Home / Breeds / Cavapoo / Health testing
The recommended tests for Cavapoo 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 Cavapoo 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 Cavapoo, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel crossed with a Poodle, usually a Miniature Poodle, has no registry, no parent club and no published test list of its own. The standard that careful Cavapoo breeders are judged against is built from the two sides of the pedigree: the Cavalier parent is expected to meet the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel's published panel, and the Poodle parent the Poodle's. That framing matters, because the two breeds bring different headline risks: the Cavalier brings its heart, and the Poodle brings a set of well mapped DNA tested conditions, above all progressive retinal atrophy of the prcd type.
On the Cavalier side, the club list published by the AKC covers patellas, hips, heart and eyes, and British Cavaliers are additionally screened under a heart scheme the Kennel Club runs specifically for the breed. The Poodle Club of America's list for the Miniature Poodle is a patella evaluation, a hip evaluation, an ophthalmologist evaluation and a PRA-prcd DNA test, and the AKC DNA recommendations for Poodles add PRA of the rcd4 type and von Willebrand disease type I. A properly tested Cavapoo litter therefore stands on eight or more documented results spread across two parents, and the breeder should be able to lay them out parent by parent.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cavalier parent: cardiac exam (parent breed list) | The heart check comes first on this side of the pedigree, because mitral valve disease is widespread in Cavaliers. British breeding dogs are also screened under the Kennel Club's Cavalier heart scheme. | Done before breeding and repeated through the dog's breeding life, since valve disease develops over time. |
| Cavalier parent: patella, hip and eye evaluations (parent breed list) | The rest of the Cavalier panel: kneecaps that slip, hip formation, and the inherited eye conditions of the breed. | Kneecaps and hips are assessed in the adult dog; the eye examination is renewed as the dog ages. |
| Poodle parent: PRA-prcd DNA test (parent breed list) | Progressive retinal atrophy of the prcd type, an inherited blinding retinal disease of Poodles. | Once in a lifetime, at any age. On the Poodle Club list for Miniature Poodles. |
| Poodle parent: patella, hip and eye evaluations (parent breed list) | Slipping kneecaps, hip dysplasia and inherited eye disease, the examination side of the Miniature Poodle list. | Patella and hip in the adult dog; eye examinations repeated. |
| Poodle parent: further DNA tests in the AKC recommendations (PRA-rcd4, von Willebrand disease I) | A second, later onset form of PRA, and a bleeding disorder, both documented in Poodles. | Once in a lifetime, at any age. Ask whether they were run and ask for the reports. |
| Cavalier parent: episodic falling and dry eye curly coat DNA tests (optional, AKC DNA recommendations) | Two Cavalier specific conditions: an exercise triggered movement disorder, and a puppyhood combination of dry eyes with an abnormal coat. | Once in a lifetime, at any age. The AKC lists both as optional for the breed, which makes them a question to raise, not a given. |
Verification is a two breed exercise. Take both parents' registered names, establish which is the Cavalier and which is the Poodle, and check each in the OFA database against its own breed's list. Read the Cavalier parent's cardiac date as carefully as its result. Then ask for the Poodle parent's DNA laboratory reports and confirm the PRA-prcd result is there in writing; a Poodle parent described as DNA clear without a report is a claim, not a result. If the Poodle parent is a Toy rather than a Miniature, the same club list applies apart from the hip item, and the breeder should be able to explain which size was used and why.
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 Cavapoo profile for size, temperament, costs and care.
Nothing is published for the Cavapoo itself, so breeders borrow the two parent panels whole. The Cavalier parent should show patella, hip, heart and eye results; the Miniature Poodle parent should show patella, hip and eye results plus a PRA-prcd DNA result, with PRA-rcd4 and von Willebrand disease testing also named for Poodles in the AKC recommendations.
The Cavalier side's mitral valve disease is the risk with the longest shadow, because it is common in that breed and develops with age. That is why the Cavalier parent's cardiac exam, and its date, is the first document to ask for.
PRA-prcd is an inherited retinal disease that examinations cannot detect in a carrier. The DNA test on the Poodle parent shows whether puppies can inherit it, which is why the Poodle Club keeps it on the Miniature list.
Yes. The two parents are tested against different lists because they are different breeds with different risks. One parent's results say nothing about the other parent's heart, knees or DNA.
Work through the parents one at a time. Look each registered name up in the OFA database and compare what you find with that breed's own list, then turn to the Poodle parent's DNA file and check the PRA result exists as a laboratory report, not a verbal summary.
Last updated: November 2026. Every test listed on this page comes from the sources above. How we work: our methodology.