OFA Health Testing Explained: What Every Puppy Buyer Should Ask

The breeder told you the parents were "health tested." You felt reassured. You paid $3,500, brought home your puppy, and loved that dog for three years — until the lameness started. The diagnosis: severe hip dysplasia. The surgery estimate: $8,000. The bitter truth: "health tested" doesn't mean what most buyers think it means.

This happens thousands of times a year. Not because buyers are naive — because the term "health tested" is used loosely, inconsistently, and sometimes deceptively. Here's how to cut through it.

What OFA Actually Is

The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals was founded in 1966 to address the epidemic of hip dysplasia in dogs. It has since become the world's largest database of canine health screening results — covering hips, elbows, eyes, hearts, thyroid, and dozens of genetic conditions across hundreds of breeds.

When a breeder says "OFA tested," they mean the dog was evaluated and the results submitted to — and searchable on — the OFA database at ofa.org. That's the critical part: the results must be publicly submitted and searchable. A vet visit that produced paperwork that stayed in a folder? That's not OFA testing. That's a piece of paper.

The Difference Between "Tested" and "Clear"

A dog can be OFA tested and still have problems. OFA testing produces a grade — for hips, that grade ranges from Excellent to Fair (passing) to Mild/Moderate/Severe dysplasia (failing). A breeder who tested and got a borderline result may still breed that dog. Buyers who don't look up the actual grade don't know this happened.

"Health tested" can mean "we ran a test." It can also mean "we ran a test and got excellent results." These are very different things. The only way to know which is true is to look up the dog's name on the OFA database yourself — before you send money.

The OFA database is public, free to search, and takes about 90 seconds. There is no excuse for a buyer not to check it directly.

Breed-Specific Tests That Matter

Every breed has a different disease profile. The tests that matter for a Labrador are not the same as the tests that matter for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Labs need OFA hip and elbow evaluations, plus EIC (Exercise-Induced Collapse) and PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) genetic testing. Cavaliers need cardiac evaluation by a board-certified cardiologist — specifically the MVD (Mitral Valve Disease) protocol — plus syringomyelia/Chiari-like Malformation MRI screening.

A breeder who says their Cavalier is "health tested" but only ran hip X-rays has done essentially nothing relevant to the diseases that actually devastate the breed. The testing has to match the breed's actual risk profile.

How to Verify Before You Commit

Step one: ask for the registered names of both parents. Every OFA-tested dog has a registered name in the database — not just a call name.

Step two: search ofa.org for both parents. Look at the specific grades, not just whether results appear. Look at when the tests were performed — outdated tests on dogs that have since been bred extensively tell you less.

Step three: ask what breed-specific tests were performed beyond hips and elbows. For most breeds, there are additional genetic or cardiac panels that responsible programs run. If the breeder doesn't know what those tests are, that's your answer.

A breeder who has done the work wants you to check. They'll give you the registered names without hesitation. Hesitation here is a signal.