What "health tested" actually means, breed by breed
Two words that appear in almost every advert and are worth nothing without the certificates. Here is what to ask for.
"Parents health tested" is in most puppy adverts and it is, on its own, meaningless. There is no single test called a health test. There are named schemes and named DNA tests, they differ by breed, and each produces a certificate with the dog's registered name on it.
The three kinds of test
DNA tests are definitive and permanent. A dog is clear, a carrier, or affected, and that never changes. Two clear parents cannot produce an affected puppy for that condition. These are the easiest results to check and the least excusable to be missing.
Screening schemes grade a dog at a point in time - hips, elbows, eyes, hearts. A BVA/KC hip score is a number; lower is better, and it means something only against the breed's median.
Clinical examinations are a vet's opinion on the day: a heart auscultation, a BOAS grade, a patella check.
What to ask for, by breed
| Breed | Ask for |
|---|---|
| Labrador Retriever | Hip score, elbow grade, eye certificate, DNA: prcd-PRA, EIC, CNM, SD2 |
| Cocker Spaniel / Cockapoo | DNA: prcd-PRA, FN, AMS (working lines); eye certificate; hip score |
| French Bulldog | BOAS grade, hip score, patella grade, eye certificate, DNA: HC-HSF4 |
| Cavalier King Charles / Cavapoo | Cardiologist heart test and MRI grading for syringomyelia |
| German Shepherd | Hip score, elbow grade, DNA: DM, MDR1 |
| Border Collie | DNA: CEA, CL, TNS, MDR1; hip score |
| Dachshund | IVDD X-ray screening grade, DNA: cord1/crd4 PRA |
| Staffordshire Bull Terrier | DNA: L-2-HGA, HC; eye examination |
| Bengal (cat) | DNA: PRA-b, PK Def; echocardiogram |
| Maine Coon (cat) | DNA: MYBPC3 A31P, SMA; echocardiogram; hip score |
| Ragdoll (cat) | DNA: MYBPC3 R820W; echocardiogram |
| British Shorthair / Persian (cat) | DNA: PKD; echocardiogram |
How to check a certificate
Three things. The registered name on the certificate matches the parent you were shown. The date is recent enough to be meaningful - an eye certificate is an annual test, so a three-year-old one tells you about a three-year-old dog. And the laboratory or scheme is named: a screenshot of a spreadsheet is not a result.
What a good breeder does when you ask
Sends them to you, unprompted, before you visit. If asking makes the conversation awkward, that is information about the breeder rather than about you.
What testing does not tell you
It does not cover everything. A fully tested litter can still produce a dog with a condition nobody screens for, and temperament - which is what most owners actually struggle with - has no test at all. Testing tells you the breeder is engaging with the known risks in their breed. That is a floor, not a guarantee.