Lab Health Screening
Lab Tests – What do they mean?
- Understanding your pet’s lab tests,WSU College of Veterinary Medicine (2022)
- Medical definitions, Linda Aronson, DVM
- Urinalysis, what it means, Linda Aronson, DVM
- Blood tests and their meaning, Linda Aronson, DVM
Health Screening Tests
Health screening tests are used prebreeding to minimize or prevent health issues in progeny. Owners may test future performance competition dogs to assure that the activity won’t make a pre-existing condition worsen (e.g., dysplasias).
BeaCon’s open health registry dog represent many countries; the most are from the US and the UK. Frequency of health screening testing in this population is shown in the figure below:
BCCA CHIC (Canine Health Information Center with OFA)
Health Screening Recommendations
- Hip evaluation (X-ray reading by OFA, BVA, FCI; Penn-Hip)
- Eye examination by AVCO (American Veterinary College of Ophthalmologists) yearly
- Thyroid (complete thyroid panel yearly until age of 5, then yearly; to rule out autoimmune thyroidits
- Elbow evaluation, optional (X-ray reading)
Genetic Tests
- Understanding modes of inheritance (2020)
- MDR-1 Mutation, Linda Aronson, DVM. Report of 97 Beardies tested at the 1996 BCCA National Specialty. Of 96 good samples, all were negative for the mutation. Additionally, 71 dogs in BeaCon’s open health registry were also negative for the mutation.
- MDR-1 Testing, What You Need to Know. Today’s Veterinary Nurse, 2017
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- CEA (Collie Eye Anomaly/Choroidal Hypoplasia). CEA is a recessively inherited eye disorder that causes abnormal development of the choroid, a layer in the eye beneath the retina. It is detectable by eye exam only in the first few months before developing pigmentation of the retina obscures the choroid. Clinically, the signs are variable ranging from minimal visual problem to malformations of the optic nerve or eye (e.g., coloboma), retinal detachment, intraocular bleeding, and subsequent blindness. Both mild and severe forms are associated with a mutation in the same gene, NHEJ1. Predicting severity of the disease in an affected puppy is difficult. After a Kennel Club registered Beardie in the UK was identified as affected, CEA testing was begun in the UK.
- CEA carrier rates in different groups have been documented with use of the CEA test or parentage history
- PawPrints anonymous testing – number dogs = 191 (supported by BeaCon, BCCA, BOW calendar crew).
- Carrier – 15 (12.4%)
- Normal – 176 (87.6%)
- Affected – none
- The BCCA partnership program at Embark in 2019. 168 Beardies tested by late 2019 (no recent reports):
- Carriers – 6 (3.6%)
- Normal – 162 (96.4%)
- Affected – none
- OFA database. 66 tested; all with normal (April 2025)
- BeaCon’s health registry (April 2025). 266 CEA tested/reported.
- 255 clear by DNA test or parentage, or are carriers. All but 1 had blood tests (the other was on semen).
- Carriers – 4.0% (number of dogs = 11)
- PawPrints anonymous testing – number dogs = 191 (supported by BeaCon, BCCA, BOW calendar crew).