What to Know About Health Disorder Testing

Health disorder testing is mandatory for any responsible dog breeder. We follow best practices in testing and clearances, certify five different structural areas through OFA and PennHIP, MRI clear as advisable against CM and SM in our Golden Cavapoos, and use three different DNA laboratories for maximum accuracy.

Like people or any other animal, all dogs have a risk for hereditary health disorders. Testing helps to identify and reduce or eliminate the chances of our Doodles developing those risks that can be found through physical exam, veterinary imaging, or DNA. 

Veterinary science is constantly advancing in this area and we add new testing as soon as it becomes available.

In addition, by avoiding the inbreeding prevalent in most purebred dogs, we are able to significantly reduce the risk of hereditary disorders in our Doodles.

Our parent dogs are tested for both structural disorders and DNA disorders before we breed them.

Our litters are DNA tested and results are available by the time they are 7 weeks old, before Pick Day.

Our comprehensive health disorder testing and our 4 year health warranty give you peace of mind for the life of your Doodle.

We test and OFA and PennHIP certify against the following disorders, which are not detectable through DNA:

Eyes are examined by a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist to confirm the dog is free from ten different hereditary eye disorders. Additional disorders if identified are also recorded. The results are sent to OFA and certified. We retest every 12 months until our dogs retire from breeding, and then every 24 months.

Hips are x rayed for signs of hip dysplasia, which is often hereditary in dogs. These x rays are sent to OFA and evaluated by three board certified veterinary radiologists, who grade the x rays. OFA passing hip grades are: Excellent, Good, and Fair.

A final OFA grade requires the dog to be at least 24 months old, but preliminary x rays can be evaluated earlier with a very high rate of accuracy. We always follow up with any needed final x ray.

We also send our hip x rays to PennHIP for additional evaluation for hip joint laxity. PennHIP provides results that show whether the dog has greater or lesser laxity than the average for its breed(s), which helps in making good breeding decisions.

Elbows are x rayed for signs of elbow dysplasia, and sent to OFA for evaluation and certification. A final grade requires the dog to be at least 24 months old, but preliminary x rays can be evaluated earlier. We always follow up with any needed final x ray.

Patellas are examined by our veterinarian and the findings are sent to OFA for certification. Patellas do not require an x ray, a veterinarian can determine by manual examination whether there is any degree of luxation (a knee cap that moves or can be moved from its normal position).

The results of this exam are sent to OFA for certification.

Hearts are tested by our veterinarian using auscultation for our Goldendoodles, and by a board certified cardiologist using echocardiogram for our Golden Cavapoos. 

The results of these exams are sent to OFA for certification, and we retest every 12 months until our dogs retire from breeding, and then every 24 months.

Part of the health disorder screening for our Golden Cavapoos can include MRI scans for Chiari-like Malformations (CM) and Syringomyelia (SM). CM is a skull malformation that can lead to serious health issues including SM, a progressive neurological disease that causes fluid to fill in cavities in the spinal cord near the brain.

Purebred Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have a brachycephalic skull shape with short and wide cranial proportions, making them susceptible to these disorders.

One of our primary goals with our Golden Cavapoos is breeding for a healthy skull shape with help from our Goldendoodles. Poodles have a dolichocephalic skull shape - long muzzle, long and narrow cranial proportions, and Golden Retrievers have a mesocephalic skull shape - medium muzzle length and intermediate cranial proportions.

We work closely with a board certified veterinary neurologist and determine whether it is advisable for each of our dogs with Cavalier ancestry to undergo an MRI scan to rule out CM and SM.

If the dog has brachycephalic (or borderline) skull proportions, we will MRI to confirm they are clear of SM & CM once they are physically mature (generally after 18 months).

Embark tests for parent breed percentages, and for some aspects of coat type (see our Animal Genetics section for more accurate and detailed coat type testing), for patterns and colors, and for affected or carrier status for a number of hereditary health disorders.

Petite Goldendoodle DNA Health Panel tests for: Degenerative Myelopathy; Chondrodystrophy and Intervertebral Disc Disease, CDDY/IVDD, Type I IVDD (Linkage Test Only - see our UC Davis section for more accurate direct testing); Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome; Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa; GM2 Gangliosidosis; GR-Progressive Retinal Atrophy 1 & 2; Ichthyosis ICH1 and ICH2; Muscular Dystrophy; Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures; Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis 5; Osteochondrodysplasia, Skeletal Dwarfism; Osteogenesis Imperfecta Brittle Bone Disease; Progressive Retinal Atrophy, prcd; Retina Dysplasia and/or Optic Nerve Hypoplasia; Von Willebrand Disease Type I.

Petite Golden Cavapoo DNA Health Panel tests for everything on the Goldendoodle Panel, plus: Congenital Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca and Ichthyosiform Dermatosis; Episodic Falling Syndrome; Medium-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency.

Embark provides results for 250+ genetic risk factors at this time, but only those listed above affect Goldendoodles and Golden Cavapoos.

CDDY is a genetic marker for Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD), which causes an increased risk of disc herniation in dogs. Disc problems are fortunately not common in Doodles, even when CDDY is present, but this is not a desirable genetic trait in any breed.

The availability of direct testing CDDY is fairly new, and like all responsible breeders, we are diligently working to identify and reduce (and in time, eliminate) the incidence of CDDY and IVDD in our dogs.

CDPA is a separate marker that identifies a dwarfism mutation in dogs (sometimes found in Toy Poodles, resulting in shorter legs). We do not consider CDPA a desirable trait in our Doodles, and make it a priority to breed away from it.

Our Goldendoodles and Golden Cavapoos have an advantage over purebred Poodles and Cavaliers because the outcross to a nearly CDDY/CDPA-free breed like the Golden Retriever gives us a boost towards our goal and helps us avoid a serious reduction in our available gene pools that would only lead to more, and potentially much worse, problems.

We use UC Davis VGL Laboratories to directly test our puppies for CDDY and CDPA except in cases where both parents are 100% clear of both markers, meaning they do not have the ability to pass along either trait to their puppies.

Hair Curl (1-2) and Hair Furnishings (1-2) Tests to determine the exact coat type you can expect in your Doodle. Animal Genetics testing for these coat traits has greater depth and accuracy than the basic Embark testing for Curl and Furnishings.

Hair Curl (1-2) - Curl is just what it sounds like - the degree to which a Doodle's coat curls affects their looks and also how they are best groomed. Our Doodles' coats are either Curly (tight curls), Wavy (loose curls), or Straight.

Hair Furnishings (1-2) - Furnishings are what give Doodles that adorable fuzzy face with eyebrows, beard, and mustache.

Furnishings are also what give Doodles their very low shedding coats. A Doodle with two furnishing genes or "fully furnished" will be almost non-shedding like Poodles; a Doodle with one furnishing gene will be low shedding; a Doodle with no furnishing genes will shed like the non-poodle breeds in their ancestry.

Our Ideal Coat - We breed for a straight or wavy coat with full furnishings.

This coat makes a Doodle almost non-shedding and easier to groom, with the classic Doodle eyebrows, mustache, and beard, and offers maximum benefit to those with allergies.