Before you look for a reputable breeder, you need to learn about health certificates and hereditary diseases that are common to the rottweiler. Because of their popularity in the 1980s, the rottweiler has suffered from overbreeding at the hands of puppy mills and backyard breeders. As a result, the rottweiler has a number of genetic diseases that the breeder should screen for. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Hip dysplasia

• Elbow dysplasia and osteochrondrosis dissecans (OCD)

• Eye problems

• Heart problems

• Von Willebrand's disease (canine hemophilia)

Don't believe breeders if they say that their dogs don't have hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia. Ask for proof. The only way a dog can be proven not to have hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia is through an x-ray read by a professional.

A reputable breeder will furnish proof of tests that the parents of the puppies were screened for certain genetic diseases. There are several registries that can provide this proof, including the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), PennHIP, and Canine Eye Registry Foundation (CERF).

Health Registries

OFA is perhaps the best known of the registries that does genetic registration for hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, heart conditions, thyroid, and other potential genetic problems. OFA is simply a registry that ranks the tests (x-rays, labwork, and so on) and keeps the results in a database. Their Web site is www.offa.org.

PennHIP is a relatively new registry. It is concerned with pri-marily orthopedic issues such as hips and elbows. Their Web site is www.synbiotics.com.

CERF is affiliated with Purdue University. A local veterinarian (in this case, a veterinary ophthalmologist) does the eye exam and reports the results to CERF. The Web site for CERF is www.vet.purdue.edu/~yshen/cerf.html/. (See Appendix A for OFA, PennHIP, and CERF addresses and phone numbers.)

Hip Dysplasia

Hip dysplasia is a crippling genetic condition in which the hip's ball and socket are malformed. Hip dysplasia can be mild to severe. In milder cases, anti-inflammatories and “nutriceuticals” (supplements that are classified as food by the FDA but appear to have some medicinal properties) may help mitigate it, but in medium to severe cases, expensive surgery may be needed to correct it. Hip dysplasia is very painful, and some dogs that suffer from it may have to be euthanized.

Don't accept the breeder's word that the puppy is clear of hip dysplasia or that hip dysplasia doesn't run in his dogs' lines. You can't tell if a dog has hip dysplasia by looking. The only way to tell is through an x-ray. Ask the breeder to show you the certificates that prove that the puppy's parents have been cleared of hip dysplasia.

Both OFA and PennHIP provide registries for dogs. The OFA gives the following ratings for hips: excellent, good, fair, and poor. Poor is indicative of hip dysplasia. A breeder should not breed a dog with a rating less than “good.” The OFA certificate is printed on blue paper. Always ask to see the original certificate, as some disreputable breeders have been known to photocopy the certificates and change the names on them. You can also look up the dogs' ratings online at www.offa.org to confirm their certification. You will need either the parents' AKC numbers or registered names (full or part) to look them up in the OFA database.

Elbow Dysplasia

Another common ailment among rottweilers is elbow dysplasia. There are three types of recognized elbow dysplasia, which has a number of hereditary and environmental factors. Rottweilers are the second worst breed for the disease, with the OFA showing that nearly 42 percent of those registered are dysplastic. As with hip dysplasia, the number is no doubt higher given that registrations are voluntary.

Elbow dysplasia may require expensive surgery to correct. One form of elbow dysplasia, OCD, is very painful and will need surgery. Again, don't accept the breeder's word that elbow dysplasia doesn't run in his or her lines or that the parents don't have it. Ask for proof through either PennHIP or OFA certificates, or look up the dogs' names (full or partial) or AKC registration number at www.offa.org.

Eye Diseases

Rottweilers suffer from a variety of genetic eye ailments that can lead to blindness. Some, like entropion and ectropion, cause severe discomfort because the eyelashes rub against the dog's eyes, and these require surgery to correct. CERF has a certification that is good for one year. It certifies that the dog's parents were clear of eye diseases at the time of breeding.

The CERF certification is pass or fail. Ask to see the original certificate. You can also search for the dog's CERF certification on the CERF Web site at www.vmdb.org and search with the dog's name (full or partial) or AKC registration number.

Heart Problems

Rottweilers suffer from a number of heart problems, including a malformation of the heart vessels known as subaortic stenosis (SAS). OFA has a cardiac registry, but like many newer registries, few breeders know about it. As of December 2002, fewer than 1,500 dogs had been registered. Given the popularity of rottweilers, we don't have accurate statistics on how many actually have cardiac problems.

Since SAS is nearly always fatal, it is a good idea to find a breeder who does register his or her dogs with the OFA cardiac database. Like the other OFA databases, this is searchable by a dog's registered name or AKC registration number.

Von Willebrand's Disease

Von Willebrand's disease (VWD) is a bleeding disorder in dogs similar to hemophilia. There are three types of VWD. Rottweilers suffer from Type I VWD. While the breeder should have both of your prospective rottweiler's parents tested for VWD with a simple blood test, there is no genetic test to determine Type I VWD carriers in rottweilers. A company called Vetgen has developed a test for Bernese Mountain Dogs, so maybe in the future there will be a test for rottweilers as well.