Recent conversations with several people expressing an interest in using my young boy as stud for their bitches have made me wonder when people decide to health test a 'potential' breeding dog...do you health test as soon as age allows or wait until you are fairly certain that you want to breed with the dog (in my case this would be in at least another 2/3 years as we will be competing in obedience from next season and it would depend on how he is working)? Should probably clarify that my answer has always been a definate NO, but it did make me wonder what the thinking was on this.... ( Im nosy lol ) :D

Hip scoring I would do at about 18 months, eyetesting is yearly, but glaucoma is a one of test which I would do at his  first adult eye test. I am assuming he has DNA clearence for TNS & CL otherwise they would be done If and when I decided his worth as a stud dog.
Edited to add I'm assumng your talking about my main breed.

We only have one recommended test which is hip scoring and I usually have this done just after a year old when age permits it.

Thanks for replying :) yes the breed is the same as yours (although he is a working bred dog) wasnt sure if I was allowed to put breed...:)

(although he is a working bred dog)

this doesn't make any difference ;-)

Might be best to start with the annual eye test as this is the cheapest test and, if he were to fail this, at least you would not have gone to further unnecessary expense.

I always DNA test as young pups (unless hereditarily clear,though testing in my main breed for a particular problem is only just becoming wider spread), then if they show continued promise, hips at about 15 months and eyes start at any point over a year. This doesn't mean I am planning to breed from any necessarily,but should they turn out well the tests are all done which helps me make the final decision. I also find it interesting to track health results. Having said that if an individual was obviously never going to be of sufficient quality to feature in my breeding programme from before the relevant age I wouldn't bother with hips etc due to the cost.

>unless hereditarily clear

I wouldn't always guarantee this either, I bought a boy in for stud last year, knowing he was pra hereditary clear, so got him FN DNA tested, then decided, just so I had correct paperwork to get him Optigen tested - he came back carrier!!!  His breeder then had her bitch tested, bought as hereditary clear - she came back AFFECTED! 

PennyGC...it makes a difference to the KC ;) I meant he was a WS rather than a BC lol :) he was a totally unplanned puppy, naughty dad (9 months old) jumped a 6 foot fence to get in with mummy (6 years old) so neither parent had been health tested...but every cloud has a silver lining as i ended up with the most perfect puppy for me :)

SharonM, that's quite worrying, I would have assumed hereditary clear meant just that! Its scary to think people who think all their health issues are clear may be breeding from affected dogs!

PennyGC...it makes a difference to the KC ;-) I meant he was a WS rather than a BC lol :-) he was a totally unplanned puppy, naughty dad (9 months old) jumped a 6 foot fence to get in with mummy (6 years old) so neither parent had been health tested...but every cloud has a silver lining as i ended up with the most perfect puppy for me :-)
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ah, well there's quite a difference between being working bred, being a WSD, a BC and also the result of an 'accident' - if the latter then the parents can be (should be) health tested after the event, but many aren't.... many WSDs are fully health tested and come with a pedigree, they  may not be eligible to go on the breed register but they aren't any less of BC for the basic loss of ISDS originally (most in obedience or working trials before breed was registered).... glad you got a lovely pup :-)

Yes, I had been searching for a pup for a while, mainly looking at obedience/ agility breeding and as you say, most of those wsd lines have long pedigrees....

some of them are now being put on the breed register thanks to the opening up of all registers by the KC :-)