Breed dogs for health-tested breeding stock and screening schemes? Advertise here
Buyers and trainers use this page to find breeders whose lines do this work. List your kennel free, tick the industries your dogs work in, and advertise litters and stud dogs from proven working lines.
No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.
- Free basic profile: your breeder or company name, website, social media, location, breeds and industries.
- Litters and stud dogs advertised in their own sections, never mixed with puppies for sale.
- Premium showcase for your services and prices, previous customers, awards, video, gallery and health certificates, with your phone and email shown to buyers.
- Sponsored articles about your breed or industry, written and published by our team.
- Featured placement at the top of this page, labelled as sponsored.
Is it free to advertise here?
Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.
Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?
In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.
Is my listing already here?
We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.
About health-tested breeding stock and screening schemes
Many breeders advertise health tested puppies, but the phrase only means something if you know which tests matter for the breed and how to check the results. Look for hip scored parents, current eye certificates and DNA results you can verify yourself. This page explains the main UK screening schemes and what to ask a breeder.
What this work involves
The British Veterinary Association and the Royal Kennel Club run the Canine Health Schemes, often called the KC health schemes, which are open to pedigree and crossbred dogs:
- Hip scheme. Dogs must be at least a year old. Each hip is scored from 0 to 53, giving a total from 0 to 106, and lower is better. The schemes advise breeding only from dogs scoring below or close to the published breed median.
- Elbow scheme. Also from a year old, graded 0 to 3. The schemes recommend breeding only from dogs graded 0.
- Eye scheme. Run with the International Sheep Dog Society, it uses examinations by specialist panellists to record dogs as clinically affected or unaffected, with gonioscopy, which assesses glaucoma risk, graded separately. Litters can be screened when the puppies are five to 12 weeks old. This is what most people mean by a BVA eye test.
- Chiari malformation and syringomyelia (CM/SM) scheme. MRI screening, used mainly in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Griffon Bruxellois and some other small breeds.
In 2025 more than 6,400 dogs were hip scored, more than 5,300 elbow graded and more than 14,000 eye examined under the schemes.
DNA tests show whether a dog is clear, a carrier or affected for specific inherited conditions. Results for registered dogs that the Royal Kennel Club records appear on its Health Test Results Finder, together with hip and elbow estimated breeding values where they are available for the breed. Its separate genetic diversity calculator works out inbreeding coefficients.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
Nobody supplies health-tested breeding stock centrally: private breeders screen their own dogs. Vets take the X-rays and MRI scans, specialists appointed by the schemes score and examine, and laboratories run DNA tests. The Royal Kennel Club records results for registered dogs and publishes its Health Standard, which sets out Good Practice and Best Practice tests for each breed. The Health Standard came in as part of the Royal Kennel Club’s registration changes when the Assured Breeder Scheme closed at the end of 2024. Breed clubs and breed health co-ordinators advise on breed-specific problems and research, and DNA tested breeders will usually explain their results readily.
Breeds and lines
Tests vary by breed, so always check the Royal Kennel Club Breeds A to Z and Health Standard for the breed you want. As examples from the Health Standard:
- Labrador Retriever: hip and elbow scores, an eye examination and breed-specific DNA tests such as prcd-PRA and CNM.
- German Shepherd Dog: hip and elbow scores, with a DNA test for degenerative myelopathy and eye testing at Best Practice level.
- Golden Retriever: hip and elbow scores, eye examinations including gonioscopy, and DNA tests for forms of progressive retinal atrophy and ichthyosis.
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: the Royal Kennel Club heart scheme, which screens for mitral valve disease, DNA tests for curly coat and dry eye syndrome and for episodic falling, and eye testing. Breeders can also MRI screen under the CM/SM scheme.
What to ask a breeder
- Which tests does the Royal Kennel Club Health Standard list for this breed, and have both parents had them?
- What are the parents’ hip scores, and how do they compare with the breed median?
- Are both parents’ elbows graded 0?
- When was each parent’s most recent eye examination, and was gonioscopy needed?
- What are the parents’ DNA results, and what do they mean for the puppies?
- Can I check the results on the Health Test Results Finder using the parents’ registered names?
Frequently asked questions
Does health testing guarantee a healthy puppy?
No. Screening lowers the risk of the conditions it covers, but it cannot rule them out and says nothing about conditions with no test. It is one sign of a careful breeder, alongside temperament, rearing and after-sales support.
Is a carrier result a problem?
Not on its own. For conditions inherited recessively, a carrier will not develop the disease and can be bred safely to a clear dog; affected puppies arise only when both parents pass on the gene. A good breeder will explain how they have planned the mating.
Can crossbreeds be health tested?
Yes. The BVA and Royal Kennel Club schemes accept crossbred dogs, and DNA tests are available for many conditions. Ask breeders of crossbreeds for the same evidence you would expect from a pedigree breeder, covering the conditions known in both parent breeds.
If you screen your breeding stock and publish the results, you can list your kennel on Canine Breeder and show buyers your health testing alongside your litters and stud dogs.