I'm not sure what to even talk about first. Should I start with the beginning/beginning or what prompted the DNA test?
I'll go with the latter.
My dog's name is Fred. (Fred Bear to be exact. I named him after the Ted Nugent song.)
Fred is very adventurous and likes to *explore* if given the chance.
One day in March, he seized the opportunity. He slipped out of his harness that was attached to a cable in the backyard and bolted.
He was gone more than 45 minutes. I searched. I cried. I prayed. I was hysterical.
What if I never see him again? What if he's dead? What if someone finds him and keeps him because he's such an awesome dog? What if someone finds him and actually calls me to let me know?
All those questions, and so many more, flooded my thoughts as I drove around looking for him.
What seemed like 200 billion hours later, my phone rang. Any other time I would've sent that random number to voicemail. Not this time. It could be someone who found Fred.
And it was.
Fast forward a bit (you needed that back story): I ordered an Embark Dog DNA Test Kit off of Amazon. It was the Breed and Health Kit. A Breed ID Kit is also available.
I always wondered what breed Fred is, and now that he was safely home, I *needed* to know for my own sanity. -- What if he ran away again and I never got to find out? Okay, stopping myself right there. I don't need to get into the "what if" questions again.
Since I didn't start with the beginning/beginning (but I still feel like that's semi-relevant but maybe not in this post), you can read about that here.
Now to the DNA test:
The kit has step-by-step directions on what you need to do. I suggest following those because they might be more clear than mine, but I'm listing what I did anyway...
You must wait at least 30 minutes since your pup last ate.
Take the thingamajig and swab your dog's lower cheek pouches for 30 to 60 seconds. (Fred didn't mind this at first, but then he was like, "Okay, mom. I'm done. Get that thing out of my mouth.")
Insert the thingamajig (not the scientific name but you get it), into the tube with liquid (probably some scientific liquid).
Shake 10 times.
Seal it in the plastic bag that came with the kit.
Put that into the envelope that also came with the kit.
Go online to activate your kit (directions are listed because they too came with the kit).
Drop it in the mailbox and then wait!
It takes about 2-4 weeks to get results. I received Fred's results via email. They were not what I expected...
The test also included a health report.
I wasn't thrilled with the breed results. I saw someone else on social media had a dog that looked exactly like Fred, but the dog was a different breed. When Fred's breed results came back and they weren't the same as that other dog, I was skeptical.
However, the neat thing about Embark's system is it includes a Doggy DNA Relative Finder. It shows other pups that have similar DNA to Fred. The interesting thing about that is those other dogs actually look like Fred! (So there's gotta be some truth to the test, right?!)
Thinking about getting your dog tested? Check out Embark.
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