Health Testing
We cannot stress how important health testing is when purchasing from a breeder. We had a very difficult time when starting our program as many breeders avoid OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) formal testing. We try to be as transparent and open with our families in regards to our health testing and information provided by our vet on breed specific issues. Such as hips and elbows for golden retrievers and patellas for Pomeranians.
Specific Testing
Embark Genetic Testing
All our dogs are swabbed with Embark breeder kits and it is then sent to the lab in the US.
The embark test is able to screen for genetic health conditions relevant to our breed, offer clinical tools and generators for COI, and 230+ genetic variants associated with disease. It also lets us know if our unregistered lines are purebred.
Orthopedic Testing for Animals
Our Pomeranians go through OFA testing for Patellas, Basic Cardiac and CAER Eye exam. We also vet check for bite conformation. We follow a strict guideline in order to better our Pomeranian lineage and we will not breed anything greater than a Level 1 minor luxation. After speaking with several vets, toy breeds are extremely prone to patella issues. It is common for even healthy pomeranians to experience minor luxation as they age. And many times this can be environmental (jumping off the couch, running too much on uneven ground or high impact surfaces). Our goal in the next 5 years is to hold back only "NORMAL" patella breeding prospects to ensure we are beginning to correct the inherent problems of Poms.
Our Golden Retrievers go through OFA testing for Hip/Elbow, Basic Cardiac and CAER Eye exams. We require all our golden retriever testing to come back fair, good or excellent and/or NORMAL depending on the exam rating structure.
Individual Testing Results
TATER TOT (GA FEW)
Retired into Pet Home*
Cardiac - PN-BCA524/27M/P-PI
Eyes- PN-EYE976/21M-VPI
Patella - Grade 1 minor UL
Embark-
JACK (Tilly X Tater Offspring)
Junior Stud
Cardiac - Will be completed at a year
Eyes- Will be completed at a year
Patella - Will be completed at a year
Embark- Pending (clear parents)
TILLY (DITTY) - Orange Sable
Retired @ Dare to Dream Dahls
Cardiac- PN-BCA523/40F/P-PI
Eyes- PN-EYE1084/40F-VPI
Patella - Grade 1
Embark -
BINDI - Blue Merle
Cardiac - PN-BCA1179/27F/P-PI
Eyes- Pending
Patella- PN-PA1994/27F/P-PI
Embark-
TALLULAH (LULA)- Orange Sable (Dilute)
Cardiac - PN-BCA1178/22F/P-VPI
Eyes- Pending
Patella- PN-PA1993/22F/P-VPI
Embark- Awaiting Results (clear parents)
KEELI - Cream Parti
Cardiac - Will be completed at a year
Eyes- Will be completed at a year
Patella- Will be completed at a year
Embark- Awaiting Results
ALASKA (PUPPY/JUNIOR)
Basic Cardiac- Will be completed at a year
Eyes- Will be completed at a year
Hip/Elbow- Prelims at 6-8 Months (July-Sept 2025)
Embark - Pending
TENNESSEE
Basic Cardiac- GR- BCA11065/25F/C-VPI
Eyes- Pending
Hip/Elbow- Radiographs scheduled for Summer 2025
Embark -
LOUISIANA
Cardiac - Prelim Clear
Eyes- Pending
Elbows- Prelim Radiographs NO signs of hip dysplasia
Embark-
It is extremely important to note embark is 95% accurate on average for determining breed make up. Embark works with DNA Markers so sometimes dogs that are relatively close in DNA relation, may pop up. For example Tennessee's results show 6.4% Labrador Retriever yet both her parents Embark are 100% Golden Retriever. When I reached out to Embark, they mentioned that is can happen even when the dog is papered/purebred and registered. Embark cannot be used to determine breed purity.
For more info on this, we highly recommend on reading embarks Myths article as its incredibly insightful. Even as a breeder I was very surprised at some of the myths.
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Important Note Regarding Embark
