Embark DNA Kit For Dogs
At long last, I finally purchased a DNA kit for Japhy and it has arrived! I had planned from our very first days together to buy a DNA kit and have him tested as soon as I could save an expendable $150 to do so. There are cheaper kits, of course, but I wanted to get the Embark Breed + Health kit because of the extra genetic health data included in the testing. Since I know nothing of Japhy's lineage, I thought it'd be smart to see if anything came back in his test as a potential health risk. From the online research I've done, it seems like Embark is possibly the most thorough and accurate canine DNA test available, comparing results with over 350 breeds and 190 genetic health conditions. You can read more about it right HERE if you like. The kit is shown with a $199 price tag (!), but I've been watching it for months and it's pretty much always marked 'on sale' for $149 with their coupon code. Good thing I only have one dog (though if I recall correctly, it did offer me a discount after purchase, if I had more dogs I wanted to test).
The test kit arrived yesterday, and I had planned to wait until Japhy was very very tired to do the swabbing. I've spent a good amount of time since December trying to desensitize him to my touch: playing with his ears, looking inside them, playing with his paws, putting my fingers between his toes, telling him to 'open' and putting my fingers inside his mouth to check teeth and throat, etc. He has never been too fond of any of it, but he is learning that it's acceptable for mama to investigate hard-to-see areas for things like ticks or wounds or dangerous things in his mouth. So I knew I could do the swabbing, but I also knew that doing it when he was very tired would significantly increase the odds that I could successfully swab the inside of his lower cheek for the required 30-60 seconds. So early this morning, shortly after Japhy crawled from his own bed to my bed and got under the blanket with me, nose nuzzled up next to my cheek, I reached for the container that had the swab in it that I had put next to my bed last night, unscrewed the cap to expose the swab, and gently lifted his lower lip and started swabbing.
He was half asleep! It worked perfectly! In fact there were moments when it seemed like he actually enjoyed my swabbing the inside of his lower cheek. Eventually, he woke up and gave me a look that begged my pardon, and we had breakfast and a walk shortly after, but my plan worked! I swabbed away while counting to thirty. Sixty was probably asking for a chewed-up swab stick (I read online that Embark will replace a damaged swab stick for free, btw, which is good to know). But I did feel the swab and it was pretty well soaked with his saliva, so I think it should be fine. I mailed it this morning. Now we wait 2-4 weeks for the results!
So, does anyone want to take a guess at what his breed(s) are? I’ll keep you posted.
