what would happen if the dog you’re testing is a purebred dog? Embark offers Purebred tests as opposed to mixed-breed tests. Wisdom Panel only offers one test type. Makes you wonder why Embark offers a purebred test (they say it’s because the results are displayed differently if you have a purebred dog). Anyways, I had a dog tested that I suspected of being purebred, though wasn’t sure.

Here is the result from Wisdom Panel!