Health Tests

​DNA

Each puppy being considered for our breeding program has their DNA tested.  We swab their mouth and send the sample to Embark for analysis.  We test our puppies for over 200 diseases and use these results to make choices about who this puppy can be bred to

 

Elbows

At around a year old we screen our potential puppies for Elbow dysplasia.   Then again, once the puppy has finished growing at 2 years of age we do a final screening.  To be a part of our breeding program each puppy must receive a normal result. All results are certified with OFA.

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Eyes

Cataracts can be common with Golden Retrievers and sometimes cannot be seen until later in age.  Therefore, we screen our dogs eyes with an eye specialist every year and the results are certified with OFA.

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Hearts

one of the traits that Golden Retrievers are screened for is their heart.  A dog can develop a murmur any time in their life so we screen our Goldens everyone.  Our Goldens love to visit our cardiologist and have an echocardiogram done.  We believe in the echocardiogram as small murmurs could be missed just by auscultation.

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Hip Dysplasia

This is another big one for Golden Retrievers and we do our best to screen our dogs with the best method and technology there is.  Here at Ike Jon Goldens we use the PennHIP test to evaluate the hips of our dogs.  We feel that this is a more accurate evaluation than the standard because it is more objective than the OFA radiographs. The tests can be done at a younger age, allowing us to make more informed decisions about which dogs we would like in our breeding program. 

 

The Research:

• PennHIP method has strong scientific foundation as the most effective hip screening tool available for dogs. 

• Study compares PennHIP vs OFA hip dysplasia tests 

• Pioneering the Diagnosis of Canine Hip Dysplasia ​

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