Embark VeterinaryReviews of embarkvet.com

I recently, in the past, took a DNA test for myself to build my tree and figure out more about my family. After having a wonderful time learning about myself and my family, I wanted to do the same for my dog. I looked and researched a bunch of gene testing sites and found one I thought was good, that being Embark. I watched several reviews saying it had everything I needed, and really good relative-finding tools, as well as a tree builder. I was confident with this purchase. Safe to say that was a WILD mistake. The features don’t exist, and either never have, or were taken out for some dumb reason. These features include: Building a tree: It’s just an estimate of what the tree in theory could look like given their breeds, which is unhelpful and stupid given how they advertised this. No, it is not a tree of real dogs. No, it’s a tree of the dog’s potential breeds, NOT anything to do with actual genealogy in any way. The karyogram viewer: This is a very helpful and essential tool for finding out how two dogs are related. This was a MAJOR reason I took the test. It is now non-existent, most likely because breeders were all pissy about their breed having a little mutt in them and didn’t want to see that info even though they took the test, so they removed it. That’s my theory. But they didn’t SAY they removed it. The ability to download your dog’s DNA in full: Yes, you heard me right. Even if you wanted to use their DNA somewhere that isn’t a shitty, inaccurate piece-of-garbage site, YOU CAN’T. The “download” is locked behind a secret link, and that “download” only gives you a handful of alleles and by that I mean less than 40 SNPs. If you want DNA, well, this isn’t for you. Giving DNA to research: This isn’t a huge deal to me, but they used to have the ability (and it’s still advertised) to give your dog’s DNA to research so they could better understand dog health and genetics. This is just gone now, so it’s not even furthering research anymore. Relatives limited to the top 30 DNA shares: You can ONLY see the top 30 dogs your dog is related to. Too bad if there is a dog you want to see lower in that list. Daddy Embark tells us that is too much for our little baby brains. Along with all that, the breed assessment is, for a lot of people, just flat-out horrendously wrong to the point it’s basically pseudoscience. My friend took a test with a dog we KNOW is a Lab–Pit Bull mix. We have DNA tests from other sites to prove it. They labeled her dog 100% a Pug. Keep in mind, this dog looks NOTHING like a Pug, and is a big dog. Like, about as not-Pug as you could find. Embark is a flat-out scam: a hollow piece of garbage that actively hides info people take DNA tests to see in the first place, and then feeds users half-assed, inaccurate results while BEGGING them to buy their dumbass add-on kits like it’s a free mobile game with microtransactions. To end this review off, I urge ANYONE reading this to heed this review. Please don’t buy this. It’s not worth it. In all likelihood, the site will continue to worsen from the time of this review. Even if it HAS a feature you want, and you’re okay with the ridiculous price tag and multiple kits to get information, it likely won’t be there in the future. I legit made this Trustpilot account because of this experience. It’s THAT bad. Anyways, to anyone reading this, have a wonderful day, and to Embark, please fix your broken, featureless site. TL;DR: The site updated and most features are missing for good, or straight up were never there, along with quality worsening. Don’t buy this test.

If I could give a negative review I definitely would. Ordered a kit in November, had not received it by mid January with no tracking updates. Sent 6 emails to different addresses as per instructions with no response at all. Finally received a response from the robot on the website and only then was offered a refund with no explanation. Think twice about ordering as it seems to be an expensive risk for overseas customers

Their testing results are inaccurate!! We tested our dogs with other testing companies and the results were different. They have no customer service and logging into their website is impossible. Terribly overrated company!

We submitted age tests for 3 dogs in early November. We got the result of the first two fairly quickly. The third one however, sat with no information about it for 6 weeks. I finally had to contact them only to be told that that the submitted sample was non-viable. What upsets me the most is the fact that I had to initiate contact with this company and had already lost 6 weeks without them notifying me of anything. They do offer a free replacement test, which will probably add another at least 6 weeks to this whole process. I was hoping to have all the dogs information before Christmas and now that's out the window. Because of their unreliability and poor communication, I do not recommend this company. There are other options to do dog age and heritage tests that are more reliable and communicative.

Terrible !! I bought 2 kits on the 27th of November 25 and it’s the 16 of December 25 now and still no kits arrived it’s a scam you get in touch and no one gets back to you I left 4 messages and only one got back to me saying I will get my kits in two business days it’s been a week and nothing ! Don’t use them use privet they are great and cheaper and you get help and they call you back not like embark they take your money and that is it . I will never recommend it what horrible experience I’m having

Avoid this by all cost. I ordered a kit from Europe, it took about two weeks to reach me. Then i used UPS to send it back as per embark's recommendation. Added the documents they provided to help customs. It took almost three months to reach them. And they REJECTED the delivery. As it turned out, despite all the documentations the package had taxes due and i got no notification for it. I reached out to the embark on what happened and then i was talking to an AI agent (or a human who was using AI for the answers) because it kept insisting that the package is at my part and I'm the receiver not the sender.... Then another human took over who told me about the tax issue and that i should pay it. I paid the taxes but the package was already heading back and they refuse to reschedule the delivery and telling me to do so. As I'm the sender UPS does not let me act on behalf the receiver.... Complete ignorance and just sheer cashgrab behavior from the embark's side. Noone should ever use them.

This company sells garbage. Their customer service is very good however their product is absolute garbage. You would get a more accurate result by taking a picture of your dog and asking AI what breeds it might be and what percentage and you would save yourself $100. The results they sent me have been rejected by every dog expert I know, from veterinarian staff to shelter workers to dog trainers to people who are just knowledgeable. The responses have ranged from "No Way!" to "Bullshoot" It is an absolute waste of money.

I have purchased two Breed tests from this company and both times I have dealt with frustration. The first time Embark told me I would not have to pay anything yet I was still required to pay for MORE shipping to send it back which they reimbursed me which was great. This was April 2025 for the first one. I then purchased another one for my other dog however, shipping to US policy has changed in August and it is now November. I reached out to customer service at Embark who claimed they spoke to Canada Post and the shipping would only cost $3.19 so the 5 stamps they provided is enough. WRONG. It is not the process as you must pay for customs first on Zonos before Canada Post will accept it and the stamps are US so we do have to pay for more stamps. However, customer service from Embark definitely did not talk to Canada Post as I spoke to two different people from Canada Post (one in person and one via chat - not a virtual assistant) and did my research and we are 100% required to pay the $50 for customs. This product was already a lot of money so I am most definitely not paying that amount. I am waiting for Embark to response on how to proceed. To avoid this frustration and your time being wasted, if you are in Canada, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT.