Embark Veterinary Reviews 156

"DO NOT" use this scam of a company. There is absolutely NOTHING scientific about their results, and you can't talk to anyone because all they do is email. Do your due diligence before using them. They told me I wouldn't get a refund, so I called my credit card company, and they refunded me because they didn't bother responding. So, Embark, just because you say you won't refund, you're full of it. I hope your business goes under because you are a scam. I also contacted the BBB, and they, too, did not receive an answer. They advertise that they have an outstanding rating, but if you look on the BBB, they have a -D rating, and multiple negative reviews with the same complaints. Their results are not even close to accurate. When I asked that they either retest or refund, I got a typical response of:

I'm sorry this information did not give you confidence in our results. Per our public refund policy, we are unable to provide refunds for scientifically sound results.

All the best,
Peter
Senior Genetic Results Specialist
Embark Vet

Advertises a referral discount but refuses to honor it, which is illegal under California false advertising laws. If you click a referral link you get a screen that says your friend has given you $50 off, but the code they just generated doesn't work and if you contact support they say they've ended their referral program. OK, so then why does clicking a referral link still create a code and show a screen saying the code is good for $50 off?

Results are wildly inaccurate and when you question if tests could have gotten mixed up, they send you a form letter email with a bunch of fluff to explain/not explain why they are saying your poodle looking dog is actually a chihuahua pit bull mix and DNA is just complicated that way.....they offer NO Refund or retesting...just a have a nice day..HAHAHA...save your money..I trusted the good reviews and it didn't work out. Trust the bad reviews.

I wouldn't even give it stars if I could. I've reached out to them to ask about their test and they kept giving me misleading information. Also, they have a business account through Amazon where you can order their test with faster delivery times but at marked up prices. Value also when there site offers a discount Amazon doesn't they raise there price higher I could get the test off site for 140$ but have to wait up to a month for it to show up or get it on Amazon for 250$ and have it show up in less than a week now here's the catchy part it takes 2 to 4 weeks for the test to be returned to the facility and then takes at least another 48 hours for it to be unpacked and stored properly before tested Also, a DNA swab test could last up to 6 months if not refrigerated. If it is in a dry, hot place, it can degrade within weeks and even days. So, by the time it reaches them, chances are half your DNA is gone, if not even there now. they don't wanna refund u so they just feed you some non sense that isn't even true it's a complete scam I don't trust it if you really want a dna test go to ur local health care provider and ask for one also when u ask ur local health care provider it's usually covered and is free opposed to paying out the ass for I dont even know if it's true or not dont waste ur money on scams stay away from embark if your still unsure read more reviews I haven't seen many good ones

For dog age test:
This was a horrible experience. I wasted $100 and I don't recommend to anyone else. I think they switched samples with another dog because the results weren't even close to being accurate and I'll tell you why.
1. The sample took a very long time to reach the facility. (2+ weeks) When I reached out to embark customer service, the tracking screenshot sent to me showed a different from location. I mentioned that and they said, let's wait to receive it.
2. The results were WILDLY inaccurate. I have had my dog full-grown since 2017. It is now March of 2025. They said she was 2 years 2 months which is IMPOSSIBLE but not only that, WAYYYY off the mark. She is at least 9 years old. I reached out to customer service and it took them forever to get back to me and they just insisted the results were correct and backed by science. I even reached out to my credit card because I felt scammed and they said that because the service was completed, I can't do anything. I asked Embark for a retest and they never replied. Interestingly enough, when writing this review with a one star ranking, it kept deleting and restarting. Now that I've left it at five stars while writing this review, it hasn't deleted once. I am so disappointed and will never use it and will always recommend Wisdom Panel to anyone who wants dog DNA services.

No customer service, horrible can't talk to anyone and I cannot activate the kit.

Waited 2 months for results. Very possibly not accurate as my vet said my dog is mostly border collie. The results had NO border collie in them.

My DNA package couldn't get through US customs, and only after I contacted Embark advising it had been held up for 2 months did they send me extra forms to put in with the package to help it get through customs. Customs didn't get back to us so we had to either get a replacement and pay another $100 postage or just walk away from it all. If you are in NZ I DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!

I would never patronize this company again. They're horrible. When you open a support request you get an automated warning to not be rude. It's like they expect customers to serve the company, not the other way around. If they have a problem with customers inordinately rude, you'd think they'd evaluate why rather than a blanket warning to everyone (including the ones who had no intention of being). You never see any other company pre-warn their customers like this.

Everything with this company is like that. The support is miserable. Now they've destroyed their web site. Complaining is "rude."

I'm deleting my account. I'll never recommend this company to anyone. They seem to lack integrity, or decency. They aren't credible. If they're like this in everything you can see them doing, imagine how they treat the testing (results).

Refuse to process the kits which we have paid £100+ claiming they are out of date. There is no expiry date on the product.

Genuinely the worst customer service experience I have ever had. I had issues with my package never showing up, and the reps were completely rude and unhelpful, and I never got the package at the end. Don't waste your time or money on these guys.

I have two dogs and emailed and CS chat 4 times to make sure the kits would not get mixed up. I tried and tried to get help with no luck. They put both dogs under the same number even though I have a screen shot of the second number/dog going through.
The customer service is SO BAD don't waist your money!!!

Won't allow to just email results to vet even if the dog carries detrimental health genetics! Do mot recommend!

I was a long time and returning customer to Embark excited to get my two new puppers tested. First I'm Canadian and even after years and years Embark can't figure out reasonable pricing in CAD, second they price gouged me 37 CAD to ship my order, and if that wasn't bad enough shipping took nearly a month. After all that they used a sketchy international shipping broker who put my package on the street so it was stolen right away. When I contacted them about re-shipping the test kits they told me they weren't responsible and promptly ripped me off for the shipping. To be clear, I was happy to be re-funded and re-order, and to this day would have been happy to pay the premium and received what I paid for.

I'm out 40 dollars, and they have lost a customer for life. Avoid at all costs, their competitors are better now anyway.

Honestly, I'm shocked that they just didn't send two more kits. It's clear that they made 100% of their profit off just the shipping scam they are running. The test kits stolen were a cardboard box and some cotton swabs.

SCAM! Please don’t waste your money and time! I sent the kit off beginning of Dec and got results 16th Jan! My foster was around 7 months! I was told she is just 1month??? Not even old enough to leave her Mum, never mind the two months we had already fostered her! The customer service is terrible and keep telling me she is just 1month old!

Sent money for the DNA test on our new rescue dog. Just got the results. Ridiculous! Completely off the mark in every way. She comes from a very poor country in the Caribbean, she is long and leggy and skinny and short red fur with a long nose. They said she was "Coton du Tulear" mostly and other white short nosed long white fur expensive breeds. Completely wrong. Listed many other precious little white foofy dogs, nothing with long legs and red fur. Wish we could get our money back? So disappointing after all of their hype and dramatic emails about "finally discovering what your dog is." ughhh

My husband and I were skeptical but gave it a shot. We were still hesitant when we started to read the results, until it came down to the traits. Without us doing any surveys and not even seeing a picture, they described our dog to a T! We ended up posting a picture after, so they could see how well they did! Great Job! It was definitely worth it!

My dog was diagnosed with a platelet issue that a blood test identified as vWD, a form of hemophilia. At the same time, we were adivsed to conduct a DNA test. vWD is most common is Spaniels, but I own an akita and past research showed these two variants to be different (not genetically related). Unsurprising, Embark came back negative for vWD.
My dog died at 21 months yesterday. Embark customer service was horrible, and caused a delay of weeks in getting anwers to her condition, My vet was unable to conduct the DNA test since they wanted to upsell the practice. When the DNA results came back, I shared them through the website and the vet was unable to access. Embark customer service was no help, and the delay in getting answers delayed any treatment she might have gotten.
My dog had an emergency, and died from bleeding in the brain. Genetic tests are a valuable tool, but not being able to access the information or get it in a timely fashion can be fatal.

Bought the kit a while back to use on a rescue dog that ended up not going through. Saved the kit. Finally got a dog and collected the sample. Went to register kit and it stated it had "already been used" , which it hadn't. Contacted the company and they said oh the kit is expired, it hasn't been used even though that is the prompt it gave you. Surprised it was expired as there is NO expiration date on the kit nor is there an expiration information on the website (at the time this happened). They offered me a replacement and I agreed. HOWEVER, they then sent me another email back saying they created an invoice and I needed to pay for the replacement. Explained that was not how the prior conversation was stated as I was offered a replacement with no mention of a charge. Went back and forth with them and they would not honor a replacement. Then they ended up changing the website and added a "expiration timeline" to the site ( and yes I have pics as it wasn't there prior) I do not recommend this product or company. They seem very deceitful.

so these trained scamming representatives told me to buy two kits and they could tell me if the dogs were related. They told me lots of rubbish on my results that were irrelevant and I wasn't interested in but nothing about the dogs being related. I have sent like 10 emails now since the start of October asking for my results, every response from a different representative replies with the same words so obviously they don't put any effort into a response they all use the same response, for me it is "your message has been forwarded to the genetics education specialist expect a response 3-5 days, but it is now 60 days and still no further results. And definitely have never heard from the genetics team. I would think this is because they lied in the first place, said they can do these tests when in fact they cant. I leave a message via this forum and tick the box YES to let Embark know, but still no response, I would suggest anyone contemplating using Embark to think twice before doing so, I wish I had of read all the negative reviews before I spent $500 on test kits for a test never to be performed, clearly they are very unreliable and clearly very unreputable now I see all these negative reviews and a disgrace authorities allow companies like this to continue operating and taking large sums of money from people with no results.