What health testing do you use?

Most of this research is the combined efforts of me & a dear friend.

FIRST I consider temperament, breed type, and structure!

I try to have all my puppies eyes checked at 7-8 weeks, prior to going home...plus I check all of my adults before breeding the first time, and then every few years or so.

In the past, I have made the mistake of checking patellas on dogs under the age of 1 year, but due to inconsistent findings and information from various veterinarians and OFA, I am now recommending to only check dogs over 1 year of age unless you visibly see symptoms or problems indicative of patella luxation!

I have also spoken to a orthopedic specialist in the Austin area that have informed me in their 30-plus years of orthopedic work, they have only performed surgery on very few dachshunds with patella issues, but in the same period of time have performed back surgery on probably 3-4,000 DACHSHUNDS! Needless to say, I will be continuing to research this problem, the test, and the inconsistencies until I feel confident the results are accurate and helpful in my breeding program!)

As for other issues...thyroid, deafness, immune, heart, allergies, etc...I would only test for these if I felt a particular dog was exhibiting symptoms of these problems!

At this time, I'm not sold on PRA testing enough to base my program on it. I do feel that if you have the $$$ to spend, it's an asset to have. On the other hand, if your limited on funds, I'd have the CERF test administered.