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The recommended tests for Chihuahua 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 Chihuahua 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 Chihuahua Club of America keeps its recommended list to three examinations, and all three are hands-on veterinary checks rather than DNA tests: knees, heart and eyes. That shape reflects the breed's real risks. Slipping kneecaps are the classic toy breed joint problem, heart murmurs and congenital defects need a stethoscope and a trained ear rather than a swab, and inherited eye disease needs a specialist look inside the eye.
Because none of the three is a one size fits all laboratory result, paperwork quality matters. The patella evaluation is graded, the cardiac evaluation can be a basic examination or an advanced one with imaging, and the eye examination is done by a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist under the CAER system. Three short reports, each naming the dog, the examiner and the date, are what a careful Chihuahua breeder should be able to hand you.
Timing is the third thing to understand. The patella and cardiac minimum age of 12 months exists because a younger dog is still growing, and a kneecap or heart finding at five months does not describe the adult dog. Eye findings move the other way: a clear examination at one year old can be followed by new findings at three, which is why the eye item is a repeating examination rather than a lifetime certificate. A breeder's file that shows an eye date within the breeding year, for both parents, is a file that was assembled for this litter rather than inherited from an earlier one.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Patellar luxation evaluation (OFA) | Kneecaps that slip from their groove, graded by severity on a hands-on examination. | Minimum age 12 months, per the CHIC requirements for the breed. |
| Cardiac evaluation (basic or advanced, OFA) | Congenital heart defects and murmurs, checked by listening to the heart or, in an advanced exam, by echocardiogram. | From 12 months; one of the three CHIC tests the Chihuahua Club of America sets. |
| Eye examination (CAER, by a board certified ACVO ophthalmologist) | Inherited eye disease that a routine vet check can miss. | Repeated through the breeding years, as eye findings can change with age. |
All three results are recorded with OFA, so search each parent's registered name in the free OFA database and read the entries yourself. Check who did the eye examination: it should be a veterinary ophthalmologist, not a general practice vet. Check the cardiac entry too, because a basic listen and an advanced echocardiogram are both accepted, and knowing which one a breeder chose tells you how deep they went.
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 Chihuahua profile for size, temperament, costs and care.
Three, under the Chihuahua Club of America's CHIC requirements: a patella evaluation, a cardiac evaluation and an eye examination by a veterinary ophthalmologist, all recorded with OFA.
The club's required list is examination based, because the breed's main screened risks, kneecaps, heart and eyes, are physical findings. A DNA panel can add information but it does not replace any of the three examinations.
A basic cardiac evaluation is a careful listen by a veterinarian or cardiologist. An advanced evaluation adds an echocardiogram, an ultrasound picture of the heart's structure and valves. CHIC accepts either for this breed; the advanced exam simply sees more.
Eye certification is time limited because inherited eye conditions can appear as a dog ages. Breeding dogs are examined repeatedly through their breeding years rather than once as youngsters.
Yes. Ask for both parents' registered names and search the OFA database. The patella, cardiac and eye entries for each dog appear there with dates and examiners.
Last updated: November 2026. Every test listed on this page comes from the sources above. How we work: our methodology.