At Penny Lane Labradors, responsible breeding starts with health. We put a great deal of time, care, and research into our dogs and the generations behind them. That includes health testing, thoughtful pairings, good veterinary care, and preserving the Labrador temperament and structure we love. But one of the most important things we do is Health Test. No single test tells us everything. That’s why we use orthopedic evaluations, cardiac screenings, eye examinations, patella evaluations, and comprehensive DNA testing together.
-CHIC Numbers- Most of our dogs already have CHIC numbers, and we are actively working toward having every eligible breeding dog complete the requirements. CHIC stands for Canine Health Information Center, an OFA program developed in partnership with breed parent clubs. A CHIC number confirms that a dog has completed the required breed-specific screenings, is permanently identified by microchip or tattoo, and has publicly available results. For Labradors, breed health screening includes hips, elbows, a professional eye examination, and DNA testing for conditions such as exercise-induced collapse (EIC) and centronuclear myopathy (CNM), along with dilute testing. Our testing also extends beyond these requirements.
-Hips & Elbows- Our breeding dogs have hip and elbow X-rays submitted to OFA. We usually test around 1- 1 1/2 and again with permanent hip certification at 24 months or older. This is where three board-certified veterinary radiologists independently evaluate the images and rate them. We only breed dogs with Fair, Good, or Excellent hips. All three are normal, passing OFA ratings.
Excellent: A tight-fitting joint with a deep socket and excellent coverage.
Good: A well-formed joint with good fit and coverage.
Fair: Minor irregularities but no dysplasia and still within normal limits.
Borderline: The findings are not clear enough to classify the hips as normal or dysplastic; reevaluation is recommended.
Mild, Moderate, or Severe: Dysplastic ratings describing increasing joint abnormalities.
Elbows use a different scale. Normal is the passing result. Grades I, II, and III are dysplastic ratings, with increasing arthritic changes. A dog’s X-rays do not always reflect how comfortable or active that dog appears. (ofa.org)Screening helps us choose pairings and reduce risk, but two parents with passing joints can still produce a puppy with dysplasia. These conditions involve complex inheritance, and factors such as growth, nutrition, weight, and activity can influence their development and severity. There is no single clear/carrier/affected DNA test that rules them out. OFA evaluates the parents’ actual joint structure; results from relatives provide additional information about inherited risk.
- Cardiac Screening- Our breeding dogs receive cardiac screening through our veterinarian. We have always included basic cardiac evaluations and, over the past year, have expanded our screening to include more echocardiograms.An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart that provides information beyond what can be heard with a stethoscope. We are continuing to incorporate this additional screening into our program.
-Eye Examinations- Our breeding dogs receive eye examinations by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist. DNA testing can identify certain inherited risks, but it cannot detect every eye condition. These examinations allow a specialist to evaluate the eyes directly and identify abnormalities a DNA panel may miss.
-Patella Evaluations- Our dogs also receive veterinary patella examinations to check the stability of their kneecaps. Patellar luxation occurs when the kneecap slips out of its normal position. This evaluation adds another piece to our assessment of each dog’s orthopedic health.
-Comprehensive Genetic Testing- All of our breeding dogs are DNA tested through Embark. Its comprehensive panel screens for more than 270 genetic health conditions, including conditions associated with Labradors and variants found in other breeds. It also provides information about ancestry, genetic diversity, and physical traits. Testing broadly gives us useful information, although not every variant has the same significance in every breed. (embarkvet.com, embarkvetofficial.com)Some of the Labrador conditions we screen for include EIC, CNM, prcd-PRA, HNPK, macular corneal dystrophy, Stargardt disease, skeletal dysplasia, and copper-associated genetic risks. The panel also covers conditions affecting the heart, nervous system, muscles, blood, kidneys, liver, skin, and other body systems.What do the results mean?
Clear: The tested disease-associated variant was not detected. This does not rule out every possible cause of that disease.
Carrier: This means one copy of a recessive disease variant was detected. For recessive conditions, carriers are unaffected but can pass the variant to their puppies so need to be bred to a mate that is clear.
At Risk: This means both parents carried the gene and produced a puppy with a condition. It is not always a diagnosis or a guarantee that symptoms will develop, but why parents should always be tested to make sure an affected puppy is never produced.
We consider the specific condition and its inheritance when planning each pairing.
-Our Commitment- We look at each dog’s health results alongside temperament, structure, pedigree, and family history. Testing helps us make informed decisions, and we continue adding useful screenings as our program grows.We cannot promise that a puppy will never have a health issue. No breeder honestly can. What we can promise is that we take these decisions seriously, and have done everything we can to prevent many of them and guarantee our pups will be free of the 270 conditions that Embark tests for.