What was done?
Record the examination or assay, provider, date and dog’s age at testing. A booking, payment receipt or sample submission does not tell you the result.
Plan your program · Parent records
Plan a litter using parent records.
Collect each dog’s details, health test reports and history. Bring them to your veterinarian, along with your questions.
Start with the records ↓
Before you choose a next step
Get your records ready.
A useful planning file has a separate section for each prospective parent: who the dog is, which original reports you have, what those reports say, what history matters and what still needs an answer. Add a dated list of the screening guidance you consulted. You should be able to find the evidence behind each statement without searching through messages.
pupID can hold reusable parent identities and connect them to litter records. Keep the detailed screening review and planning questions in your own document, using the worksheet below if it helps. This guide organizes information; your veterinarian and appropriate breed or program resources help you decide what it means for your plans.
01
Match every report to the right dog.
Start one file for each dog, even if you already know both well. Write the registered name, everyday name, breed or known ancestry, date of birth, registration body and number, and permanent identification such as a microchip or tattoo. Record the owner or outside-stud contact separately from the health information.
Compare those details with every report. A familiar call name is not enough to resolve a mismatch. If a report has a different registration number, a missing identifier or an unclear date, keep the discrepancy visible and ask the issuer or owner to clarify it. OFA requires permanent identification for CHIC participation. [1]
Fictional organizing example
Maple’s identity index
- Registered name
- Example Meadow Maple
- Everyday name
- Maple
- Registration reference
- DEMO-MAPLE · fictional
- Permanent ID
- Keep the full verified ID in the private file
- Original files
- Maple / Screening / issuer’s original PDFs
Keep the original beside your summary.
Save the complete report, including extra pages and explanatory notes. Give your working copy a name you can recognize, such as Maple — eye report — examination date. Keep a copy of the issuer’s original file unchanged.
Write who supplied each file and when you received it. A cropped image or message saying “all clear” is a lead to follow up, not a replacement for the report.
02
Find the screening guidance that applies.
Begin with the OFA Browse By Breed directory and the national parent club’s health information. A parent club is the organization representing a particular breed. Cornell also points readers to breed clubs, OFA and their veterinarian when checking screening needs. [4]
For a participating breed, read the complete CHIC entry. Requirements can specify a method or examiner; they can also change. Keep the page link and the date you checked it. An older CHIC number remains even when requirements change. [1]
- Identify the right breed and program. Confirm the exact breed or variety and the country or registry involved. For a crossbred dog, ask your veterinarian how known ancestry affects screening; don’t assume one breed list covers the dog.
- Copy the details, not just test names. Note required and optional items separately. Preserve any stated age, repeat-examination, examiner, method and result-registration conditions. Do not turn these into your own medical schedule.
- Resolve differences with the right source. A club may publish advice beyond CHIC’s requirements. Label which is which. If the breed is absent, the page won’t load or two sources disagree, ask the club or program and your veterinarian rather than substituting a generic panel.
03
Separate the test, result, listing and designation.
These four statements answer different questions. Keep them in separate fields so that a short description cannot accidentally promise more than the evidence shows.
What did it say?
Copy the report’s exact wording, grade or values, including any qualifiers. Keep “preliminary” where stated. Don’t replace a detailed result with “passed.”
What is published?
Record the exact dog’s listing link, listed result and date checked. Compare it with the original. A pedigree registration is separate from a health-result listing.
What does it establish?
A CHIC number means the breed’s required tests were performed and results made public. It does not mean all results were normal. [1]
If you cannot find a public result, write “not found on [date]” and request the original. Don’t infer normal, abnormal or never tested from an empty search. OFA’s public-access policy allows owners to choose whether abnormal results are made public. [2]
If a report says clear by parentage, retain that wording and its supporting evidence. Under OFA’s policy, it identifies a clearance based on parents’ results and verified parentage; the dog itself was not tested. Don’t record it as this dog’s own DNA test. [2]
When a report and listing don’t agree
Keep both versions with their dates. Note exactly what differs: identity, result, examination date or publication status. Ask the report issuer or registry to explain the discrepancy. Leave your summary marked “unresolved” until you have an attributable answer; don’t edit an original report to make the two match.
04
Build your planning worksheet.
Use one sheet per prospective parent, with one evidence entry per screening item. The example shows how a missing report becomes a specific request. It intentionally gives no test result or breed-specific screening list.
Keep relevant history alongside the tests: known illnesses, procedures, medicines, reproductive history and reported concerns in relatives or previous offspring. Distinguish a veterinary record from an owner’s recollection. Cornell’s discussion includes health concerns that may not have a screening test. [4]
Breeder’s own working document
Parent planning sheet
Edits stay in this page until you download or print. Reloading clears them. This is not saved to pupID.
Blank starter · no assessment or recommendation
Use downloaded text in your own document. To keep more than one screening entry, duplicate its fields there. Download before clearing or loading an example. Only share the private details needed for the discussion.
05
Use pupID for parent identities and litter links.
Open Litters → Dams & sires. Add or edit the relevant parent profile. The inspected forms support name, breed, registration number and a profile photo. The dam form also has an optional birth date and status; the sire form includes an outside-stud option with private contact details.
Compare the saved identity with your planning file. Saving creates or updates a reusable parent record. It does not verify screening results or approve breeding plans.
In an existing parent’s profile, use Linked litters to open connected litter records. Treat that list as an index to your recorded history; keep the original veterinary reports for any clinical events in your planning file.
Open Litters in pupID ↗Opens the app; sign-in is required. This link does not save data.
Keep each record in its proper place
Identity in pupID.
Evidence in your file.
When you have a litter to record, select the correct saved dam and sire in litter setup or the litter’s parent controls. Check names and registration details before saving. Shared-profile edits affect linked records; changing a litter’s parent relationship also updates connected puppies.
The inspected editors do not provide structured parent screening results, CHIC tracking or this planning worksheet. Keep original reports, permanent-ID checks, full history and planning questions in your own secure document folder.
06
Bring the originals and a short question list.
Before the discussion, arrange your two parent files so the veterinarian can open the actual reports. Include dated history, the applicable screening pages and the questions you could not resolve. Ask the breed club or registry about its own rules; ask your veterinarian about each dog’s health and the clinical meaning of the evidence.
Questions to take with you
“Here is what I have.
Here is what I still need to understand.”
- Do these documents identify the same dog consistently?
- Does each report use the method, age and examiner required by the applicable program?
- Are any relevant examinations, updates or original reports missing?
- What does each result mean for this dog, and what does it leave unanswered?
- Does the history suggest other concerns or a need for specialist advice?
- What should I obtain or clarify before we discuss plans further?
Afterward, record who answered, when, and which document or result the answer concerned. Keep clinical instructions attributed to the veterinarian and separate from your own notes. Update an unresolved question only when you have the answer, with its source. A completed worksheet shows what you gathered; it does not certify a pairing.
Evidence & editorial notes
Sources you can check.
These are US-focused program and educational sources. Use the responsible authority for another country or registry. No clinical reviewer has reviewed this guide.
1 · OFA — CHIC Program
Program rules: identification, public results, meaning of a CHIC number and changing requirements. No page revision date stated. Read with the current breed directory; this guide supplies no universal test list.
2 · OFA — Our Policies
Public-access rules and clear-by-parentage distinction. No overall revision date stated. These are OFA policies, not rules for every testing provider.
3 · OFA — Frequently asked questions
Additional route to screening information, breed clubs and veterinary discussion. No page revision date stated; individual program pages control their requirements.
4 · Cornell — Selecting a purebred puppy
Educational Q&A by Jenna Dockweiler, DVM; updated November 14, 2025. Supports breed-specific screening, veterinary consultation and limits of DNA-only screening. Its breed example is not a protocol for all dogs.
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