top of page

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 genetic screenings of their program dogs.  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 (cardiac and hip in goldens, and patella issues in Poms). We have recently added in OFA testing to ensure we are levelling up our program and continuing to better the breeds we raise and love.

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 *NEW*

To Level UP : We've added in OFA testing to our breeding programs as well as basepaws testing for our Ragdoll Program. 

 

Our Pomeranians are going through through OFA  testing for Patella’s and Basic Cardiac.  We follow a strict guideline in order to better our Pomeranian lineage and we will not breed anything greater than a Level 1 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.  To date I believe we are one of the only Alberta Pomeranian breeders completely any OFA testing.

 

Our Golden Retrievers  are going through OFA testing for Hips, Elbows & Basic Cardiac.  We require all our golden retriever testing to come back fair, good or excellent and/or NORMAL depending on the exam rating structure.  Please note our second generation (Alaska) will be fully tested at 24 months. All our future breeding prospects will be heavily screened starting Spring 2026.  As a breeder starting out with limited connections, my goal is to consistently better my program while acknowledging we all started somewhere. Please note, we highly recommend families research OFAs, Pennhip, etc so they have a baseline understanding of these exams.

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

Patella - Will be completed at a year

Embark- Pending (clear parents)

TILLY (DITTY) - Orange Sable

Retired 

Cardiac- PN-BCA523/40F/P-PI

Eyes- PN-EYE1084/40F-VPI

Patella - Grade 1

Embark - 

BINDI - Blue Merle

Cardiac - PN-BCA1179/27F/P-PI

Patella- PN-PA1994/27F/P-PI

Embark-  

TALLULAH (LULA)- Orange Sable (Dilute)

Cardiac - PN-BCA1178/22F/P-VPI

Patella- PN-PA1993/22F/P-VPI

Embark-  

KEELI - Cream Parti

Cardiac - CLEAR (PN PENDING)

Patella- GRADE 1 UL

Embark-  

ALASKA (PUPPY/JUNIOR)

Basic Cardiac- Will be completed at a year

Hip/Elbow- Prelims at a year January 2026

Embark -  Clear 

TENNESSEE

Cardiac- GR- BCA11065/25F/C-VPI

Hip/Elbows- REDO Radiographs scheduled for SPRING 2026

Embark -  

LOUISIANA

Cardiac - Prelim Clear

Hip/Elbows- Prelim Radiographs NO signs of hip dysplasia. elbow dysplasia 

Embark-  

Important Note Regarding 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. 

CLICK BELOW

bottom of page