Hello,

We are on the Border Collie puppy waiting list. What four basic health tests should we require?

Lily

this might help but hopefully others will be able to confirm if there are any that have been missed.

scroll down to the health section

https://www.champdogs.co.uk/breeds/border-collie

http://www.west-of-england-border-collie-club.org/health.html      good info here as well

It might be worth speaking to the club even if its not your area if you need to know more

Way more than 4 basic health tests
Hips(under median for the breed)
Elbows(0 only acceptable)
Clinical hearing test
Clinical eye test

Plus the full range of DNA tests or clear by parentage

the kc also have lists of recommended   tests , yes more than 4 :)

Is 'health testing' able to be done atm?

DNA tests can be done now and also eye testing clinics have started up but with like everything with vets you can't be with the dog.
Some clinics have started up on the back log of hip and elbow scoring, like Marilyn at SCI where people were cancelled in March and April, the BVA have yet to start scoring panels and they aren't sending out the BVA forms either

Should have already be done before the bitch was mated. No bitch should be bred from under 18 months of age & hips can be assessed as young as 4 months under the PennHip scheme, the BVA scheme can be done at 12 months so no excuse as we haven't been in lockdown for 6 months & DNA tests can be done at any age.

Wouldnt touch a BC that was from a dog/ bitch under 2 years as the clinical eye test cannot be done under 2.

A BAER test to certify hearing status is a must. Parent dogs should both be +/+ and puppies can be tested from 6 weeks old.

If the tests haven't been done on both parents I would walk away Lily. I think you may find breeders who show or possibly compete in agility and obedience more likely to do the health tests compared the farm type collies

Yes make sure the Sire & Dam have all their health checks carried out.

As for Elbows - we picked a line with excellent health scoring and 0 elbows, but for some reason our bitch has 2 elbows and her sister (owned by others)! We followed every rule, no running up and down stairs, no long walks & watching how she jumped around playing.

I questioned the vet about this and I was told ''you can have a perfectly healthy sire/dam and generation, but you can never guarantee you one of the offspring with perfect health/elbows etc.''

So I am just making it aware to you, just because you select a line with perfect scoring, don't build your hopes up to the offspring having clear scores.

Maybe not nothing with genetics is guaranteed but if u do choose a line from dogs with good scores u stack things in your favour