what are the health tests needed for staffy bull terriers? I know hips and eyes are the main 2 but what others should we have done? my partner and I would like to breed our dogs when they are older, we have a 12 month bitch and a 10 month dog, at what age can we get them tested and how much does it cost? do you organise it through the vet or how does it work?
what happens if you get a bad score? does it still go on your certificate?

If you look at your youngsters reistraion certificates the results of their parents hip and eye tests shoudl be listed under their names.  If there is nothing there then they haven't been tested, adn it is therefore even more imperative that yorus are tested.

for eye tests you need to go to a BVA panel Opthalmologist.  there is a set scale of charges.  For just one dog it is around £30, but cheper if you go to a group session.  These are usually organised by breed clubs or show societies/ttraining classes.  One of the conditions tested for only needs a once in a lifetime certificate but the other needs a yearly certificate.

Hips are scored by the KC/BVA panel of othopaedic experts at a Cost of £29.80, but the z-rays are taken by your own vet, and the charges vary (I payed £140 on 28th Feb 05).

The results will be recorded at the KC on your dogs records, and appear on the pups registraion certs.

Also it is very unlikely that your own dog will be the perfect mate for your bitch, you would be very lucky if they were.

If the bitches breeder is reputablew and knowledgeable (contacting the bred clubs will tell youif they are known among breed experts) then they will be best placed to advise you if your bitch is likely to be good enough to be bred from.

As for the dog the same applies though breeders are unlikley to want to use a dog unless they see him in the ring to assess his qualities agains the competition.

In your shoes I would get them shown and assesses for quality first, and iof they are good enough then get them health tested.  Also check if they have restrictions on their registrations and contact the breeders to see under which conditions they are wiling to lift these (usually good health test results and ring success).

Good luck with yoru research over the next year or so.  I would also advise joining the Ntional and neares regional breed club.  Ask to buy back issues of their publications for the past 10 years or so to begin your research into the pups bloodlines and health history.