Health Testing at Apex
Every breeding prospect here at Apex Anatolians is CHIC certified (OFA/PennHIP hip evaluation AND OFA elbow evaluation).
Why?
The reasons we do both tests are outlined on the Recommended Health Testing page. Note the OFA/CHIC statement below!
When?
Dogs over 24 months of age are able to submit official Hip and Elbow radiographs to OFA for scoring and recording. All passing scores are posted publicly to OFA’s database.
Additional Testing
We also perform basic DNA profiles on all our dogs, however this is not required or pertinent to the Anatolian Shepherd Dog breed at this time. The reason we swab all our dogs is to potentially participate in ongoing canine DNA research in the future that could one day contribute to our breed and dogs as a whole.
Some of our dogs have been screened for Patellas and/or Thyroid function, though these are not required for the breed, and we have never seen an abnormal result in our dogs.
From CHIC:
The OFA, working with the breed’s parent club, recommends the following basic health screening tests for all breeding stock. Dogs meeting these basic health screening requirements will be issued Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) numbers. For CHIC certification, all results do not need to be normal, but they must all be in the public domain so that responsible breeders can make more informed breeding decisions. For potential puppy buyers, CHIC certification is a good indicator the breeder responsibly factors good health into their selection criteria. The breed specific list below represents the basic health screening recommendations. It is not all encompassing. There may be other health screening tests appropriate for this breed. And, there may be other health concerns for which there is no commonly accepted screening protocol available.
ANATOLIAN SHEPHERD DOG
Hip Dysplasia (One of the following)
Recognized Foreign Hip Registry
OFA Evaluation
PennHIP Evaluation
Elbow Dysplasia
OFA Evaluation