Superior Health Testing
Breeders often claim their dogs are ‘health tested,’ but this usually means the dogs have had minimal preliminary health screenings, often before maturity. The OFA requires dogs to be 24 months or older for a FINAL hip and elbow score. An OFA hip and/or elbow evaluation on a dog younger than 24 months yields only a ‘preliminary’ result, which may change as the dog matures.
Ensure breeders conduct thorough health testing to protect yourself and your future puppy. Avoid minimal screenings on puppies. A passing OFA FINAL score for a mature dog (over 24 months old) is always in the public OFA database. If you can’t find the result, verify the dog identifiers with the breeder. If the identifiers are correct and the result is missing, the dog was either not fully tested or failed the OFA final, and the breeder chose not to release the result.
Did you know that the minimum standard for a breeder to join an Australian Labradoodle breed association is a preliminary hip and elbow test and a DNA profile? A DNA profile is not a genetic test; it merely places the dog’s DNA on file with a canine laboratory in case parentage testing is needed in the future. Breeders could have dogs that underwent preliminary OFA hip and elbow screenings and had their DNA filed at a laboratory as early as 4 months old, then breed the dog at 14 months old, and claim ‘health tested parents’ on their websites. These breeders rely on an uneducated public or clients who do not ask questions and accept vague statements about health testing. Puppies from these breeders are offered at the same price as those from breeders who have raised the bar and perform expensive, exemplary testing!
Below is a list of questions to ask a breeder before investing in a 12-15 year commitment to a puppy. We will include our responses, so that you may intelligently compare.
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📢 Did you know that River Days Australian Labradoodles contributes to the improvement of the Australian Labradoodle (ALD) even beyond our own program? 🌟That’s right—such is our passion for this breed! 🥰
The OFA created the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) to research and maintain info on the health issues prevalent in specific breeds, like the ALD (currently the only recognized non-AKC breed).
❣️OFA partnered with breed associations (e.g., ALAA, WALA) to establish a protocol for breed-specific health screenings.
❣️Dogs tested in accordance with that protocol are recognized with a CHIC number and certification.
❣️ALDs who achieve CHIC Certifications have been screened per protocol, and those results are publicly available in the OFA database.
❣️‼️❣️All active River Days breeding dogs over the age of 2 years old are recognized by the OFA with a CHIC number and certification, with a link to their results under their profile picture on our website (example in pic).
❣️For prospective puppy families, the CHIC program provides accurate information about the results of a breeder’s health testing.
Our testing includes:
•OFA Hip FINALS •PennHips •OFA Elbows FINALS •OFA Patella FINALS •OFA Cardiac •OFA Eyes •ALD Breed specific genetic panels
Did you know that River Days Australian Labradoodles contributes to the improvement of the Australian Labradoodle (ALD) even beyond our own program?
That’s right—such is our passion for this breed!
The OFA created the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) to research and maintain info on the health issues prevalent in specific breeds, like the ALD (currently the only recognized non-AKC breed).
OFA partnered with breed associations (e.g., ALAA, WALA) to establish a protocol for breed-specific health screenings.
Dogs tested in accordance with that protocol are recognized with a CHIC number and certification.
ALDs who achieve CHIC Certifications have been screened per protocol, and those results are publicly available in the OFA database.
All active River Days breeding dogs over the age of 2 years old are recognized by the OFA with a CHIC number and certification, with a link to their results under their profile picture on our website (example in pic).
For prospective puppy families, the CHIC program provides accurate information about the results of a breeder’s health testing.