THE STAFFORD KNOT | BREEDER EDUCATION SERIES

From One Breeder to Another

Understanding what health testing can tell us, what it cannot, and why the dogs behind the results still matter.

One of the most encouraging changes I’ve witnessed during my years in dogs is the growing emphasis on health testing. When I began breeding Staffords in 2004, we didn’t have access to all the information and testing options available today. Advances in veterinary medicine and genetics have given breeders some remarkable tools, allowing us to identify certain inherited conditions, make more informed breeding decisions, and reduce the likelihood of producing puppies affected by diseases that were once much more difficult to predict.

I consider health testing an essential part of responsible breeding, but I’ve also become concerned about how easily the phrase fully health tested can create a false sense of security. We see it frequently in advertisements, on websites, and in conversations with prospective puppy owners. It sounds reassuring, and understandably so, but what does it actually mean? Has the dog received every recommended screening for its breed, or simply a DNA panel? Were the results normal? Were they obtained at an appropriate age, and are any examinations due to be repeated?

Perhaps the more important question is whether we understand what those results tell us about the dog we’re considering breeding.

A Test Result Is Information, Not a Guarantee

In Staffordshire Bull Terriers, we are fortunate to have reliable DNA tests for conditions such as L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L-2-HGA) and hereditary juvenile cataracts. These tests have made an enormous difference in our ability to avoid producing affected puppies, provided breeders understand the inheritance patterns and use the results appropriately. Other concerns, including hip and elbow dysplasia, certain eye abnormalities, and cardiac conditions, require different forms of screening because they cannot all be identified through a simple DNA test.

This distinction is important. A dog may test clear for every condition included on a commercial genetic panel and still have a health problem that the panel was never designed to identify. Likewise, a normal examination today does not necessarily mean that a condition developing later in life will never appear.

I think it’s helpful to remember that different tests answer different questions. A DNA test may identify whether a dog carries a particular disease-associated variant. A radiographic evaluation examines physical structures at a particular stage of development, while an eye examination assesses the health of the eyes at the time it is performed. These are valuable pieces of information, but none provides a complete picture of the dog’s overall health or what it may pass along to its offspring.

The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) maintains an important resource through its Canine Health Information Center, commonly known as CHIC. Something that occasionally surprises newer breeders is that receiving a CHIC number does not necessarily mean a dog has passed every health test. It means the breed’s required evaluations have been completed and their results made publicly available. The results themselves still need to be examined and understood.

I appreciate that distinction because I believe transparency is every bit as important as testing. An unfavorable result doesn’t automatically tell us everything about a dog, but hiding information certainly makes responsible breeding decisions more difficult.

Looking Beyond Clear and Carrier

Another area where I think breeders can benefit from a better understanding of genetics is the assumption that every dog used for breeding should be genetically clear of every condition.

For certain inherited diseases, particularly those following a well-established autosomal recessive pattern, identifying carriers allows breeders to make informed mating decisions without unnecessarily eliminating those dogs from the breeding population. When a carrier is bred to a genetically clear mate for that same condition, the resulting puppies should not be affected by that recessive disease, although some may inherit the variant and become carriers themselves.

That doesn’t mean every genetic result can be managed in the same way. Different conditions have different inheritance patterns, and some variants involve incomplete penetrance, variable expression, or considerably more complicated genetics. Understanding the particular disease and the reliability of its test is essential.

But I do worry when I hear suggestions that every carrier should automatically be removed from breeding consideration, regardless of the condition or the dog’s other qualities. In a breed with a limited breeding population, eliminating otherwise healthy, valuable dogs simply because they carry a manageable recessive variant can have unintended consequences for genetic diversity.

As preservation breeders, we have to consider the health of the population as well as the health of individual litters. Our decisions today influence which genetic material remains available to future generations, and a breeding strategy that looks appealing on paper may not always serve the breed well over time.

The objective should be to avoid producing affected dogs while preserving as much valuable genetic diversity as reasonably possible.

The Health History We Cannot Find on a Certificate

One of the reasons I’ve always valued good relationships with other breeders is that some of the most useful health information cannot be found on a testing certificate.

We can review pedigrees, examine official results, and study published information about a breed, but there is considerable value in knowing how dogs within a particular family have actually lived. How long did they live? Were they generally sound and healthy throughout their lives? Did certain conditions appear repeatedly? Were there reproductive difficulties, immune-related problems, or temperament concerns that deserve consideration?

These are questions that often require conversations rather than paperwork.

A dog may have excellent health clearances, yet come from a family with a pattern of problems that warrants closer investigation. Another may have a less-than-perfect screening result but belong to a family with otherwise encouraging health and longevity. Neither circumstance should be evaluated without considering the individual condition, the available evidence, and the risks associated with a proposed mating.

I also believe we need to be realistic about how incomplete our information sometimes is. Not every owner reports health problems, not every condition receives a definitive diagnosis, and occasionally we simply don’t know what became of a dog years after it left the breeder. Even when people are willing to share information, individual experiences and recollections can be imperfect.

This is one reason maintaining relationships with puppy owners matters long after placement. Following the dogs we produce throughout their lives gives us information that can help evaluate our previous decisions and make better ones in the future.

It also requires a willingness to hear things we may not particularly want to hear.

None of us enjoys learning that a dog we’ve bred has developed a serious health concern, but I would much rather know about a problem than remain unaware of something that could influence future breeding decisions.

Making Thoughtful Decisions With Imperfect Information

I don’t believe responsible health testing should be regarded as a competition to see who can collect the largest number of clearances. The purpose is to understand the risks associated with our breeding decisions and reduce those risks wherever reasonably possible.

That means knowing which tests are relevant to our breed, understanding their limitations, and considering the results alongside temperament, construction, family history, and genetic diversity. It also means being willing to discuss unexpected findings with knowledgeable veterinarians, geneticists, and experienced breeders rather than making assumptions based upon a single result.

There will be times when a health concern makes the decision not to breed relatively straightforward. Other circumstances are more complicated and require careful consideration of the particular condition, its inheritance, its consequences for affected dogs, and the alternatives available within the breeding population.

We should be honest about those decisions, particularly with the people who trust us to produce and raise their future companions.

I also think we owe prospective puppy owners an explanation of what health testing actually means. It’s easy to present a collection of certificates and assume that the information speaks for itself, but most people outside the breeding community have little reason to understand the differences between DNA testing, orthopedic evaluations, and examinations that may need repeating throughout a dog’s life.

Helping them understand both the value and limitations of testing establishes more realistic expectations. No responsible breeder can promise that a puppy will never develop a health problem, but we can explain the precautions we’ve taken, the information we’ve considered, and our commitment to supporting the dogs we produce.

For me, health testing has never been an end in itself. It is part of a larger responsibility to make thoughtful breeding decisions with the best information available to us. Every improvement in genetic testing and veterinary screening gives us another opportunity to understand our dogs more completely, but it doesn’t replace the experience, observation, and honest communication that have always been important to responsible breeding.

Health testing helps us make better decisions. Understanding what those results mean, and being willing to look beyond them, is what makes that information valuable.

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Further Reading

Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
Canine Health Information Center (CHIC)

Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of America
Health Testing and Breed-Specific Concerns

OFA-CHIC Requirements for Staffordshire Bull Terriers

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Genetic Testing and Informed Breeding Decisions

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From One Breeder to Another is part of The Stafford Knot, Inc. 501(c)(3) Breeder Education Series, developed in collaboration with Wavemaker Staffords.