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German Wirehaired Pointers are a relatively healthy breed, however the GWPCA recommends all breeding stock be health tested following the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) recommendations. Dogs who have had all recommended health tests completed and results made public will be issued a CHIC number which can be verified on the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)‘s website.

What are the benefits to health testing and having a CHIC number?

• For breeders the CHIC program provides a reliable source of information regarding dogs they may use, or wish to use, in their breeding programs. In the future, breeders can begin to analyze the pedigrees of a proposed breeding for health strengths and weaknesses as well as the traditional analysis of conformation, type, and performance strengths and weaknesses.
• For buyers the CHIC program provides accurate information about the results of a breeder’s health testing. For diseases that are limited to phenotypic evaluations, there are no guarantees. However, the probability that an animal will develop an inherited disease is reduced when its ancestry has been tested as normal. Further, as more DNA tests become available and the results are entered into CHIC, the CHIC database will be able to establish whether progeny will be clear, carriers, or affected.

• Hip Dysplasia (one of the following)
  • OFA evaluation (minimum 24 months of age)
  • PennHIP evaluation (minimum 12 months of age)
• Elbow Dysplasia
  • OFA evaluation (minimum 24 months of age)
• Autoimmune Thyroiditis
  • OFA evaluation from an approved laboratory (minimum 2 years of age, prior to breeding, and yearly thereafter until 4 years of age)
• Eye Examination by a boarded ACVO Opthamologist
  • Results registered with OFA (any age yearly if in a breeding program)
• Cardiac Evaluation (one of the following)
  • Congenital cardiac exam, with exam by a cardiologist
  • Advanced cardiac exam
• von Willebrand’s Disease (vWD) – optional
  • DNA-based vWD test from an approved laboratory, results registered with OFA