Parent dogs at Hilltop Pups are tested by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) for the health of their hips, elbows, hearts, and patellae (knee caps). Bi-annual eye certification by a board certified ophthalmologist is conducted to verify that the parent dogs are clear of 32 eye diseases. Additionally, DNA testing is used to determine whether parent dogs carry breed-specific diseases such as canine degenerative myelopathy (DM), progressive retinal atrophy, progressive rod-cone degeneration, (PRA-PRCD, PRCD), Neonatal encephalopathy with seizures (NEWS), von Willebrand disease (vWD), Ichthyosis (Golden Retriever type), Progressive retinal atrophy, Golden Retriever 1 (GR-PRA1), Progressive retinal atrophy, and Golden Retriever 2 (GR-PRA2). In some diseases it takes both parent dogs to carry the gene for the offspring to develop the disease; in those cases only one parent dog needs to be tested. Thus, routinely here the male stud testing is heavily focused on. You can view the health test results for each of our dogs on the “Meet the Parents” subpages by clicking on the document.
FAQ Category
Health and Health Testing