Here is a list of tests that we do at Astyanax Poodles and a bit about them.

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OFA Tests:

• Hip Dysplasia: OFA grades hips based on a set list of criteria and radiographs are reviewed by a team of three vets. If a dog passes with excellent, good, or fair hips, a dog will recieve an OFA number and will be recorded in the website. If a dog fails with borderline, mild, moderate, or severe HD, unless an owner marks permission for failing hips to be listed, the results will not be listed on OFA. PennHIP is a science, measurement based hip exam that looks at three different xrays to develop their score. Both tests have their merits and I have used both tests with my dogs.

• Elbow Dysplasia: OFA will grade both elbows for degenerative joint disease (DJD).  ununited anconeal process (UAP), osteochondrosis (OCD) and fragmented medial coronoid process (FCP). OFA will rate elbows normal for passing or grade 1-3 for failing results. You can have one passing elbow and one failing elbow, so that is something to keep in mind as well.

•  CERF Eye Exams: Eye exams are extremely  important in breeding animals. Eye exams can only be done by board-certified opthalmologist. Eye exams need to be done yearly for them to be considered up to date in the OFA database. 

• Cardiac: At Astyanax Poodles our cardiac exams are Congenital; all that means is that our regular vet listens to their hearts and if they find no evidence of a heart murmur or any abnormalities, they give the dogs a "normal" and in the database they are marked as being done by a practitioner. For an OFA number, your dog must be 12 months of age, but you can get a preliminary exam done for your information. Failures are graded on a scale from 1-6.

• Patellas: Patellas are another orthopedic exam that isn't required for Miniature and toy Poodles. Your dog must be 12 months of age for an OFA number.

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Genetic Tests

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• Degenerative Myelopathy: DM is a DNA disease that causes gradual paralysis of the spinal cord. Breeding carriers is a personal decision that should be taken seriously, but there is nothing directly wrong with breeding them as long as you are careful and research your pedigrees.

• Neonatal Encephalopathy: Affected puppies will be weak, uncoordinated, and mentally dull from birth. Seizures develop in most affected pups at 4-5 weeks of age. Attempts to control these seizures with medication have proven futile, and the pups die or are euthanized before they reach weaning age. Therefore testing is absolutely necessary in breeding pairs. 

• Progressive retinal atrophy, progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRA-prcd): This is a late-onset genetic disease that affects eyesight in Standard Poodles. Evidence in affected dogs can first be seen around 1.5 years of age for most breeds, but most affected dogs will not show signs of vision loss until 3 to 5 years of age or later. Due to the fact symptoms won't appear until adulthood, testing before breeding is necessary.

• Von Willebrand Disease I (VWDI): VWD is an inherited bleeding disorder where affected dogs have less than half of the normal level of an essential protein needed for normal blood clotting. Affected dogs may bruise easily, have frequent nosebleeds, bleed from the mouth when juvenile teeth are lost, and experience prolonged bleeding after surgery or trauma. Less often, the bleeding may be severe enough to cause death. Due to the severity of the possible outcome of this disease, breeding pairs need to be tested.