HEALTH | Gochee Labs

Health testing IS necessary!

OFA Hips/ PennHIP: Hip dysplasia is one of the most common health issues with Labradors..one of the many health tests our dogs achieve prior to breeding is an OFA scores of "Fair", "Good" or "Excellent" or PennHIP scores at or below breed average. This helps ensure that the puppies we produce have the best chance of living a life unaffected by hip dysplasia.
- What causes Hip Dysplasia? Watch the video
OFA Elbows: OFA reports just over 10% of Labradors suffer from elbow dysplasia. Like hip dysplasia, this is a painful joint disease with a partially genetic link. Our dogs must receive a OFA Normal Elbow rating at 2+ years old to enter our breeding program.
OFA CEAR/CERF: Veterinary Ophthalmologists screen our dog's eyes for eye diseases and abnormalities that DNA tests are not advanced enough to catch. Our dogs must receive a OFA Normal or Normal with Breeder Option to enter our program.
OFA Cardiac: Echocardiograms are one of the least performed health testes on Labradors, though that is the only way to test for cardiac abnormalities such as TVD. Why is this? This test is difficult to find as it can only be done by a veterinary cardiologists, AND it costs more that all of the tests listed above combined!
Full DNA Panel - Details below!
Dilute (DD) Clear - All purebred Labradors will be dilute clear! Our dogs are from dilute clear lines and DNA tested clear.

DNA testing...There IS a difference!

AKC DNA Profiling is for parentage verification purposes only. Most breeders claim to DNA test, leading you to believe it's for the health of the puppies. Reality is they are DNA profile testing because AKC requires it for a frequently used stud. It does not provide information regarding genetic health, conformation, performance ability, coat color, etc. AKC DNA isn't even a breed identification test. It ONLY confirms parentage if the sire and dam also have DNA on file.

DNA GENETIC TESTING is a reliable way of determining a dog’s genotype and screening for possible genetic disorders. Many of these disorders are recessive, meaning that a dog can be a carrier of a potentially devastating disease and not show any signs. Testing for disease-causing genes allows the breeder to avoid breeding dogs that could result in puppies affected with known genetic mutations.

We DNA test using the full Embark, Paw Print or DDC panel, which includes common genetic issues in Labrador Retrievers. The DNA test looks specifically for recessive genes that affected dogs inherit from healthy-looking parents who had, somewhere in their pedigree, a sire or dam that has passed down the problematic recessive gene. You can't look at a dog and tell if it has mutated genes.

Note: These tests are NOT a guarantee you will never have other health issues with your dog. There are an unending number of health issues that could affect your puppy over the course of its life. No other health guarantee is expressed or implied.

Check out the following videos to understand the importance of DNA testing.

How DNA issues occur? Watch the video

What is EIC? Watch the video

What is CNM? Watch the video

Dog families, future dog families and Labrador enthusiasts, please, please take the time to read through the articles below. They are very through and contain valuable information that we have spent many hours researching and putting together to make sure everyone has the opportunity to learn more about Labradors. If one of these links are broken, or their is another topic that needs to be covered, please let us know.