Ask Which Tests Your Breed Actually Needs
Responsible breeding starts well before a mating, with the health tests that are recognized for your dog's breed. Ask the vet to name them specifically for this breed — for many breeds that conversation covers hips and elbows scored from imaging, an eye examination by a specialist, a heart evaluation, and DNA tests for inherited conditions known in the breed. Ask which tests apply to both parents equally, because a clear result on your dog alone says nothing about what the other parent contributes. Ask the vet to explain what each test can and cannot prove: a DNA result may rule out one specific condition, while an eye exam speaks only to the day it was performed. That honesty helps you set realistic expectations for the litter.
Ask About Timing, Age, and Repeat Testing
Many tests only count when done at the right age or stage. Ask how old each dog should be before imaging scores are considered final, how recent an eye or heart clearance needs to be at the time of breeding, and which results last a lifetime versus which need repeating before each litter. Ask whether either dog is too young — or, for a female, too old for a first litter — in the vet's judgment, and what general health picture they want to see before giving a go-ahead: weight, fitness, dental health, and freedom from ongoing skin, ear, or digestive problems that pregnancy and nursing would complicate. Ask, too, about bringing the other dog's paperwork for review if you do not own both parents, so gaps are spotted before any commitment is made.
Cover the Health Basics Beyond the Test List
Ask whether both dogs are current on core vaccinations and parasite prevention, and whether the vet recommends any screening for infectious conditions that can pass between dogs at mating or to newborn puppies. Ask about nutrition for the dam before and during pregnancy, what body condition she should be in, and what follow-up the vet wants during the pregnancy itself. Ask what whelping support looks like at this clinic: who to call out of hours, what signs during labor mean an emergency trip, and what the plan is for checking the puppies in their first days. These questions feel practical rather than genetic, but they are where litters succeed or struggle, and a vet would rather discuss them months ahead than improvise them on the night.
Ask How Records Should Be Kept and Shared
Ask the vet what documentation you should hold for both parents — test certificates, scores, and dates — and in what form puppy buyers usually expect to see it. Buyers of a well-bred litter increasingly ask to see the parents' health results, and being able to produce them builds the trust your breeding program runs on. Ask what health information should go home with each puppy and what the vet recommends recording about the litter's first weeks. Keeping both parents' clearances, scores, and test dates together in KinsLe's Pet Passport creates a complete health packet for your dog that you can extend to the litter's records and share with confidence when a future owner asks.