Costs of health testing
You may occasionally hear of breeders who do not do health tests or who test minimally. Some of these indicate there are no problems in their lines so there is no reason for it. Others will say that health testing is unnecessary and simply too expensive so they do not do it. Others do the bare minimum also indicating it is too expensive to test more extensively. Some breeders do the tests but don't bother to certify, usually stating cost as the reason. For those who think it is unnecessary, who are they kidding? No line is 100% free of problems. The bottom line is, if you don't test, you don't know. For those who indicate the cost as being prohibitive, let's explore that further. Just how expensive is it really?
If you just start with
basics such as the recommended tests for the Havanese
breed as outlined by the Canine Health Information
Center (CHIC), that would include a patella check, an
eye exam, a hearing test and a hip evaluation. I have done all of these basic health
tests plus a few extra, so here is an example of actual
costs. This is just an example. The costs of these tests can vary somewhat between clinics and areas of the country.
The cost of certification with OFA (Orthopedic
Foundation for
Animals) has been included as I feel
this is an important step of the health testing
process.
Basic Health testing
4 Tests for CHIC requirements
| Hearing Test - BAER | Can be done after 8 weeks of age | $80.00 |
| BAER certification for hearing | Results sent to OFA for certification | $15.00 |
| Routine Exam with Patella check (12mo) | Checked by your own veterinarian | $60.00 |
| Patella Certification (over 12 months) | Exam results sent to OFA for certification | $15.00 |
| Eye Test (annual) | Eye exam by a veterinary ophthalmologist | $50.00 |
| Eye Certification (CERF) | Results sent to OFA for certification | $15.00 |
| Hip Xray and exam | X-rayed by your own veterinarian | $300.00 |
| Hip Certification | X-ray will be read by three radiologists and an OFA hip grade assigned. | $35.00 |
| Total | $570.00 |
A few additional tests were also done.
During the routine physical exam, our veterinarian also
did a cardiac exam by asculation (no additional charge).
The exam was submitted to OFA for certification at a
cost of $15.00 (dog must be at least 12 months of age
for cardiac certification). At the same time as the Hip
examination was done, an elbow evaluation was also done.
This is a good time to check elbows as the cost of
adding on to an existing procedure is much less than
doing two procedures separately. The Hip exam cost
appears high; but keep in mind that this includes
chemical sedation often recommended for proper
positioning, the radiograph plates, the procedure itself
and a submission charge. An extra plate for X-ray cost
us about $60.00. The fee for elbow certification, when
sent in with hips, is only an additional $5.00. The dog
must be at least 24 months of age for elbow
certification. A certification request for LCP (Legg
Calve Perthes) was sent in at the same time. This can
be read from the same X-ray as hips, and so there is no
additional charge for certification when they are sent
in together or if the LCP is subsequently requested from
an existing Hip X-ray. OFA is only one option for hip
evaluation, OVC, GDC, and Penn Hip are others. The costs
for our additional three tests were only $80. This total
cost of approximately $650 covered the 4 tests required for Havanese
to be assigned a CHIC number (CERF, BAER, Hips and
Patellas), the annual recertification for eyes and also
included the additional tests of Cardiac, Elbows and
LCPD. As noted above, prices can vary
depending on your location and veterinary clinic but this may still give you a general idea. Costs
for individual tests may also be lower or higher when
done at designated clinics. Certification costs are
fixed but do occasionally have small increases.
Not everyone chooses to certify their health tests. Why Not? The cost od certification is really not that high and there is significant value in certification. You get a certificate of proof that the health tests were done and the test results can be accessed publicly for verification which is helpful for serious puppy inquiries and for anyone doing breed research. It is also much easier to send a certification number which can be verified rather than having to find and scan in results from forms that may be difficult to read or understand. To me, not certifying is like skipping the final step.
Eye test certification is only good for a period of one year so this test needs to be done annually. A yearly routine physical exam is wise. It may also be a good idea to check patellas and have a cardiac asculation done at every routine physical exam. The basic health testing on one breeding dog plus 5-6 years of ongoing testing and re-certification where appropriate still adds up to significantly less than the selling price of one single pet/companion puppy! Additional testing if desired beyond the basics will come at additional cost, but even so, the total costs of health testing are not nearly as exorbitant as some would have you believe.
Testing cannot eliminate all problems but does contribute to minimizing them. The health of future generations of Havanese may depend on it. Can you afford to health test? The real question may be "can you afford not to?"