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The recommended tests for Bulldog breeding dogs, what each test screens for, when it is done, and the questions and red flags that separate careful breeders from the rest. Full profile: the Bulldog breed profile.
This page is general information drawn from the published guidance of the organizations listed under Sources below. It is not veterinary advice, and it does not replace your own veterinarian, who knows your dog. If your dog is unwell, contact your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661 for urgent concerns. A consultation fee may apply on the helplines.
The Bulldog, the breed most US readers know as the English Bulldog, is the breed where health testing matters most and promises least, and a good guide should say both halves. The Kennel Club Health Standard puts breathing first for this breed: its Good Practice tier is a breathing assessment under the Respiratory Function Grading Scheme, the same functional grading used for other flat faced breeds. Best Practice then adds a DNA test for hyperuricosuria, elbow grading, eye testing and hip grading.
American guidance reaches a similar shape by a slightly different road, with a cardiac evaluation, patella evaluation, hip evaluation, a tracheal X-ray for a narrowed windpipe and an ophthalmologist eye examination forming the core panel breeders describe, plus DNA tests. Whichever side of the Atlantic a litter is bred, the buyer's core questions are the same: how well do the parents breathe, what do the films and certificates show, and will the breeder show you all of it?
These are the tests the sources listed at the foot of this page set out for this breed. Tests are done on the parents before breeding, not on the puppy you take home, and the point of every one of them is the same: to lower the chance of puppies inheriting a condition that testing could have flagged.
| Test | What it screens | When it is done |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory Function Grading Scheme assessment (BOAS grading) | How severely the dog's breathing is affected by brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, graded before and after gentle exercise. | Good Practice in the Kennel Club Health Standard for the breed; graded in the adult dog. |
| Cardiac evaluation | Congenital heart disease, particularly pulmonic stenosis, the breed's most significant heart problem. | After 12 months, by a cardiologist where possible, as breeder guidance for the breed sets out. |
| Hip evaluation (OFA or PennHIP) | Hip dysplasia. Bulldogs grade poorly as a breed, so results need reading in breed context rather than against other breeds. | Final OFA grading after 24 months; listed at Best Practice in the Health Standard. |
| Tracheal hypoplasia X-ray | An abnormally narrow windpipe, a major airway risk that compounds the breed's breathing load. | After 12 months, assessed by tracheal diameter ratio. |
| Patella evaluation and eye examination by an ophthalmologist | Slipping kneecaps, and inherited and developmental eye problems in a breed with prominent eyes. | In the adult dog, before breeding; eye testing also sits at Best Practice in the Health Standard. |
| DNA tests: hyperuricosuria (HUU), plus cystinuria and degenerative myelopathy on US panels | A uric acid condition that leads to bladder stones, listed at Best Practice by the Kennel Club, and further testable conditions recorded on American panels. | Once in a lifetime, at any age. |
| Elbow grading (Best Practice, Kennel Club Health Standard) | Elbow dysplasia in a heavy fronted breed. | With the adult joint grading. |
Start with the breathing grade, because it describes the life the parents actually live, then work through the certificates: cardiac, hips, trachea, patellas and eyes, each findable or requestable as a named document. Bulldog hip grades need honest context, since the breed's average is poor; what you are looking for is a breeder who films, publishes and discusses results rather than one who skips the test because the breed grades badly.
Two habits protect you in every breed. First, match names: the dog on the certificate must be the registered parent of the litter, permanently identified, not a relative with a similar name. Second, respect dates: joint grades have minimum ages, eye certificates expire, and heart results in at risk breeds age quickly. A result that was true three years ago may say little about the dog being bred today.
None of this replaces meeting the dogs. Watch the parents move, breathe and settle, ask how long their parents and grandparents lived, and take the paperwork home to check before money changes hands. A careful breeder expects exactly that. Back to the full Bulldog profile for size, temperament, costs and care.
A breathing grade under the Respiratory Function Grading Scheme leads the Kennel Club list. Add a cardiac evaluation, hip evaluation, tracheal X-ray, patella evaluation and an eye examination, with DNA tests including hyperuricosuria, and elbow grading at the Kennel Club's Best Practice level.
The functional scheme grades breathing from 0 to III after a short exercise test. Grades 0 and I describe dogs considered clinically unaffected. For a breeding dog, a low grade, openly shared, is what a buyer should look for.
Some Bulldogs are born with a windpipe far narrower than it should be, called tracheal hypoplasia. It restricts airflow for life and cannot be seen from outside. An X-ray with a measured diameter ratio is how it is assessed.
As a breed, yes, their average hip results are among the poorest recorded, which breed guidance acknowledges. That is context for reading a grade, not a reason to skip filming: breeders working to improve the breed film and publish regardless.
No. Testing selects for better breathing, sounder joints and fewer inherited diseases across generations. An individual Bulldog will still need weight control, skin fold care, heat caution and a realistic vet budget for life.
Last updated: November 2026. Every test listed on this page comes from the sources above. How we work: our methodology.