COLLIE HEALTH
What We Test. What It Means. And Why Transparency Matters.
A beautiful Collie is wonderful.
A beautiful, healthy, well-bred Collie is the goal.
At Fianna Collies, health testing is not something we do simply to put a few badges on our website. It is one of the tools we use to make thoughtful breeding decisions, understand the dogs behind our pedigrees, and give our puppy families as much information as possible about the dogs we produce.
The Collie is generally a healthy, long-lived breed, but like every purebred dog, it has inherited health conditions that responsible breeders need to understand. Some can be prevented through genetic testing. Others require physical screening. Still others cannot currently be predicted perfectly through any available test.
Responsible breeding isn't about producing dogs with a perfect genetic report. It is about understanding the risks and making informed decisions with the information we have.
THE HEALTH OF THE COLLIE
Collies are predisposed to several inherited or hereditary conditions, including:
Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA)
Multidrug Sensitivity (MDR1)
Progressive Retinal Atrophy, rcd2 (PRA-RCD2)
Dermatomyositis (DMS)
Hip dysplasia
Elbow dysplasia
Other eye abnormalities
And additional conditions for which ongoing research is helping us learn more
The Collie Health Foundation describes Collies as generally healthy while recognizing CEA, MDR1, and dermatomyositis among the breed's important inherited health concerns.
No breeder can honestly promise that a puppy will never develop a health problem.
What a responsible breeder can do is stack the odds in that puppy's favor.
That means knowing the health history of the parents, performing appropriate screening, understanding pedigrees, making thoughtful breeding decisions, and being transparent about the results.
WHAT WE TEST FOR
At Fianna, we believe health testing should go beyond simply checking the minimum boxes.
🧬 Genetic Testing
We test for important inherited conditions relevant to the Collie, including:
MDR1 — Multidrug Sensitivity
MDR1 is a mutation in the ABCB1 gene that can make some dogs more susceptible to adverse reactions to certain medications.
Importantly, MDR1 is not a simple "clear/carrier/affected" recessive disease.
Dogs with one or two copies of the mutation can be at risk for adverse drug reactions, although dogs with two copies may be more severely affected. This is why knowing an individual dog's actual genotype is important for veterinary care.
Knowing a puppy's MDR1 status gives their veterinarian useful information for making medication decisions throughout that dog's life.
CEA — Collie Eye Anomaly
CEA is an inherited developmental eye disorder associated with a mutation in the NHEJ1 gene.
The condition can range from mild abnormalities that have little apparent effect on vision to much more significant ocular abnormalities. Importantly, the severity of CEA cannot be predicted simply by looking at a dog's DNA result.
That is why we believe DNA testing and physical eye examinations are complementary—not interchangeable.
Our puppies are examined by a canine ophthalmologist at the age recommended by the Collie Club of America.
PRA-RCD2
Progressive Retinal Atrophy, rod-cone dysplasia type 2, is a recessive inherited retinal disease that can ultimately cause blindness.
Because this is a recessive condition, DNA testing allows breeders to make informed pairings and avoid producing affected puppies.
DMS — Dermatomyositis
Dermatomyositis is an inherited autoimmune condition affecting the skin and muscles.
The available genetic test is not a simple "this dog will or will not get DMS" guarantee. Rather, it helps breeders understand genetic risk and make more informed breeding decisions.
This distinction matters.
Genetic testing is a tool—not a crystal ball.
The current Collie Health Foundation UC Davis Collie Health Panel includes testing for CEA, MDR1, PRA-RCD2, cyclic neutropenia, and DMS, among other available tests.
🦴 WHY WE TEST HIPS AND ELBOWS
This is one area where we intentionally go beyond the minimum Collie CHIC requirements.
The current Collie CHIC program requires submission of MDR1, PRA-RCD2, and DMS results to OFA. Hips and elbows are not currently required for a Collie to receive a CHIC number.
We test them anyway.
Why?
Because our dogs don't live in a database.
They run.
They jump.
They hike.
They compete.
They play.
And they spend their lives using their joints.
Hip and elbow dysplasia are orthopedic conditions that can affect a dog's comfort, mobility, and quality of life. OFA maintains databases for both conditions specifically to help breeders make more informed breeding decisions and reduce the incidence of inherited disease.
We don't believe that a test needs to be required for CHIC before it becomes worthwhile.
If information can help us make better breeding decisions, we want that information.
Minimum requirements are a starting point—not our finish line.
WHY WE POST OUR RESULTS TO OFA
You may see breeders advertise that their dogs are "health tested."
That phrase can mean many different things.
Did the breeder perform a DNA test?
Was the result verified?
Was it submitted to OFA?
Can you independently find the result?
Was the dog permanently identified?
Was an orthopedic evaluation performed?
What were the actual results?
At Fianna, we believe prospective puppy owners should not have to simply take our word for it.
Whenever applicable, we submit our health testing to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) so that our dogs' results become part of a publicly searchable health database.
That transparency matters.
OFA explains that its databases allow breeders and puppy buyers to access health information and help breeders make more informed breeding decisions. The information also contributes to broader breed-health research and allows trends to be monitored over time.
We don't want you to have to trust us blindly.
We want you to be able to verify us.
WHAT DOES "CHIC" ACTUALLY MEAN?
CHIC stands for Canine Health Information Center.
A CHIC number means that a dog has completed the health screenings required by its parent breed club and that the results have been made publicly available through OFA.
For Collies, the current CHIC requirements are:
MDR1
PRA-RCD2
DMS
Permanent identification
And here's the part that is often misunderstood:
A CHIC number does NOT mean that a dog passed every test.
CHIC certification is based on completion and public submission of the required testing—not on every result being "normal."
We actually think this is an important distinction.
A breeder should not be afraid of a publicly recorded result simply because it isn't the result they hoped for.
A database full of honest results is far more valuable to the breed than a database full of only the results breeders are comfortable showing.
WHY OUR PUPPIES LEAVE WITH THEIR OWN OFA CHIC
We take transparency seriously enough that we don't want health information to stop with the parents.
Our puppies are individually identified and have their required CHIC testing submitted to OFA before going home, allowing them to leave Fianna with their own CHIC certification.
That means their new families can begin their dog's life with a documented health record rather than a folder full of breeder claims.
It also means that the puppy's information becomes part of the larger Collie health database.
Your puppy isn't just your companion. Their health information can help future generations of Collies.
"BUT WHY ARE SO MANY WELL-BRED COLLIES CEA AFFECTED?"
This is where Collie genetics become particularly interesting.
CEA is an old, widespread genetic condition within the breed. The mutation is present in a large portion of the Collie population and in many established Collie families. The mutation responsible for CEA was identified only in 2007, even though the condition had been recognized decades earlier.
As a result, CEA isn't something that responsible breeders can simply eliminate overnight.
And, importantly, "affected" on a DNA test does not automatically mean "visibly impaired."
CEA has variable expression. Some affected dogs have relatively mild findings, while others can have more serious ocular abnormalities.
This is why responsible breeders have to think beyond:
CLEAR = GOOD
and
AFFECTED = BAD
Breeding decisions are much more complicated than that.
A genetically affected dog should not simply be bred indiscriminately. But eliminating every dog carrying a historically common mutation without considering the rest of the dog's health, structure, temperament, pedigree, and genetic diversity can create other problems.
The goal is responsible management and gradual improvement, not panic.
AND WHAT ABOUT MDR1?
MDR1 is an even better example of why genetics matter.
The MDR1 mutation is extremely common in Collies. The Collie Health Foundation estimates that approximately 55–70% of the Collie population is affected by the mutation, depending on the source.
So seeing:
MDR1 Mutant/Normal
or
MDR1 Mutant/Mutant
on a well-bred Collie does not automatically mean that the breeder has done something irresponsible.
It means that the breeder is working with a mutation that has become widespread within the breed.
The important question is:
What is the breeder doing with that information?
Are they testing?
Are they documenting?
Are they making thoughtful pairings?
Are they avoiding producing unnecessarily high-risk combinations?
Are puppy owners informed?
Are veterinarians given the information?
Are results being submitted to a public database?
That is what responsible genetic management looks like.
SO WHY DO SOME COLLIES TEST "NORMAL" FOR EVERYTHING?
You may notice something interesting when comparing breeders.
Some breeders will advertise dogs that are:
CEA — Clear
MDR1 — Normal/Normal
PRA — Clear
DMS — Clear
And you may wonder:
"If these results are possible, why doesn't everyone just breed clear dogs?"
Because genetics aren't that simple.
First, a clear result is genuinely valuable. If a dog is genetically clear for a recessive disease, that dog can help reduce the frequency of that mutation in future generations.
But a handful of clear DNA results does not tell you everything about a breeding program.
A dog can be genetically clear for several tested conditions and still have poor hips, poor elbows, an eye abnormality, an undesirable temperament, structural faults, or other health concerns for which no simple DNA test exists.
Likewise, a dog can carry a mutation and still be an extremely valuable breeding animal when that mutation is managed responsibly.
There is no single "health test" that tells you whether a dog is well bred.
Good breeding requires looking at the entire dog.
DNA TESTING ≠ A HEALTH GUARANTEE
This is one of the most important things we want puppy families to understand.
DNA testing is incredibly powerful—but it has limits.
Some conditions have excellent genetic tests.
Some have tests that estimate risk rather than predict disease.
Some require physical examinations.
Some involve multiple genes.
Some are influenced by environment.
And some conditions simply do not have a reliable screening test yet.
That is why our approach combines:
🧬 Genetic testing
👁️ Ophthalmologist examinations
🦴 Orthopedic screening
📖 Pedigree research
🐕 Evaluation of structure and movement
🧠 Temperament evaluation
📊 Public health records
🔬 Continued education and breed-health research
No single test can replace thoughtful breeding.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We don't believe responsible breeding means pretending that genetic problems don't exist.
We believe responsible breeding means knowing they exist, understanding them, testing for what we can test for, documenting what we find, and using that information to make better decisions.
We also believe puppy buyers deserve access to the same information we use when making breeding decisions.
That's why we encourage prospective families to look beyond a breeder's website badges.
Ask for the actual results.
Look up the dogs.
Look at pedigrees.
Look at health histories.
Ask what a breeder does when a test isn't normal.
And most importantly, ask why they made the breeding they made.
Because responsible breeding isn't about producing a perfect dog.
It's about making the best possible decision with the information available—and leaving the breed better for the next generation.
HEALTH TESTING IS NOT THE FINISH LINE.
It is the beginning of responsible breeding.
At Fianna Collies, our goal is not simply to produce beautiful Collies.
We want to produce Collies who are beautiful inside and out—with sound structure, stable temperaments, functional bodies, and the best possible foundation for a long, active life with their families.
Transparency is part of that foundation.
[View our dogs & their OFA results]
[Learn more about our breeding program]
[Have questions about Collie health? Contact us.]
