How to Verify a Health-Tested Rottweiler Breeder

"Health tested" is a claim, not a credential. For Rottweilers it has a precise, verifiable meaning, and you can confirm or disprove it yourself in minutes. Here is the checklist serious buyers use.

The five tests a CHIC number requires

The American Rottweiler Club (ARC) is the AKC parent club, and its Mandatory Practices (effective October 15, 2019) prohibit any ARC member from breeding a Rottweiler born after January 1, 2008 unless both parents meet the requirements first. The first requirement is a CHIC number, which is issued only when every parent-club-required test is completed and the results are released for public review, pass or fail, on a dog permanently identified by microchip or tattoo at the time of testing.

ARC requires four health screenings plus a DNA test, all evaluated at 24 months or older:

• Hips — an OFA certification of Excellent, Good, or Fair.
• Elbows — x-rayed and recorded with OFA.
• Cardiac — a "Cardiac Normal" evaluation recorded with OFA, strongly recommended via echocardiogram by a board-certified cardiologist. This screens for subaortic stenosis (SAS), a congenital defect common in the breed that can cause sudden death or heart failure.
• Eyes (CAER) — an OFA CAER exam by an ACVO board-certified ophthalmologist, re-certified at least every three years and dated within three years before breeding.
• JLPP DNA — a genetic test for Juvenile Laryngeal Paralysis and Polyneuropathy recorded with OFA. At least one parent of every litter must be CLEAR (by DNA, by parentage, or by two DNA-clear parents). Two carriers must never be bred together.

How to look it up yourself, free

Go to ofa.org, use Search OFA Records, and enter the dog's AKC registered name or registration number. The record lists hip, elbow, cardiac, eye, and DNA results and displays a CHIC number if the dog is CHIC-qualified. Advanced Search also accepts OFA number, CHIC number, or kennel name. Do this for both parents. Our breeding program page explains why we publish ours.

Critical nuance: a CHIC number does not mean the dog passed. OFA states plainly that the number "does not imply normal test results, only that all the required breed specific tests were performed and the results made publicly available." A dog can hold a CHIC number with abnormal findings. Read the actual results, not just the number.

Red flags

• No CHIC number, or results that aren't in the OFA database. Only normal results post automatically; a missing test in the record is itself a reason to ask why.
• "Vet checked" or "health guaranteed" used in place of OFA certifications. A routine vet exam is not a hip x-ray, an echocardiogram, or a DNA test.
• Refusal to provide registered names so you can search. OFA confirms normal results are public and advises asking the breeder for proof and reviewing both parents' bloodlines.
• Imported dogs with no OFA-recorded foreign certifications. ARC allows hips and elbows to be certified by an OFA counterpart such as ADRK, FCI, or BVA, but those must be recorded with OFA for public review and disclosed in advertising.

A breeder meeting the correct standard will hand you registered names before you ask. If the results aren't public, treat the testing as unproven.