Health Clearance Organizations
Golden Retrievers, like most breeds, have common problems that serious breeders work hard to avoid. The Three
most common are Hip, Heart, and Eye. The best anyone can do is have health tests on these specific areas & only
use dogs that have passed the test. Although genetic testing is not perfect, you can greatly improve your chances
of getting a genetically sound puppy by buying a puppy from a breeder completing these certifications. The larger
the number of normal dogs in a pedigree the less likely it is that the dog will carry a heritable disease.
Orthopedic Foundation of America (OFA) is an organization that you may have read about in your research. OFA is
the organization that processes diagnostic evaluation for hips, elbows, and heart. The OFA uses a board of doctors
that examine the test results from each dog and "grade" the specific test. Hips are graded Fair, Good & Excellent
with only 3% of Goldens receiving an Excellent hip certification. ANY passed rating is healthy hips. Hearts receive a
rating of Normal. To go to the Orthopedic Foundation web site: http://www.offa.org
Another Hip Evaluation Organization is the University of Pennsylvania. They use what is called a PennHIP
evaluation. I prefer this method as a breeder, as it specifically measures the hip leaving no room to subjective
opinion in it's evaluation. After taking the measurements, they compare the hip to all other dogs in the breed. You
can learn more about this evaluation on http://www.pennhip.org
CERF, Canine Eye Registration Foundation, is the organization that processes eye evaluations. Each dog must see
a Specialty Optomologist who dilates the eye and looks for any abnormalities that may be hereditary. A dog given a
normal evaluation has passed the test for a normal eye formation. Eyes can be rechecked every year, similar to
people. When we get old, our eyes get worse also.
To go the Canine Eye Registry Foundation web site: http://www.vmdb.org/cerf.html
Other golden problems could include allergies, cancer, chronic ear infections, seizures, and bad temperament for
which routine screening is not performed. Although these are possible, the defects are still low occurrence in the
Golden Retriever. Although not necessarily hereditary, any of these issues would eliminate a dog from breeding at
Heritage Rock.
most common are Hip, Heart, and Eye. The best anyone can do is have health tests on these specific areas & only
use dogs that have passed the test. Although genetic testing is not perfect, you can greatly improve your chances
of getting a genetically sound puppy by buying a puppy from a breeder completing these certifications. The larger
the number of normal dogs in a pedigree the less likely it is that the dog will carry a heritable disease.
Orthopedic Foundation of America (OFA) is an organization that you may have read about in your research. OFA is
the organization that processes diagnostic evaluation for hips, elbows, and heart. The OFA uses a board of doctors
that examine the test results from each dog and "grade" the specific test. Hips are graded Fair, Good & Excellent
with only 3% of Goldens receiving an Excellent hip certification. ANY passed rating is healthy hips. Hearts receive a
rating of Normal. To go to the Orthopedic Foundation web site: http://www.offa.org
Another Hip Evaluation Organization is the University of Pennsylvania. They use what is called a PennHIP
evaluation. I prefer this method as a breeder, as it specifically measures the hip leaving no room to subjective
opinion in it's evaluation. After taking the measurements, they compare the hip to all other dogs in the breed. You
can learn more about this evaluation on http://www.pennhip.org
CERF, Canine Eye Registration Foundation, is the organization that processes eye evaluations. Each dog must see
a Specialty Optomologist who dilates the eye and looks for any abnormalities that may be hereditary. A dog given a
normal evaluation has passed the test for a normal eye formation. Eyes can be rechecked every year, similar to
people. When we get old, our eyes get worse also.
To go the Canine Eye Registry Foundation web site: http://www.vmdb.org/cerf.html
Other golden problems could include allergies, cancer, chronic ear infections, seizures, and bad temperament for
which routine screening is not performed. Although these are possible, the defects are still low occurrence in the
Golden Retriever. Although not necessarily hereditary, any of these issues would eliminate a dog from breeding at
Heritage Rock.
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