Do not EVER let a breeder tell you that they don't test because they "don't need to" or "have never had any problems with that in their dogs."

Australian Cattle Dogs are a relatively healthy and long-lived breed. This does NOT mean they do not have health issues. We do not breed untested dogs at PinFire ACDs.

DEAFNESS: cattle dogs can be deaf (in one ear - unilateral - or both - bilateral). The deafness test is called a "BAER" test, and if your breeder does this test, they can easily give you a copy of the test printout for your puppy. If the sire & dam haven't been BAER tested, the pups should be. NOTE: Two full hearing parents CAN and DO have deaf or unilateral hearing pups. How deafness transmits from parents to pups is not yet fully understood. There's really no good reason to skip the BAER test for your puppy, it's painless.

HIPS/ELBOWS (dysplasia): ACDs can have bad hips, bad elbows/patellas. There are 2 main ways to check on the dog's structure, OFA or PennHIP. Ideally, both the sire and dam have been tested via one or both of these tests. Both OFA and PennHIP let you search their databases for test results.

EYESIGHT: Eyesight in dogs can be verified yearly with a CERF exam. ACDs can be (or can go) blind from PRA (progressive retinal atrophy). Sire and dam can be tested for PRA. You want to see the PRA test results for BOTH the sire and the dam.

TEETH: Cattle dogs can be missing teeth. "Full dentition" means they have all their teeth. Go ahead - open up the dog's mouth and count the teeth. There should be 42 in an adult dog. Any fewer than 42, it's not "full dentition" no matter what anybody tries to tell you, and NO, cattle dogs are not "normally missing" teeth here or there. Accidents do happen to cause teeth loss; for example, working dogs can get kicked by stock ... but pay attention if every dog your breeder has is missing teeth due to "accidents." Chances are that these dogs never had full dentition; you didn't stumble over a roomful of "unlucky" dogs.

What if you decide to buy from a breeder who does not test the sire & dam prior to breeding? Best of luck to you. You might wind up with a perfectly healthy dog. Or you might wind up with a vet magnet, or one who is in pain every single day due to bad hips, or one who goes blind by age four. You are free to decide what level of risk you enjoy and spend your money accordingly. Cattle dogs are relatively long-lived; keep that in mind.

Please download this PDF booklet for more information,
courtesy of the Central Pennsylvania Australian Cattle Dog Club.
There are additional educational materials here: CPACDC.COM