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Health Testing Guide
Which tests matter, how to spot responsible breeders — and what it costs when things go wrong.
For the Greenland Dog we've compiled 13 tests in the recommended health standard, drawn from veterinary databases such as CIDD (University of PEI) and OMIA — weighted by severity and heritability.
View verified breedersWhat this grade means
With the Greenland Dog, you need to pay special attention to the musculoskeletal system and hereditary eye diseases: hip dysplasia (HD), cataracts, and primary lens luxation (PLL) are among the relevant risks for the breed. Responsible breeders have their animals thoroughly examined for joint problems and eye damage before mating. Before buying a puppy, ask to see the official test results of the parent animals: for hip dysplasia (HD), the result should be at most HD A–C, and for cataracts as well as lens luxation (PLL), the status must be documented as clear.
Every breed is susceptible to certain inherited conditions. Just like humans, dogs inherit predispositions from their parents. Responsible breeders screen their breeding dogs for these conditions and make informed mating decisions to reduce the risk passed on to puppies.
No — but it's the strongest tool we have. Diet, exercise, environment, and genetics all contribute to whether a dog develops a condition. When breeders use the right tests to identify risk in potential parents, the likelihood of many conditions appearing in the puppies drops significantly.
There's no one-size-fits-all here. The recommended health standard for the Greenland Dog covers 13 tests. The specific tests and passing thresholds are detailed further below.
Keep in mind
Reliable screening tests still don't exist for many hereditary conditions, and tests for complex polygenic conditions don't always predict severity in the puppies. Even so, they're a powerful tool of responsible breeding.
There are two main types of health tests:
Screen the dog's DNA for known disease-causing mutations. Can be performed from puppyhood and give a binary result (clear / carrier / affected).
Clinical and imaging exams like X-ray, ultrasound, or ophthalmoscopy. They show how a predisposition actually manifests — usually only conclusive after 12–18 months.
We group breeding programs into three levels based on testing depth. Ask your breeder directly which level they meet.
A breeder at the Great level meets the Good level; no additional tests are currently recorded for the Greenland Dog.
In addition to Good:
We don't currently have tests recorded at this level for the Greenland Dog.
These levels are a comparison framework, not an official certification. They help compare breeding programs at a glance.
A complete checklist with every core-standard and additionally recommended test, plus identity and rearing questions — take it with you.
Open the full checklistFor breeders
Machine-readable mating rules, minimum ages, scoring schemes, and what's required for HonestDog verification — as a printable guide.
Example rule — Distichiasis
Both parents must be result on file or better.
We take mandatory tests from official breed regulations, build the recommended health standard from veterinary databases — and cross-check every uploaded certificate against the dog's profile using AI.
L1 = core standard: the club's required tests where its rules set them, otherwise the recommended health standard for the breed. L2 = additionally recommended or clinically indicated. L3 = lower prevalence. Every assignment carries a source and confidence rating.
VDH breeding regulations, CIDD (University of PEI), OMIA (University of Sydney), curated veterinary input.
Uploaded certificates are read by AI and checked for date, result, and consistency with the dog's profile — our team reviews anything inconclusive.
The Greenland Dog is not currently listed in our extreme-breeding overview. That does not mean it is free of hereditary disease: which ones are typical, and which tests the parents should have, is on this page.
Self-check
Answer 6 quick questions about your everyday life and see how well the Greenland Dog fits you — including an honest cost estimate per month, per year, and across the dog's lifetime.
See breeders who have already uploaded their health test results for verification.
View verified breeders