Health Testing for Pembroke Corgis

It is so important in our breed to make sure you get puppies from parents that had proper health testing! There are so many things that plague our breed. Here is a break-down of some health issues in Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

Required Testing:

OFA Hips (Or PennHip)
OFA Eyes
Dm
vWD1
EIC

Recommended/Extra Testing

OFA Elbows
OFA Heart
OFA Patellas
OFA Dentition
HUU
Fluff

OFA Testing

Information on Tests: 

Hip Dysplasia: Hip dysplasia usually develops from an abnormal hip joint. It can be caused from genetic issues or from trauma to the joint. There are multiple genes that are working together for good joints, making it tough as two passing parents can potentially throw a dysplasic puppy. A vet x-rays the hip joint and sends the films off for evaluation and a score. 1 vet scores a "prelimary test" (age 12-23 months) and 3 vets evaluate the films for "final" scoring. (Must be 24 months of age or older for a final score.) OFA Scores PASSING hips with a Excellent, Good or Fair rating. All of these ratings are passing scores with no hip dysplasia present. OFA FAILING hips are scored as mild, moderate and severe. 

Hips can also be tested with the PennHip testing as well. They use multiple films to get measurements of the hip joints. They will test puppies starting at 16 weeks old.   

Eye Certification: Dogs must be evaluated by a veterinarian opthalmologist for genetic conditions of the eye. They will receive a CAER exam. Vet will decide if the eyes are clear from any issues and if there is a problem (such as a cataract) if it is genetic or not.

​Elbow Dysplasia: Elbow dysplasia is a term used to describe a polygentic disease in the elbow. There are multiple ways they can be dysplasic. A vet will take x-rays and submit them to OFA for a pass/fail score of their elbows.

​​Cardiac Disease:  Dogs will need to be evaluated by a veterinarian cardiologist or practitioner. They will determine if the dog has a heart murmur or other heart issues. 

Patellas Luxation: The patella is part of the stifle joint (knee cap). With Patella Luxation, the kneecap will pop out of place. Generally more of an issue in smaller breeds, but is seen in breeds of all sizes and can happen in dogs of any breed.

​Dentition: They check to see if the dog has full dentition (if they have all the teeth they should have) or if they are missing teeth. They don't take into account bite at this time, but you want a scissor bite in corgis. Over or under bites are not ideal. 
Please visit ofa.og for a more in depth explanation of all of these diseases. They are a great resource to learn about health testing. You can also research testing of specific dogs on their website by typing in their registered name or number. It will pull up any testing that has been submitted and is available to the public.
https://www.ofa.org/

Genetic Testing

All of these diseases take TWO copies of the disease in order for the dog to be affected and have any symptoms of the disease. A single copy (also known as a "carrier") will not have any symptoms or be at risk of developing the disease.
  • Degenerative myelopathy (DM): a neurological progressive disease of the spinal cord.
  • Von Willebrand's disease type 1 (vWD1): an inherited bleeding disorder that inhibits normal clotting process.
  • Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC): a genetic disorder that causes affected dogs to lose muscle control after prolonged exercise. 
  • Hyperuricosuria (HUU): a genetic mutation that causes them to metabolize waste products as uric acid in their urine. The uric acid forms into hard stones in the bladder. 
For more information on any of these diseases, please visit Animal Genetics for a more in depth explanation. https://www.animalgenetics.us/Home.shtml

Here are a list of labs that are trustworthy and reliable for genetic testing. We personally use Animal Genetics for our testing.