Health testing

Orthopedic Foundation for Animals - the main U.S. health registry. Hips and elbows are graded from x-rays; results are public and searchable at ofa.org. A breeder saying 'the parents are fine' without an OFA number is telling you something.

An alternative hip evaluation that measures joint laxity numerically and can be done as early as 16 weeks. More predictive of future arthritis than a single grade; some breeders use both.

Companion Animal Eye Registry - an annual exam by a board-certified ophthalmologist (ACVO). Eye exams expire; 'CAER cleared' should have a recent date on it.

An echocardiogram or auscultation by a cardiologist, depending on the breed's risk. For breeds with DCM, mitral valve disease, or subaortic stenosis in the line, this is the test that matters.

Embark and Wisdom Panel test for known mutations (MDR1, degenerative myelopathy, EIC, cystinuria, PRA variants, copper toxicosis and many more) and also settle ancestry questions on mixes. Washington State's VCPL is the reference lab for MDR1.

For herding breeds and their crosses, MDR1 is the highest-value single test there is: it changes which routine medications - including some common dewormers and sedatives - are safe. A positive dog can be harmed by a standard dose of a very ordinary drug.

'Clear' can mean tested-and-normal, or 'clear by parentage' (inferred from parents), or a carrier who won't be affected but can pass it on. Ask which. And no testing eliminates risk - it stacks the odds, which is the honest promise.

Look the dog up on ofa.org by name or registration number. A breeder who welcomes that is the breeder you want.

Crosses have no parent club requiring any of this, so the burden shifts entirely to you: ask for testing appropriate to BOTH parent breeds.

Hip dysplasia is a poorly-fitting hip joint; elbow dysplasia is a group of developmental elbow problems (fragmented coronoid process, OCD, ununited anconeal process). Both are graded from x-rays, both are polygenic AND influenced by growth rate and weight - which is why lean, slow puppy growth matters even in a well-bred dog.

Often called a DNA test, DNA panel, or genetic panel - same thing: a cheek swab or blood sample screened for known mutations.