08/13/2026
REGISTERED DOES NOT MEAN HEALTH TESTED
When people buy a registered dog, they often automatically assume the parents have been health tested.
Wrong.
When people see someone advertising themselves as a “registered breeder,” they often assume that means the breeder has been approved, inspected, or certified as producing well-bred, properly health-tested dogs.
Wrong again.
There is no such thing as a “registered breeder” in the same sense that a dog is registered. Dogs are registered. A breeder may register dogs and litters with a recognized kennel club, but that does not automatically certify the breeder's breeding practices or mean the breeding dogs have completed all recommended health testing.
Registration and health testing are two very different things.
Before a Standard Poodle is bred, prospective puppy buyers should be asking what health testing has been completed on both the sire and the dam — and they should be able to see the actual results.
For Standard Poodles, comprehensive health testing should include:
• Hips — evaluated through OFA or another recognized hip evaluation program
• Eyes — examined by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist
• Heart — a proper cardiac evaluation; an echocardiogram performed by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist provides a much more thorough assessment
• Thyroid — appropriate thyroid testing
• DNA testing — for inherited conditions relevant to Standard Poodles, including von Willebrand disease (vWD) and Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures (NEwS)
And here's something every puppy buyer needs to understand:
A DNA panel is NOT the same thing as complete health testing.
A dog can be “clear” on a DNA panel and still never have had its hips evaluated, its eyes examined, its heart properly assessed, or its thyroid tested.
🚩 NEVER ACCEPT THIS ANSWER:
“My lines have no health issues.”
No responsible breeder can guarantee that an entire bloodline has no health issues. A breeder's experience with their lines does not replace appropriate health testing.
If someone tells you, “I don't need to health test because my lines have never had any problems,” ask yourself:
How do they know if they aren't testing?
Health testing isn't about claiming that your dogs are perfect. It's about gathering objective information, making responsible breeding decisions, and doing everything reasonably possible to reduce the risk of inherited disease in future generations.
Don't be afraid to ask:
“Can I see the health-testing results for BOTH parents?”
Don't just accept, “Yes, they're health tested.” Ask to see the documentation.
A registration certificate tells you that a dog is registered.
It does not, by itself, tell you that the dog is healthy, properly health tested, structurally sound, or responsibly bred.
Registered does not mean health tested.
Registered does not mean well bred.
And “registered breeder” should never replace doing your homework.
Ask questions. Verify the results. Know what you are buying.
The health of the next generation starts long before the puppies are born.
Renabar Poodles
