Before you breed your American Bulldog, these are the tests that matter -- and why cutting any one of them puts the next generation at risk.
Health testing is not paperwork. It is how you find out what your dog is carrying before those genes become someone else's problem. American Bulldogs are a breed with known genetic conditions -- some of them fatal. The breeders who built the AB community took this seriously. The ones who are building it now need to as well.
This page covers the minimum tests ABRA recommends before any American Bulldog breeding, what each test tells you, what the results mean, and how to use that information to make responsible pairing decisions.
The American Bulldog has a relatively small gene pool compared to many AKC breeds. That means genetic conditions can spread quickly when breeding decisions are made without testing. NCL -- Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis -- is a fatal progressive neurological disease that has appeared in AB lines. ICH -- Ichthyosis -- is a skin condition that, while not fatal, causes significant suffering and lifelong management costs for owners.
Both conditions are autosomal recessive. That means a dog can look completely healthy and still carry one copy of the mutation. Two carriers bred together produce a 25% statistical chance of affected puppies in every litter. Testing before breeding is the only way to know what you are working with.
Hip dysplasia is common in large-breed dogs and ABs are no exception. Breeding from dogs with poor hip structure passes that structural weakness forward. The results show up in your buyers' vet bills and in dogs that suffer joint pain for their entire lives.
ABRA's position is that both the sire and the dam must be tested before any breeding takes place. Testing one parent is not enough. Here is what the minimum testing panel looks like:
NCL is fatal. Affected dogs develop progressive neurological decline -- loss of coordination, vision problems, behavioral changes -- and do not survive. The mutation in American Bulldogs is a specific variant known as NCL10. It is autosomal recessive, meaning both copies must be affected for a dog to develop the disease.
Test through: UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory or Animal Genetics Inc. Results come back as Clear, Carrier, or Affected.
Ichthyosis causes abnormal scaling and flaking of the skin. Affected dogs have a compromised skin barrier that can lead to chronic infections, discomfort, and significant owner expense. The condition is manageable but not curable. Like NCL, it is autosomal recessive in the AB.
Test through: Animal Genetics Inc., UC Davis, or Embark. Results are Clear, Carrier, or Affected.
Hip dysplasia is a structural malformation of the hip joint. Dogs with dysplastic hips experience pain, reduced mobility, and early-onset arthritis. Both OFA and PennHIP evaluate hip conformation from radiographs. OFA requires dogs to be 24 months old for a permanent rating. PennHIP can be done as early as 16 weeks and is considered by many veterinary radiologists to be more accurate at predicting future hip problems.
ABRA recommends OFA Good or Excellent, or a PennHIP distraction index in the better half of the breed's distribution, as a breeding standard.
Elbow dysplasia causes front-end lameness and joint degeneration. OFA grades elbows as Normal, Grade I, Grade II, or Grade III. Only Normal elbows should be used in breeding programs. The minimum age for elbow evaluation is also 24 months for a permanent OFA rating.
Cardiac evaluation checks for congenital heart defects including aortic stenosis and pulmonic stenosis. Evaluation should be performed by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist, not a general practitioner. Results are reported to OFA as Normal or Abnormal. This test is not required by ABRA at this time but is strongly recommended, particularly in lines with any known cardiac history.
The Canine Eye Registry Foundation (CAER) examination, conducted by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist, screens for heritable eye conditions. Results are valid for 12 months from the exam date. Eye conditions are not a top-of-list concern in ABs currently, but evaluations provide useful baseline data for the breed as a whole.
Both are legitimate and widely accepted. Here is how they differ:
PennHIP requires a veterinarian trained and certified in the protocol -- not all vets are certified. If your vet is not PennHIP certified, OFA is the standard path. Both are far better than no evaluation at all.
Several labs offer genetic testing for American Bulldogs. Here is a comparison:
| Lab | AB-Specific Panel | NCL | ICH | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Davis VGL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Research institution, highly reliable |
| Animal Genetics Inc. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cheek swab, fast turnaround |
| Embark | Partial | Yes | Check current panel | Includes breed ancestry; larger consumer-facing panel |
| Wisdom Panel | Partial | Check current panel | Check current panel | Panels change; verify AB-specific variants before ordering |
Always verify that the specific variant being tested matches the known AB mutation. Genetic databases expand regularly. A lab that did not test for a condition two years ago may test for it now.
Budget for testing both the sire and the dam. These are approximate costs as of 2025 and vary by region and provider:
| Test | Approximate Cost (Per Dog) |
|---|---|
| NCL genetic test | $40 -- $70 |
| ICH genetic test | $40 -- $70 |
| AB genetic panel (bundled, UC Davis) | $80 -- $150 |
| OFA hip evaluation (includes vet radiograph) | $150 -- $350 |
| OFA elbow evaluation | $100 -- $200 |
| OFA cardiac (cardiologist) | $100 -- $250 |
| CAER eye exam | $40 -- $80 |
| Total per dog (minimum panel) | $400 -- $800 |
A responsible litter requires testing both parents. Budget $800 to $1,600 in health testing before the first puppy is born. This cost should be factored into your puppy pricing -- buyers are paying for the work you did before the litter was ever conceived.
Health testing has timing constraints. Here is the typical sequence for a planned breeding:
If you are working with a female and planning her first litter before age 3, start genetic testing early so you are not waiting on results when she comes into season.
Genetic tests come back in one of three categories. Here is what each one means for your breeding program:
The dog carries zero copies of the mutation. A clear dog cannot pass the condition to offspring and can be bred to a carrier without producing affected puppies. This is the target result.
The dog carries one copy of the mutation but will not develop the disease. A carrier can be bred safely to a clear dog -- no affected offspring are produced. Carriers should never be bred to other carriers, and their carrier status should be disclosed to puppy buyers. Carriers can and should remain in breeding programs when they offer other positive qualities, as long as pairing decisions are made responsibly.
The dog carries two copies of the mutation and will develop the disease (for NCL) or exhibits the condition (for ICH). Affected dogs should not be bred. For NCL, this is a terminal diagnosis. All puppies from an affected dog will be carriers at minimum.
This is the most important practical takeaway from genetic testing:
A carrier dog with exceptional structure, temperament, or bloodline value is not removed from a breeding program -- but it is always paired with a clear dog. That is how you maintain genetic diversity while protecting the health of future generations.
ABRA strongly encourages all breeders to complete the minimum testing panel before every breeding and to record results with the appropriate registry -- OFA for physical evaluations, the testing lab's public database for genetic results. Health test results for dogs in the Archive can be added to pedigree records, making that information visible to the community and to future owners who research a dog's lineage.
OFA Testing for American Bulldogs →
Genetic Testing Options for American Bulldogs →