Health Testing and CHIC Numbers

In hoping for a puppy in the next 3-4 years, I have been researching a lot of ACD breeders (I think I may have actually caught the puppy fever that's going around). There are a couple that I've found in the PNW that I like the looks of from their websites. I'd of course drive up and meet the breeder and their dogs before I got a puppy, but at this point I'm just website surfing. There is this one breeder that I really like, but there are a few gaps in their health testing (I looked at their dogs in the OFA database). They do enough that I would be comfortable looking into them more, but I was just wondering what is too little when it comes to health testing. I'm new to the whole breeder scene (never done it before!), but am not totally ignorant as to what to stay away from and look for in a breeder. I know what I want in a breeder as far as practices go, but am a little unsure as to what health testing I want to see in their dogs.

So this brings me to the question of what your guys' minimal health testing requirements are in a dog's parents. Do you require the parents to have CHIC numbers, or are there just a few health tests that you look out for? This of course can be breed specific or just a general guideline for you.

I want all of the CHIC testing done but am willing to be flexible about test results not being mailed in. If you see missing health testing but otherwise like the breeder, ask the breeder about the testing. Some breeders are really good about testing but bad about sending in the forms to OFA (or at least they are in borzoi).

The sire of my youngest bitch had all of his CHIC testing, except DM because he's clear by parentage), but the OFA database only shows thyroid because the forms for cardiac and eyes are sitting in the owner's house. (Yes, he really did have it done; yes, he passed; yes, I'm sure.)

Rage is the only Plott in the OFA database last time I checked. Neither the American Plott Assoc or the National Plott Hound Assoc participate in drawing up recommended tests. My standards are low, because I have no other choice right now.

If I were personally looking for a dog then I'd probably want CHIC. Or at least I'd want to know they were clear for everything CHIC recommends testing for (since some can be clear by parentage, also remember in some cases only one parent needs to be tested clear for the pups to be clear). BUT that said I've been looking at a lot of lab breeders for my relatives and I didn't feel too badly about suggesting breeders that didn't do the whole CHIC thing.

For labs pretty much every decent breeder I looked at did hips, elbows, CERF, and the genetic test for PRA. These are the tests that the breed club recommends on their website and I only suggested breeders that did at least this much. But then many also did exercise induced collapse (required for CHIC). Some did centronuclear myopathy (recommended but not required for CHIC). Many do cardiac exams as well which is not mentioned by the parent club or CHIC.

So it gets a little complicated, especially since EIC was only added to the CHIC requirements in 2013. I guess if I was looking at a breeder who didn't do a certain test I'd want to ask them why not and see how I feel about their reasoning. But it also just depends what's important to you, which diseases most concern you.

As a bare minimum in Australian Shepherds I like to see Hips, elbows, and eye exams which would make the requirements for CHIC. I used to not care about elbows but since they are now recommended I will do them and I will look for them to be done.

I also do MDR1 and HSF4 testing on my own dogs, but neither is listed on their OFA pages. I just have the results from the labs saved on my computer and I plan to send copies home with puppy buyers.

My breed only requires hips, elbows, eyes, and thyroid for CHIC, so yes, I expect parents to have a CHIC number. I think those are pretty minimal requirements.

In other breeds with other requirements it might depend on what tests are required and what tests the breeder had done.

For shelties it's mainly hips and eyes. A CHIC is nice but it's not something I consider a must-have, personally. That said I will probably be pursuing one with Payton...

Hardly anybody does elbows in shelties (I do, actually, haha) so I consider it a nice bonus if it's there; the breed club considers it one elective towards a CHIC. VWd is a thing but most people these days are just doing "clear by parentage" rather than doing their own tests, same with CEA. Thyroid is the most common other elective I see toward a CHIC number. Cardiac is another one but that is pretty rare to see done.


I agree that sometimes the tests are done but they haven't sent in the forms, my breeder is guilty of it, I did it with Payton's eye exam (I still haven't sent in Auggie's either but that is less important since he is nine and neutered...) and I have talked to other breeders (sometimes in different breeds) who go "Aw crap I still haven't sent that in." Like me, they put the form somewhere safe and then open up the folder months later and it's still "somewhere safe." Derp.

depends

In Samoyeds, I think you need a PRA test for a CHIC number. This eye disease has been pretty much wiped out in the breed, at least among responsible breeders. Also a potential breeding dog may be cleared by parentage and so the breeder would consider that test a waste of money. I think it comes down to education. There's another condition in Samoyeds that is linked to retinal folds. Carriers show folds, but not all with folds are carriers. I don't bother with the test for this condition if a puppy was clear of folds at a young age and as an adult.

Springers have only had the option of a CHIC since 2012/2013? Very recent.

They require: hips, elbows, eyes, DNA PRA, DNA databank (any dog submitted for PRA testing automatically gets banked at U of MO), and DNA profiling through AKC.

All three of mine have CHIC numbers. Hyperlinks are their names in my signature.