Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery Dog DNA Test Review

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Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery is Mars Veterinary’s most basic, budget-friendly dog DNA kit that offers only the bare bone essential dog breed data, with no extra frills.

With the Breed Discovery product, you’ll get solid insights about your dog’s genetic breed composition, learning exactly what various dog breeds make up your marvelous mutt!

Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery

Wisdom Panel's most affordable option, providing just breed ancestry info and one genetic health screening for those who primarily just want to know about their dog's breeds!

Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery provides:

  • In-Depth Breed Report. See what percentage of different breeds are in your dog’s genetics, finding out exactly what makes your dog who he is.
  • Your Dog’s Family Tree. Discover your dog’s family tree, revealing your dog’s breed ancestry as far back as your dog’s great grandparents.
  • Dog relative finder. Wisdom Panel’s dog relative finder helps give you the ability to connect with your pup’s long-lost relatives! And with the vast Mars Veterinary DNA database at your disposal, 99.9% of the dogs tested with Wisdom Panel get a match for a canine relative.
  • MDR1 Genetic Mutation Testing. Even though Wisdom Panel’s Breed Discovery kit is primarily about breed composition, your tests also includes the screening for multi-drug sensitivity (MDR1), which reveal any potential risks of adverse drug reactions.
What you won’t get

Since Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery is Mars Veterinary’s more basic, budget-friendly dog DNA test kit, there are several features you won’t get access to, including:

  • 35+ Physical Trait Tests. With other tests, you can get physical trait data about your dog’s appearance, revealing why your dog’s coat or tail looks as it does.
  • 210+ Health Conditions. The Breed Discovery Kit offers the MDR1 test built-in, but other Wisdom Panel dog DNA test kit run even more tests, with the premium version offering over two hundred genetic health screenings! These screenings can be huge for planning ahead and implementing preventative measures that could save your pup’s life.
Want to know about your dog’s recessive physical traits?

The Embark Breed + Health Dog DNA Test provides info on your dog’s dominant and recessive physical trait, illuminating trait details regarding your dog’s coat color, coat length, tail shape, ear shape, and more!

What You’ll Get in Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery

With Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery, you’ll get access to several sections of dog DNA data, including:

Dog DNA Breed Composition & Ancestry

Wisdom Panel explores your dog’s DNA marker pattern and matches it against their huge database of over 350 breed! With advanced algorithmic models, they can detect the various breed compositions found in your pup so that you can learn what makes your favorite four-legged pal a true original.

In addition, you’ll get access to your dog’s family tree, seeing which breeds your dog’s parents and great-grandparents were!

dog family tree

Dog Relative Finder

Wisdom Panel’s dog relative finder tool helps you connect with your dog’s long-lost relatives! Find your dog’s cousins or even direct siblings and then compare photos and DNA.

What’s really neat is that since Mars Veterinary boasts one of the biggest animal DNA databases around, 99.9% of dogs tested via Wisdom Panel end up with a matching canine relative!

dog relative finder

MDR1 Genetic Mutation Testing

Other Wisdom Panel dog DNA test kits offer a larger array of health screenings, with the Breed Discovery kit offering only the MDR1 genetic mutation test.

The MDR1 is a screening for multi-drug sensitivity, which can determine whether or not a dog has the genetic mutation that causes them to be susceptible to certain drugs.

This test is incredibly important for owners, as it can help you make informed decisions about what drugs to give your dog while identifying any potential health risks your pup may face.

It’s pretty awesome that they include this screening as a freebie. Competitor company Embark’s similar product (the Embark Dog Breed Identification DNA Test) doesn’t include any health screenings at all.

MDR1 screening

How Does Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery Stack Up Against Other Options?

Mars Veterinary (the creators of Wisdom Panel), actually have several dog DNA products:

Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery is the most affordable option, offering only breed insights and just the single MDR1 test.

The other two options (Essential and Premium) both have the same DNA breed insights — the only way they differ is in regards to the health screenings.

Wisdom Panel Premium is the top-tier option, with access to over 210 genetic health screenings. Wisdom Panel Essential is a kind of go-between — it doesn’t offer as many health screenings as the Premium option, but it does offer 25 of the most essential health screenings.

This makes it a great middle-of-the-road option!

And how does Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery compare to DNA kit products outside of Mars Veterinary?

Embark is Wisdom Panel’s main competitor, and Embark offers two DNA test kit options — the Embark Breed + Health Kit and the Embark Breed Identification Kit.

Embark’s Breed + Health Kit provides a full array of health screenings and breed insights (with several additional health screenings over Wisdom Panel). Their other option — the Breed Identification Kit — has only breed data with no health insights whatsoever.

Unlike Wisdom Panel, there is no in-between option.

We think it’s pretty awesome that Wisdom Panel offers the MDR1 screening even in their more basic Breed Discovery Kit, while also providing the Wisdom Panel Essential as a solid in-between option for owners who want more genetic health testing, but don’t need the full 200+ health screening panel.

Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery: Is It Worth It?

With fantastic breed insights and the inclusion of the MDR1 health screening, Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery is certainly a worthwhile dog DNA test kit.

However, we think if you’re considering the Breed Discovery kit, you might as well just go with Wisdom Panel Essential. The Essential kit is just $20 more and provides twenty-five health screening tests which can be key for your pup’s wellbeing.

Plus, we often see Wisdom Panel running discounts on Wisdom Panel Premium and Wisdom Panel Essential — however, it seems the Breed Discovery kit rarely gets discounted.

And in fact, when the Essential kit is discounted, it can be as cheap or even cheaper than the Breed Discovery kit, depending on the deal going on at any given time.