DNA Testing a Shar Pei With Skin Fold Dermatitis

A Shar Pei with established skin fold dermatitis is actually one of the more interesting cases for DNA testing — but I want to be straight with you about what the genetics can and can't add here. Dog DNA tests have come a long way: Embark in particular now screens for a number of inflammatory and immune-related genetic variants, and for Shar Peis there's something genuinely relevant — a condition called Familial Shar Pei Fever (FSF), caused by a duplication in the HAS2 gene, which also drives the breed's characteristic wrinkling and is linked to systemic inflammatory disease. That's worth knowing about at eight years old. But the skin fold dermatitis your dog already has is a mechanical and microbiome problem — no DNA test is going to change how you manage those folds day to day. So the question is: are you hoping the genetics might explain why the dermatitis is more severe than expected, or are you looking more broadly at inflammatory disease risk as he gets older?

That's a really important detail — if your vet is already flagging possible Familial Shar Pei Fever based on clinical signs, then genetic confirmation actually has real value here. FSF has a known genetic basis and Embark tests for it directly. A positive result wouldn't change the immediate management your vet is doing, but it does sharpen the picture — it tells you this is a dog with a confirmed systemic inflammatory predisposition, which matters for decisions about long-term medication, anaesthetic risk, and monitoring for amyloidosis, which is the serious downstream risk in FSF dogs. At eight, that information is still actionable. Can I ask — is he on any anti-inflammatory medication currently, and has he had any kidney function checks recently?

Yes — Embark specifically tests for the HAS2 duplication associated with Familial Shar Pei Fever, and it's one of the few consumer DNA tests that does. For a purebred Shar Pei, the breed ID side of it isn't what you're buying it for, but the health panel is genuinely worth having in his case. The test costs around £100–£120 via Amazon UK, it's a simple cheek swab, and the results come back in three to five weeks. I'd recommend printing the health report and taking it to your vet — particularly the FSF and inflammatory marker sections — because it gives her documented genetic context rather than clinical suspicion. That said, I do want to be clear: Embark's genetic results are a supplement to the bloodwork and clinical monitoring your vet is already doing, not a replacement. The amyloidosis risk in FSF dogs means kidney function testing annually is more important than any DNA result. But as an additional data point to help your vet make better long-term decisions? It's the right test.

Embark is the only mainstream consumer DNA test that reliably covers the HAS2 duplication for FSF. Wisdom Panel's premium tier tests a large number of health conditions but FSF isn't consistently listed in their panel — it's a very breed-specific variant and Embark has invested more in Shar Pei-relevant markers. There are also specialist veterinary genetic labs like Laboklin that can run targeted FSF testing on a vet's referral, which is clinically more authoritative if your vet wants something she can formally document in his records. But for a home-administered, comprehensive health-plus-trait test that your vet can review, Embark Breed and Health Kit is the one I'd go with. It's available on Amazon UK with Prime delivery, which makes the swab-and-post process straightforward.

That sounds like exactly the right approach. One practical tip: do the swab before he eats or drinks in the morning, and make sure you rub firmly inside both cheeks for the full 30 seconds — Shar Peis' mouths can be a bit awkward with their facial structure. When the results arrive, the health section will have a summary but also a detailed variant-by-variant breakdown — the FSF entry will be what you want to focus on first. Good luck with him, and I hope it gives your vet something useful to work with.