EVERYONE SHOULD WANT TO BE CHIC. HERE’S HOW.
Photo of Deerhound by Dan Gauss/Shot on Site Photography.
The SDCA has participated in the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) for years, and there has been confusion about what exactly CHIC—and CHIC numbers—are for just as long. In this article we are going to explain the CHIC databases and give you instructions for participating.
There are two CHIC numbers:
A CHIC DNA number is assigned to every dog that has DNA banked in our CHIC DNA bank, which is used by researchers.
If a dog has a CHIC Certification Number, you are assured that individual has completed all the health testing recommended by its parent breed club. Dogs that participate in the CHIC certification program increase our knowledge of the health of the breed and provide breeders and puppy buyers guidance in making important decisions.
Read on for more information, as well aa instructions on how you can get both CHIC numbers on your dogs.
A Little History
CHIC is an offshoot of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), which was founded in 1966 in response to increasing numbers of cases of hip dysplasia in dogs. Since its inception, the OFA has expanded its mission to include all diseases believed to have a genetic component in dogs and cats. Its mission statement is “To improve the health and well-being of companion animals through a reduction in the incidence of genetic disease.” Toward that end, it funds research, usually through the AKC Canine Health Foundation and Morris Animal Foundation, and maintains the CHIC databases.
There are two CHIC databases, each of which provides numbers to participating dogs:
CHIC DNA Bank
The first is the CHIC DNA database and repository, also known as the CHIC DNA Bank. Many Deerhound owners have submitted their dogs’ DNA to it over the past 20 or so years—currently we have 470 DNA samples in the CHIC DNA Bank. These samples are available for researchers to use, and the club can request that samples be sent to a researcher—which we have done on several occasions. Our DNA is an invaluable resource for our breed, and contributing could not be easier! Either have blood drawn at our national specialty for free, or you can request a blood sample or cheek swab kit from the OFA.
When you submit a DNA sample, you receive back a CHIC DNA Number, which confirms that the sample was received and serves as an identifier for that sample.
Every few years we ask you to update the health information for your dogs in the CHIC DNA Bank, because those samples are useless without the accompanying health information.
CHIC Certification Program
The other CHIC database is of health-tested dogs (and cats, but we won’t worry about them here). CHIC collects test results on individual animals and makes those results available both to researchers and to the fancy, so breeders can make more informed breeding decisions and puppy buyers can check to see if a breeder does their breed’s recommended health testing. Each breed club specifies which health tests should be done for their breed, and if a dog of that breed has had all of the specified tests and the owner submits the test results to the OFA, the dog is given a CHIC Certification Number, which verifies that the dog has been tested according to its breed club guidelines and the results are made public.
PLEASE NOTE: It is very important to understand that CHIC Certification is to certify that a dog has been tested; it does not certify that a dog has tested “clear,” “normal,” or “free of disease.” The main point of all this is so the best possible mates can be chosen for any particular dog from a health perspective, NOT that only clear dogs should be bred. As Paula Henthorn, the now-retired cystinuria researcher at Penn, so aptly put it, health testing is to determine which dogs a dog should be bred to, not whether or not a dog should be bred. CHIC Certification only certifies that a dog has been tested, not results, which is as it should be. Most dogs should NOT be eliminated from our breed’s gene pool based on test results!
Or, as veterinary geneticist Jerold Bell has said over and over, “CHIC isn’t about HEALTH, it’s about health AWARENESS”.
The SDCA has participated in the CHIC Certification Program since the program’s inception, but there has been low participation from Deerhound owners; since the program began about 30 years ago, exactly 33 Deerhounds (see gallery below) have received CHIC certification numbers. Why so few? There are a few reasons:
- Deerhounders have always been an informal crew, so formally documenting health testing was just foreign to many breeders.
- When the CHIC certification program started, the breed had few health tests and no genetic tests, so people didn’t see much need for participating.
- There was so much confusion about the difference between a CHIC DNA Number and a CHIC Certification Number that a lot of people gave up trying to figure out what a CHIC Certification Number was.
- The Health and Genetics Committee promoted participation in the CHIC DNA Bank but not in the CHIC Certification Program in order to avoid the above confusion and get samples for the DNA Bank.
Why Getting a CHIC Certification Number is Important Now
That was then, this is now—some things have changed.
We DO have several health tests now, including two genetic tests (Factor VII Deficiency and Delayed Post-Operative Hemorrhage, or DEPOH) and two health screening tests: an echocardiogram to screen for heart defects and heart disease, and a bile acids test to screen for portosystemic (liver) shunt.
Also, unfortunately, we have had several instances recently where breeders have stated that they health test when they do not or fail to provide puppy buyers with test results, presumably because the breeder believed the results did not reflect positively on them. As a result, both breeders and puppy buyers need more education on what exactly being a responsible breeder is in our breed and what health testing actually means. The CHIC Certification Program is one way for breeders and pet owners alike to demonstrate their commitment to the breed’s overall health and well-being by documenting that a dog has had all of the health testing recommended by its parent club.
The SDCA Health & Genetics Committee updated our list of CHIC Certification tests last year to reflect the new (in 2024) SDCA Code of Ethics Guide to Health Testing and are getting the word out to breeders and buyers what these tests are. It is our hope that these guidelines will be used so all Deerhound puppies and adults are tested—and that people should require the test results before getting involved with a breeder.
How to Get a CHIC Certification Number
Fill in our breed to get to the Scottish Deerhound testing page:
Step 1: Get the Test Results
As you can see, there are four tests that need to be done to meet the requirements for a CHIC certification number. These four tests are also listed in the SDCA’s Code of Ethics Guide to Health Testing:
The first two are genetic tests:
Factor VII Deficiency (FVII) Genetic Test
DEPOHGEN™ Genetic Test
Here is more information on these two bleeding conditions:
These tests can be done at any point in a dog’s life, and test results apply to the dog’s entire life. Per the Code of Ethics Guidelines, breeders should test their puppies (or know their status by parentage). If your dog was tested as a puppy, all you need are the test results forms from the testing labs. If your dog is clear by parentage, you need to meet the OFA’s criteria if you want to avoid testing.
The second two tests are health screening tests:
Echocardiogram – tests breeding stock for congenial heart defects, which are rare in our breed, as well as signs of adult-onset heart disease. Here is more information on heart disease in our breed:
Although you can screen for heart defects at any time, to screen for adult-onset heart disease, such as dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), you need to wait until your dog is at least two years old. And, while screening for heart defects only needs to be done once, screening for adult-onset heart disease must be done at least every two years.
Bile Acids Test – tests for congenital portosystemic (liver) shunt. Here is more information on liver shunts in Deerhounds:
This test can be done at any point after a puppy is a few weeks old, and test results apply to the dog’s entire life. Many breeders test their puppies for liver shunt before they go to their homes, so if your dog was tested as a puppy, all you need is the test results form from the testing lab. Your breeder should be able to provide you with this, if they haven’t already.
Microchip – While the OFA does not require that dogs be microchipped in order to receive a CHIC certification number, if you want your dog’s CHIC certification number to appear on AKC paperwork, the AKC does require permanent identification. Some breeders microchip their puppies before they go to their homes. If that is the case, then your breeder should have given you your puppy’s microchip number, and you are all set.
If your dog wasn’t tested:
If your dog was not tested for FVII, DEPOH, or liver shunt as a puppy (echocardiograms are done on adults), you need to get it tested now, not only for CHIC certification, but for the sake of your dog’s health. Here’s how to test, if you are not coming to a national specialty, where we offer three of the four tests at our specialty health clinics:
Factor VII Deficiency Genetic Test – this genetic test is widely available. Here is the OFA’s list of testing labs:
The SDCA uses PennGen for our specialty testing because that helps us provide more DNA for our cystinuria research, but you can use any reputable lab that runs the test. Labs will require either a cheek swab or blood sample.
DEPOHGEN™ Genetic Test – this test is currently only offered by Washington State University and is done using cheek swabs.
Echocardiogram Health Screening Test – this test requires that a board-certified veterinary cardiologist does an ultrasound of your adult dog’s heart and complete an OFA form (either a Basic or an Advanced Cardiac form) that you submit to the OFA. Although you can make an appointment with a cardiologist to do this, the easiest and much more cost-effective way to do it is to go to a cardiac clinic. The SDCA offers a cardiac clinic at its national specialty, but if you are not attending you can find a clinic on the OFA website:
The Cavalier Health website also maintains a calendar of clinics.
Don’t forget to hang on to your copy of the testing form that you receive at the clinic.
Bile Acids Health Screening Test – This test normally includes two blood draws within a few hours of each other: the first is done on an empty stomach after fasting, and the second is done within a set amount of time after a set amount of food is fed. As a screening test for CHIC, only the second test, which is called the “post-prandial” test, is required, but doing both is fine.
This is the only CHIC-required test not offered at the national specialty health clinics. Bile acids tests are routine blood tests with which almost every veterinarian has experience, so you can have your regular vet do the testing protocol. Most vets send these out, either to an established commercial laboratory, such as Idexx or Antech; or to a university lab, such as Texas A&M. Some vets do this in-house, but those tests are not recommended.
Microchip – If your dog isn’t already microchipped, many veterinarians do this routinely, and many of the health clinics listed above also offer microchip clinics.
Step 2: Complete the forms
Please note: you must allow the test results to become public in order to get a CHIC certification number.
The DNA-based genetic disease form can be found on this page:
This form is to be completed for both the FVII and DEPOH tests and submitted with the test results and OFA fees. You can complete it online and then download it or download a blank form to complete manually.
The Serum Bile acid test form can also be found on this page:
This form needs to be completed by the owner and veterinarian who ran the test and submitted with the lab report and OFA fee.
Cardiac form:
The cardiologist should have given you a form upon completion of the ultrasound. You need to complete that form and submit it, along with the OFA fee.
Microchip Form (needed for the CHIC certification number to appear on AKC paperwork):
Go to the OFA application page:
Under Miscellaneous Forms, choose the “Verification of Permanent ID” form.
You and a veterinarian need to complete it once the vet has scanned your dog to confirm its microchip number, and then you submit it to the OFA.
How to Submit Your Forms
You have a choice how to submit your forms:
You can submit your forms online: https://online.ofa.org
You can email your forms, including credit card information, to ofa@ofa.org
You can mail your forms, paying by credit card or check, to OFA, 2300 E. Nifong Blvd, Columbia, MO 65201.
Once you submit all of the required forms, the OFA will automatically send you a CHIC Certification Number, and, if you provided permanent ID information, automatically send the number to the AKC.
CHIC DNA Bank
One more thing: it is not required for a CHIC Certification Number, but you are strongly encouraged to also submit your dog’s DNA to the CHIC DNA Bank. The SDCA offers this for free at our national specialties, but you can do it on your own, too. You can submit blood or cheek swabs. The directions to get this done are here:
Time to Get CHIC!
CHIC certification is not the only way to demonstrate that you are responsibly health testing your dogs, but it is an effective one. We hope more people will make use of this tool so we can better support our dogs’ individual health and the overall health and reputation of our breed.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact us. And we hope you enjoy the photo gallery below celebrating our CHIC-certified dogs! Click on any photo to bring up the gallery.
GCH Conera Wish Come True
