Health Testing Requirements

Below, you will find a quick guide to the health testing requirements for each breed (GR=Golden Retriever, ALL=Golden Retriever, Poodle and Goldendoodle or GD=Goldendoodle)

Please note that GANA™ requires that all health testing through OFA has the box “I did verify microchip/tattoo on this dog” checked off by the veterinarian performing the health test.  With the exception of PennHip and Dr. Wallace reports, GANA™ requires all health testing for hips, elbows, heart, patellas, and eyes to be submitted to the OFA for issuance of a passing certificate.  The GANA™ registration number of the dog tested must be included on the certificate (effective 8/1/2020).

Breeders who test for the following health conditions qualify for Basic Membership status.

Hips

Choose one of the following methods to qualify for Hips:

Prelim OFA or Dr. Wallace report for hip scores of Fair, Good, Excellent, for x-rays taken 4 mos. of age or later. Note that for any dog receiving a Fair rating prior to age of 2 yrs. (OFA prelim rating or Wallace report), a Final OFA or Wallace report with x-rays taken after 2 yrs. of age or later is required to remain as a qualified breeding dog;

Final OFA or Dr. Wallace report for hip scores of Fair, Good, Excellent, for x-rays taken at 24 mos. of age or later.

PennHip Distraction Index (DI) equal to, or tighter than, the breed average with no evidence of osteoarthritis (OA) done at 4 months of age or later;

OVC prelim or permanent with normal rating (permanent needs to be submitted by 22 mos. for bitches, 20 mos. for studs)

BVA test results for hips and elbows done at or after a year of age as long as this testing was done while the dog was in Europe. Passing BVA results consist of a BVA of 1-10 total score of both hips taken at or after a year of age as long as no single hip score is greater than 6. Dogs with a BVA of 11-18 total score of both hips, or with a score of 0-10 but with a single hip score greater than 6 taken at one year or later are accepted as passing, but with the requirement that to become permanent,

For a breeding dog that scores a prelim Fair rating before 24 months of age, another x-ray should be taken at age 2 or after (final OFA or Wallace report) which scores Fair or above.  This final rating must be achieved prior to any breeding taking place after the age of 24 months. Also acceptable to qualify a Fair OFA or Wallace rating taken before age 2 is a PennHip with a score of 50% or above completed any time after 4 mos. of age.

Chemical restraint (anesthesia) is not required by OFA but chemical restraint to the point of muscle relaxation is recommended. With chemical restraint optimum patient positioning is easier with minimal repeat radiographs (less radiation exposure) and a truer representation of the hip status is obtained.

Cardiac

OFA Permanent heart clearance (Golden Retrievers and Goldendoodles only). A stud may qualify for breeding prior to the age of one with a OFA Cardiac prelim clearance. In this circumstance, the stud will need to have a OFA Cardiac final clearance after the age of one.

Breeders who test for these additional health conditions, in addition to the Basic level requirements, qualify for the Red Ribbon Status. 

Eyes

CAER:  Biennial (30 day grace period) Certificate from OFA is required (effective 8/1/20)

Breeder Options
Ineligible Findings

INFO on the following DNA disease testing requirements:  Since both parents must carry the affected gene for their offspring to be affected by that mutation, one clear parent in the breeding pair is required. For a breeding dog to be “clear via parentage” both parents must be clear (without the gene). To clear a dog for a particular disease, it can be done via DNA by any lab approved by the OFA; or by submitting its parents’ clear DNA test results from OFA approved labs showing they are both clear.

Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) is a condition of the eye. PRA is a group of diseases that eventually lead to blindness. PRA affecting Goldendoodles is recessively inherited. Dogs adjust to their blindness quite well and there is no pain associated with this disease. Impact: low degree of severity. It has mild effects and generally does not pose any significant health concerns, or is easily managed. Inheritance: Autosomal Recessive. Result types: clear, affected, carrier.  Severity: PRA’s have a moderate degree of severity, it is not a fatal disease, though it can decrease the quality of life. Three forms of PRA affect Goldendoodles:  prcd-PRA, GR-pra1, and GR-pra2.

Required DNA Disease Tests

Progressive Rod Cone Degeneration/Prcd-Pra (Applicable Breeds: Poodles, Golden Retrievers, Goldendoodles). One clear prcd-PRA parent required per breeding pair.  Caused by degeneration of rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the retina. Most dogs show signs of vision loss and/or loss of peripheral vision at approximately 3-5 years of age. As the affected dog ages, changes in the Tapetum (behind the retina) can be observed in a veterinary eye exam. Most dogs eventually become blind.

GR-Pra1  (Applicable Breeds: Golden Retrievers, Goldendoodles). Affected dogs typically develop symptoms of night blindness or loss of peripheral vision at approximately 6-7 years of age. Result types: clear, affected, carrier.  Effective 1/1/19 required for Red Ribbon.  Already required for blue ribbon.

vWd1 (von Willebrand Disease, canine bleeding disorder):  At least one clear in the breeding pair. Poodles and Goldendoodles can be cleared by parentage or by DNA testing. Golden Retrievers are not required to be tested as they are not risk for vWd. Therefore, if one of the breeding pair is a Golden Retriever, it will count as the clear parent. Poodles and Goldendoodles do not have to be tested for vWd if they are paired only with a clear partner for breeding. To clear a dog for vWd: Submit DNA test results from an OFA approved lab for the dog, or submit DNA test from an OFA approved lab results showing both dog’s parents are clear.  Effective 1/1/19 vWd1 will not be required for Red Ribbon Status.

Breeders who test for these additional health conditions, in addition to the Basic and Red Ribbon level requirements, qualify for the Blue Ribbon Status.

Patellas

Permanent clear rating (mini/toy Poodles and petite/mini/medium Goldendoodles only). A stud may qualify for breeding prior to the age of one with a OFA Patella prelim clearance. In this circumstance, the stud will need to have a OFA Patella final clearance after the age of one.

Elbows

Prelim or permanent clear rating at 4 mos. of age or later.

BVA Accept all passing test results for hips and elbows done at or after a year of age as long as this testing was done while the dog was in Europe.

Required DNA Disease tests

Golden Retriever Progressive Retinal Atrophy (GR-PRA1)  (Applicable Breeds: Golden Retrievers, Goldendoodles). Affected dogs typically develop symptoms of night blindness or loss of peripheral vision at approximately 6-7 years of age. Result types: clear, affected, carrier.

Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures (NEWS) (applicable Breeds: Poodles, Goldendoodles). NEWs is a developmental brain disease. Symptoms are extreme weakness, often accompanied by severe seizures. Symptoms get progressively worse until the puppy dies. Most puppies do not survive the first week, and all usually die before seven weeks of age. Inheritance: Autosomal Recessive. Result types: clear, affected, carrier. Severity: 5, most extreme as it is a fatal disease that may also cause a significant decrease in the quality of life.  Required as of 1/1/19.

Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) (Applicable Breeds: Poodles, Golden Retrievers, Goldendoodles). DM is an adult onset neurologic condition with progressive limb weakness and muscle loss, usually seen to occur around middle age. There is thought to be other factors that play into exhibition of this disease. Dogs that carry two genes for DM (affected) are at risk, but may not be affected. Mode of Inheritance: Autosomal Recessive with Incomplete Penetrance. Severity: 4, a high degree of severity when the disease manifests as it generally causes a decreased quality of life and may also decrease the life expectancy.  Required as to 1/1/19.

Ichthyosis A (ICH) (Applicable Breeds: Golden Retrievers, Goldendoodles). ICH is a skin condition where the skin becomes thickened and scaly. Because this condition allows the skins integrity to be impaired, secondary infections or irritations may occur. The biggest impact is the appearance of the dog and the irritation it causes, although the disease itself is not life-threatening. ICH can manifest in different degrees from mild to severe. Mode of Inheritance: Autosomal Recessive. Severity: 3, moderate degree of severity, as it is not a fatal disease, though it can decrease the quality of life.  Required as of 1/1/19.

NOTE: GANA™ accepts results from the labs approved by OFA.  A list of these approved labs is available here:  OFA and GANA™ approved DNA labs.