Home / Breeds / Chiweenie / Health testing
The recommended tests for Chiweenie 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 Chiweenie 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 Chiweenie, a Chihuahua and Dachshund cross, has no registry and no test list of its own. What it has is two parent breeds whose published panels agree with each other to an unusual degree, which makes the careful breeder's checklist simple to state. The Chihuahua Club of America's list is a patella evaluation, a cardiac evaluation and an eye examination by an ophthalmologist. The Dachshund Club of America's list, as the AKC publishes it, is the same three: patella evaluation, cardiac exam and ophthalmologist evaluation. Knees, heart and eyes, on both parents, whichever breed each one is.
The cross adds one subject neither list fully covers: the back. The Dachshund's long, low build is the Chiweenie's inheritance in most litters, and intervertebral disc disease is the Dachshund's defining health problem. The Kennel Club treats disc disease screening as Good Practice for Dachshunds under its IVDD scheme, and while that scheme is built for purebred Dachshunds, a Chiweenie breeder should at minimum be able to discuss the Dachshund parent's back history, the family's history, and how the puppies' build was considered. A breeder who has thought about spines as well as the three shared examinations is a breeder who understands what this cross actually is.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Both parents: patella evaluation (both parent breed lists) | Slipping kneecaps, the shared small breed joint problem, graded on examination. | At 12 months or older for the Chihuahua parent under its CHIC rules; in the adult dog for the Dachshund parent. |
| Both parents: cardiac evaluation (both parent breed lists) | Congenital heart defects and murmurs, checked by listening to the heart or by echocardiogram in an advanced exam. | In the adult dog, before breeding, on both parent breed lists. |
| Both parents: eye examination by an ophthalmologist (both parent breed lists) | Inherited eye disease that a routine vet check can miss. | Repeated through the breeding years, as eye findings change with age. |
| Dachshund parent: intervertebral disc disease history and screening discussion | Disc disease of the long Dachshund spine. The Kennel Club lists its IVDD screening scheme as Good Practice for purebred Dachshunds. | Ask what screening or family history the Dachshund parent carries, and how back risk shaped the pairing. |
Both parent breeds record their three examinations with OFA, so take both parents' registered names and check each one, Chihuahua list or Dachshund list, in the same database. Confirm the eye entries name an ophthalmologist rather than a general practice vet. Then have the spine conversation in person: ask about the Dachshund parent's back, any disc episodes in its family, and look at how the parent moves. That part has no certificate, which is precisely why it has to be a conversation rather than a document you accept unseen.
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 Chiweenie profile for size, temperament, costs and care.
No list exists for the cross. Both parent breeds publish the same three examinations: a patella evaluation, a cardiac evaluation and an eye examination by an ophthalmologist, for the Chihuahua under its club's CHIC rules and for the Dachshund on its club list. Both parents should carry all three.
Chihuahuas and Dachshunds are both small breeds whose documented, screenable risks concentrate in the kneecaps, the heart and the eyes. The agreement between the two club lists is convenient for buyers: one checklist of three examinations covers both parents.
The Dachshund side brings disc disease risk with its long spine. There is no Chiweenie screening scheme, but the Kennel Club runs an IVDD scheme for purebred Dachshunds at Good Practice level, and a careful breeder can discuss the Dachshund parent's back and family history in detail.
Neither parent breed's required list is DNA based; both are examination lists. The paperwork that matters is the three OFA recorded examinations per parent, plus an honest conversation about the Dachshund parent's spine.
Search the OFA database by each parent's registered name for its patella, cardiac and eye entries, check the eye examiner was an ophthalmologist, and ask the back questions face to face.
Last updated: November 2026. Every test listed on this page comes from the sources above. How we work: our methodology.