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Why this page exists
Two German Shepherd puppies can look identical at eight weeks and cost 900 dollars and 3,200 dollars. The visible difference is nothing. The actual difference is whether anyone screened the parents for the conditions this breed reliably carries.
Hip dysplasia surgery starts near 4,000 dollars per side. Degenerative myelopathy has no cure and ends in paralysis. Both are testable before a breeding ever happens, which is why a breeder who skips testing is transferring a risk to you rather than saving you money.
Hips and elbows
The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals reads hip and elbow radiographs and issues a rating. Final certification comes at 24 months, since joints are still developing before that. European equivalents such as the SV a-stamp and the FCI scheme are used on imported dogs and are equally valid.
| Hip rating | Meaning | Breedable |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent | Superior conformation | Yes |
| Good | Well formed, within normal limits | Yes |
| Fair | Minor irregularities, still normal | Yes, paired thoughtfully |
| Borderline | Inconclusive, retest later | Not until resolved |
| Mild, Moderate, Severe | Dysplastic | No |
Elbows are graded Normal, or Grade I, II, or III for degrees of dysplasia. Normal is the only passing result. Elbow dysplasia gets less attention than hips and causes just as much lameness, so ask for both.
Degenerative myelopathy
DM is a progressive spinal cord disease with no cure. It typically appears after eight years, starts as hind end weakness and loss of coordination, and ends in paralysis. It is painless, which is small comfort while it takes the dog apart.
A simple cheek swab DNA test returns one of three results. Clear means two normal copies. Carrier means one copy, and the dog will not develop DM. At risk means two copies, and the dog may develop it.
Because the inheritance is recessive, a carrier bred to a clear dog produces zero at risk puppies. Carriers are not a problem in a breeding program. Ignorance is. A breeder who has not tested cannot tell you whether they just bred carrier to carrier.
The wider genetic panel
Beyond DM, a standard breed panel screens for a set of heritable conditions at once, and running one costs a fraction of treating any single condition on it. Ask which panel was used and ask to see the report rather than a summary.
A cardiac evaluation is worth asking about too, since congenital heart defects do occur in the breed and an auscultation by a veterinarian is inexpensive.
How to read and verify a certificate
An OFA certificate carries the dog registered name, its registration number, the evaluation date, and the rating. Match that registered name against the pedigree you were given, because a certificate belonging to a different dog is a real trick and it works more often than it should.
OFA results are searchable in a public database, so you can confirm them yourself without asking the breeder for anything further. Do that before you send money rather than after.
The red flags, in order of how often you will meet them
Vet checked offered in place of testing. Our lines have never had a problem, which is an anecdote rather than a screen. Testing is too expensive, which means the cost was moved onto you. We will send the paperwork later, which usually means never.
Papers available on request, then unavailable on request. And a pedigree the breeder will not let you verify in a public database, which is the single clearest signal to walk.
A dog with marginal hips struggles more here than in a cooler state. Summer already restricts exercise to early morning and after dark, so a dog that is also sore loses most of its conditioning window. Sound joints matter more in a climate that limits when you can work the dog.
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On This Page
Working line litters from health tested DDR and Czech parents, placed from a waitlist. Free to join.
Common Questions
Health testing questions
Is a vet check the same as health testing?
No, and the confusion costs people thousands. A vet check confirms a puppy is currently healthy: heart sounds normal, no hernia, eyes clear, appropriate weight. Health testing screens the PARENTS for heritable disease before breeding, using x rays read by a specialist panel and DNA analysed in a lab. A breeder who answers a testing question with vet checked has answered a different question.
Can you test hips on a puppy?
Not definitively. OFA issues final hip and elbow certification at 24 months, because the joints are still forming before then. Preliminary films can be taken earlier and they are indicative rather than final. This is exactly why you evaluate the PARENTS rather than the puppy in front of you.
Is a carrier for degenerative myelopathy a problem?
Not by itself. DM follows a recessive pattern, so a carrier bred to a clear dog produces no affected puppies. What matters is that the breeder knows both parents statuses and pairs them deliberately. Carrier bred to carrier is the pairing to avoid, and a breeder who has not tested cannot know which they are doing.
What does OFA Fair actually mean?
Fair is a passing score. It means the hip conformation is within normal limits, just less ideal than Good or Excellent. A Fair to Good pairing from proven working lines is a reasonable breeding decision. Borderline and any dysplastic grade are not passing, and a breeder using a dysplastic dog should be able to explain exactly why, or you keep looking.
Does health testing guarantee a healthy dog?
No, and nothing does. Testing shifts the odds substantially in your favour and removes the known heritable risks that are cheap to screen for. Environment, growth rate, nutrition, and exercise during the first eighteen months all affect joint outcomes too. Testing is necessary rather than sufficient.
Upcoming litters from documented working lines
Our recommended breeder is Companion Kennels, a small program breeding East German DDR and Czech working lines with published health testing and verifiable pedigrees. Litters are limited and placed from a waitlist.