Since Wisdom Panel used fewer data points, its results weren’t as precise, and it claimed a 93% accuracy rate. At the time, Embark analyzed 110 times more genetic markers than Wisdom Panel, so its results were more granular (200,000 versus 1,800, respectively). In 2019, Embark said its breed results were 95% to 99% accurate. But when polled, Wirecutter’s pet owners unanimously agreed that they’d prefer to be able to access all of the information they’d paid for, and to be able to discuss their results with a vet.ĭiscerning accuracy among DNA tests isn’t cut-and-dried because the companies are only as reliable as the science behind them. She added that they’ve tested over one million dogs, and “the correlation to actual clinical disease is not supported in the vast majority of these breeds.” We appreciate Wisdom Panel’s rationale of limiting stress among dog owners-after all, someone could end up euthanizing a pet because of frightening genetic health results. When asked about the mismatch, Hughes said Wisdom Panel doesn’t report at-risk statuses for dogs with breed makeups that are not at risk for the disease, but she confirmed that Sutton had tested positive for the mutation. Wisdom Panel also screens for 211 genetic health conditions, and it lists the status of each disease as “at risk,” “notable” or “clear.” In 2019, our dog panelists had consistent results among the diseases that Wisdom Panel and Embark both tested for, with one exception: Embark reported that Sutton was “at risk” for dilated cardiomyopathy, while Wisdom Panel did not. She was also part of the original team at the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory that pioneered DNA-based ancestry tests for animals. She’s a leader in feline genetics and often consults on consumer cat genetic test kits. Lyons, PhD, the head of the Feline Genetics and Comparative Medicine Laboratory at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Angela Hughes, a veterinary geneticist at Wisdom Health at the time, and Adam Boyko, PhD, co-founder and chief science officer of Embark Veterinary and an associate professor at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences.

I also consulted experts at two leading dog DNA test companies: Dr. Jessica Hekman, a veterinarian and postdoctoral associate at the Karlsson Lab at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, who specializes in the genomic behavior of dogs. I attended a webinar and discussed the validity of genetic testing with Dr. Brenda Bonnett, a veterinarian and the CEO of the International Partnership for Dogs, an organization dedicated to scientific collaboration in the canine research community and the standardization of genetic testing for dogs. In researching this guide, I spoke with Dr.

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