A Dog Health Certificate and Clearances For Your Golden

A dog health certificate and health clearance are important papers provided to you by reputable breeders . If these are not given to you, this should raise a red flag regarding the breeder.

You can also check out dog health certificate information in most cases on your own -- either in advance of getting it from the breeder, or to verify the information you have received.

The following is a checklist to help you assess if you have seen all of the important paperwork:

Pedigrees For the Sire and Dam
If you are getting a pure-bred Golden Retriever puppy, both the sire and dam should be pure-bred Golden Retrievers. This basically means that for at least several generations, both the sire and dam should have only Golden Retrievers in their ancestry. These records list ancestors on each side, going back several generations. If the breeder does not provide you with such records early on, you can try a query online. An open database for Golden Retriever registries used by several reputable breeders is K9Data. You can put in a dog's registered name here and often find out his ancestory.

Health Clearances
A dog health certificate and health clearances are vital for both the sire and the dam. Some of the health clearances that you should certainly look for in Golden Retrievers are:

- hip clearance
- elbow clearance
- eye clearance
- heart clearance

If the breeder provides this paperwork, the clearances will include particular clearance numbers (for example -- OFA #s). To double-check, you can look for the clearances yourself. Hip and elbow clearances can be found at the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Heart clearances can also be found at the OFA. Eye clearances can be found at the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF).


Vaccination Records and Other Medical Papers
Most reputable breeders will have already started the puppies on their vaccinations and de-worming. Please make sure to get these from the breeder.

Contract Last but not the least, look carefully at the sales contract the breeder has. Look carefully at what commitments you are making (such as taking the puppy to basic obedience classes, spaying/neutering her) and what the breeder is promising. For example, some breeders will take the puppy back if there is any health issue detected at the initial vet visit. Make sure you are okay with everything on the contract.