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The recommended tests for Miniature Schnauzer 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 Miniature Schnauzer 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.
Miniature Schnauzer testing is refreshingly short at its core. The American Miniature Schnauzer Club's CHIC program requires two things: an eye examination by a veterinary ophthalmologist, repeated yearly, and a cardiac evaluation. The AKC Terrier Group page publishes the same two examinations as the parent club's recommended tests. Eyes lead because this breed carries several inherited eye conditions, including forms of progressive retinal atrophy and congenital cataracts, and some of them declare themselves only as a dog matures.
Beyond the required pair, the club lists three DNA tests as optional but recommended: myotonia congenita, a muscle stiffness disorder; Mycobacterium avium complex, shortened to MAC, a rare immune defect the breed community has worked hard to push out of its lines through testing; and PRA type B, the HIVEP3 form of progressive retinal atrophy. A breeder who runs the DNA trio on top of the eye and heart examinations is giving you the fullest picture this breed's program offers, and can explain each result in plain terms.
One more record is worth requesting while you are checking: the breeder's own pattern over time. A single litter's parents can be fully tested by a breeder who tests only when asked. The yearly eye requirement makes this breed unusually easy to audit on that point, because a breeder with a real program will show a run of eye certificates across years and across dogs, not one certificate produced for one litter. Ask to see the pattern, not just the page, and expect a breeder who tests as a matter of routine to be quietly pleased that you asked.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Eye examination (CAER, by a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist) | Inherited eye disease, including progressive retinal atrophy and cataracts. | Required for CHIC; yearly examinations, because several of the breed's eye conditions appear with age. |
| Cardiac evaluation | Congenital heart defects and rhythm and murmur findings, by a congenital or advanced cardiac examination. | Required for CHIC; in the adult dog before breeding. |
| Myotonia congenita DNA test (optional, club recommended) | An inherited muscle stiffness disorder caused by the CLCN1 gene change. | Once in a lifetime, at any age, where a breeder runs the club's optional DNA set. |
| Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) DNA test (optional, club recommended) | A rare inherited immune defect that leaves a dog unable to fight a common environmental bacterium. | Once in a lifetime, at any age. |
| PRA type B (HIVEP3) DNA test (optional, club recommended) | The HIVEP3 form of progressive retinal atrophy found in this breed. | Once in a lifetime, at any age. Complements, and never replaces, the yearly eye examination. |
Both required results belong in the OFA database under each parent's registered name, and a CHIC number confirms the pair was completed and published. The eye date is the detail to press on: the club pattern is a yearly examination, so a single certificate from a young dog does not meet it. For the DNA tests, ask for the laboratory reports and read the status words themselves, clear, carrier or affected, for each of the three conditions separately.
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 Miniature Schnauzer profile for size, temperament, costs and care.
The CHIC program for the breed requires an eye examination by a veterinary ophthalmologist, repeated yearly, and a cardiac evaluation. The parent club also lists DNA tests for myotonia congenita, Mycobacterium avium complex and PRA type B as optional but recommended.
Several inherited eye conditions in this breed, including forms of progressive retinal atrophy, can appear or progress as a dog ages. A yearly examination is how the club program keeps the record current for a breeding dog.
MAC stands for Mycobacterium avium complex. A rare inherited immune defect in this breed leaves an affected dog unable to fight that bacterium. A DNA test identifies carriers, and the breed community has used testing to push the defect back through its lines.
No. The DNA test covers one named form of retinal disease. The yearly ophthalmologist examination covers the whole eye as it is today, including cataracts and other forms of retinal trouble.
Search the OFA database by each parent's registered name for the eye and cardiac records and the CHIC number, then ask for the three DNA laboratory reports if the breeder runs the optional set.
Last updated: November 2026. Every test listed on this page comes from the sources above. How we work: our methodology.