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Embark is not only one of the most comprehensive DNA tests for dogs, but also one of the most versatile.
However, precisely because it offers so much information, it can be difficult to find your way around and understand everything correctly.
In this article, I’ll show you step by step where to find the most important information in your Embark profile and how to interpret it.
So let’s jump right in and take a look at my Embark profile together, starting with the home page:
On the home page, we see a summary of my tested dogs,
their date of birth, the date the Embark test was activated, and the genetic coefficient of inbreeding (COI).
If you have only tested one dog, you will be taken directly to your dog’s page and you will not see this preview.
Let’s look at Dalion together and click on ‘View Summary’:
This page lists the breeds that Embark has recognised in Dalion.
For him, that’s 50.9% Siberian Husky, 41.7% Czechoslovakian Wolfdog and 7.4% Grey Wolf.
Sometimes ‘Unresolved’ also appears as part of the result for a dog.
This happens mainly when the breed percentages are so small that Embark can no longer identify them clearly.
It is important to note that Embark does not distinguish between the different wolf subspecies and groups them all under the term grey wolf.
Since Czechoslovakian wolfdogs are typically about 25% wolf and 75% sheepdog, you can calculate Dalion’s total wolf percentage.
Add 25% of his Czechoslovakian Wolfdog percentage to his Gray Wolf percentage, for a total wolf percentage of 18%.
Alternatively, you can also send an email to Embark to request the wolf percentage.
Further down, we find the health summary:
Dalion has been tested by Embark for 247 health risks.
246 of these are unobjectionable, but one should be noted:
Dalion is a carrier of reduced ALT activity.
At the bottom of the summary, you have various options for saving, sharing or printing the results.
The Full Report is particularly important for breeding approval via the EWA, as this must be submitted as a PDF when applying.
The Full Report contains detailed information on breed distribution, health tests, inbreeding coefficient and genetic diversity.
Next, let’s take a look at the ‘Health’ tab:
This page will let you know immediately if your dog is a carrier or affected by any of the diseases that Embark tests for, and what that means for you.
Nando, for example, is a carrier of DM.
In addition, you will find an overview of all diseases that are relevant for the breeds in your dog. However, keep in mind that Embark does not test for all diseases that could be relevant for breeding.
You can learn more about all relevant diseases and where and how they are tested in our
Further down, you will find the breeding tools:
Here you can also see the inbreeding coefficient of your dog.
If you have a breeder account, you will find additional information about your dog’s genetic diversity here.
Without a breeder account, you will find this information at the bottom of the full report.
Now click on the ‘Genetic Diversity’ button:
This is where you can see the genetic diversity of the tested dog.
Embark compares a specific region in the parental haplotypes of the dog – the ‘major histocompatibility complex’ (HLA complex).
This is important for the immune response and is associated with autoimmune diseases.
Diversity describes how different the haplotypes in this region are from both parents.
High diversity means different haplotypes, while low diversity means similar, but not identical.
If there is no diversity at all, the dog has inherited identical haplotypes from both parents.
Dogs with little or no diversity are considered to be immunologically less diverse and may be more susceptible to disease.
Current research suggests that high diversity may be important for the dog’s immune system to respond effectively to different viruses and bacteria.
However, research in this area is still in its early stages.
Now let’s go back and look at the next tab, ‘Breed & Ancestry’:
This page provides an overview of the breeds and a short description of each breed.
For detailed information about the breeds that are particularly common in s and wolfalikes, you can read more here: Wolfdogs & Wolfalikes.
You can find the previously mentioned haplotypes in detail under ‘Ancestry’:
Here we can see the genetic origin of Dalion.
At the top of the page you can see the maternal haplotype, which provides information about where the mother’s ancestors originally came from.
In Dalion’s case, we can see that the maternal haplotype ‘A29a’ is typical of Siberian Huskies. This is confirmed because Dalion’s mother is indeed a purebred Husky.
We can find out more about Dalion’s father from the paternal haplotype:
This shows the paternal line.
Since this can only be inherited from the father (Y chromosome), it is the same for all male ancestors and siblings.
Dalion’s brothers, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. all have the same paternal haplotype.
The special thing here is that the paternal haplotype is only visible in male dogs,
since female dogs have two X chromosomes.
The last tab then deals with a variety of traits:
At the top of the page, the coat colours are listed with the results. If you click on ‘Expand all’, you will get additional information about the selected locus:
Here, for example, for the K-locus, if you want to know more about coat colours, take a look at our Colour-o-Mat.
Further down you will find other characteristics that do not relate to coat colour but mainly to coat structure:
Here you can see the results of coat genetics.
For s and wolfalikes, coat length is particularly important because some populations carry longhair and some are longhaired.
The Saarloos Wolfdog and Czechoslovakian Wolfdog can also carry the curly gene, which causes a slightly crimped coat.
We scroll down one last time to ‘Other Body Features’:
Under this block, you should pay particular attention to the result of the hind dewclaws.
In a separate post, we report on the risks that can be associated with hind dewclaws.
That’s it!
I hope I was able to give you a better overview of the diversity of the Embark test and answer some of your questions.
