10/28/2026
Health Testing Is About the Life After the Puppy Stage
PennHIP. OFA. DNA. It’s easy for health testing to sound like a string of letters breeders list to look good.
For us, every one of those tests is about the same thing: the years your dog spends with you after the puppy stage is over.
Hips and elbows are about a dog that can still run the fence line, hike with you, and jump in the truck when it’s nine years old. Knees matter whether your dog is 60 pounds or 15. Eyes are about seeing clearly into the senior years. The heart is about keeping up on long, active days. And DNA screening helps us avoid known inherited problems before a pairing is ever made.
Here’s what a lot of people don’t realize. Most of what health testing looks for won’t show up at an eight-week vet check. A puppy can pass that exam with flying colors and still carry a problem that shows up years later. That’s why we test the parents, not just check the puppies.
Our parent dogs are evaluated through DNA screening, PennHIP, and OFA eyes, cardiac, patellas, and elbows when recommended for their breed. The specific tests vary by breed, but the goal stays the same.
No test can promise a perfect dog. What testing does is stack the deck toward a long, healthy, active life. Your puppy is only a puppy for a few months. The rest of the time, it’s your dog.
This is Week 3 of Bred for Real Life, our 8-week Wednesday series on the kind of dog we’re trying to send home. Catch up on Weeks 1 and 2 anytime on our page. We will see you next Wednesday for Week 4: Raised Around Real Life, Not Protected From It.
