Bernese Health Clearances: Which Tests to Ask For (OFA, DM, vWD, Berner-Garde)

By the Riverside Berner Guide editorial team
Last updated November 7, 2026

Bernese Mountain Dog health testing comes down to one request: ask to see both parents’ results for hips, elbows, eyes, heart and degenerative myelopathy (DM), plus at least one of three optional tests. That is the minimum the breed’s national club, the BMDCA, recommends for any dog that may be bred. Then check those results yourself on the OFA website and in the Berner-Garde database, because “tested” doesn’t always mean “clear.”

This guide walks through each test, what the results mean in the testing body’s own terms, and how to look them up. It doesn’t replace your vet. When a result raises a medical question, ask your vet what it could mean for a puppy.

What Bernese Mountain Dog health testing the BMDCA recommends

The BMDCA’s Recommended Testing page lists five core tests for breeding dogs: hips, elbows, eyes, heart and DM. It adds one optional test chosen from von Willebrand disease (vWD), thyroid or the histiocytic sarcoma risk test. The club’s Berner-Garde guide also lists an AKC DNA profile for both the dam and sire.

Members of the club agree to these tests too. Its code of conduct says members must get the recommended screening tests on both parents before breeding.

Completed is not the same as clear

Two programs track whether a dog has done its tests:

• CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) is run by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA).
• BRT (Berner Recommended Testing) is run by the BMDCA through Berner-Garde.

The BMDCA states plainly that neither program requires clear results. Both require only that the tests are done and the results, good or bad, are shared. OFA says the same about CHIC numbers: a number doesn’t imply normal results.

So a CHIC number or BRT star is a good start, not a finish line. You still need to read each result.

Hips: OFA grades and PennHIP

The BMDCA’s buying tips say Berners are known for serious orthopedic problems such as hip and elbow dysplasia, which are generally genetic. You can read more in our guide to hip and elbow dysplasia in Bernese. Breeders can screen hips in two ways, according to the BMDCA’s Health Tests & Screening page.

OFA hip X-rays

OFA reads hip X-rays and gives one of seven grades:

• Within normal limits: Excellent, Good or Fair. These dogs get an OFA number.
• Borderline: An unclear result that sits between normal and dysplastic.
• Dysplastic: Mild, Moderate or Severe.

A dog must be at least 24 months old for a final hip rating. OFA offers preliminary readings for dogs from 4 to 23 months, so ask which kind you’re looking at.

PennHIP

PennHIP measures how loose the hip joint is and gives a Distraction Index ranked against the breed. The BMDCA’s health test page suggests breeding dogs fall in the top 40% for the breed, meaning the 60th percentile or better. If a breeder shows you a PennHIP report, ask where each parent ranked.

Elbows: normal or Grade I to III

OFA grades elbows on a simple scale. A normal elbow gets no grade. Abnormal elbows are rated Grade I, II or III, from the least to the most bone change.

Like hips, elbows can’t get a final OFA rating until the dog is 24 months old. Ask your vet what a Grade I result in a parent could mean for your puppy, because that’s a medical judgment.

Eyes: an exam by a specialist

The eye test is an exam by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist. The BMDCA’s health test page says the first exam should happen by 12 months, ideally repeated every year and at least every two years.

OFA records these exams in its Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER). An eye certification lasts 12 months from the exam date. Results fall into three broad groups:

• Passed: The dog gets a certification number.
• Passed with “Breeder Option”: The dog still passes, but the exam noted a condition that may be inherited and doesn’t threaten vision.
• Not eligible: Certain conditions, such as cataract or progressive retinal atrophy, rule out a certification number.

Because eye results expire, check the date. A clearance from several years ago tells you less than a recent one.

Heart: the cardiac exam

The BMDCA recommends a heart exam by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist, first by 12 months and then every two years. OFA records cardiac results in its Cardiac Database.

OFA has two levels of exam. A basic exam uses a stethoscope and can be done by any licensed vet. An advanced exam requires a veterinary cardiologist and an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart).

Here’s what the results mean in OFA’s terms:

• A dog must be 12 months or older to get a cardiac clearance.
• A basic clearance is valid for one year.
• An advanced clearance is split in two: the congenital part is permanent, and the adult-onset part lasts one year.
• OFA grades heart murmurs from 1 (very soft) to 6 (very loud).

The BMDCA’s health test page passes on OFA’s caution that this exam may not reliably detect some heart conditions. If you have questions about a parent’s heart result, ask your vet.

Degenerative myelopathy (DM)

OFA describes DM as a slowly worsening disease of the spinal cord that weakens the hind legs. It says signs usually start between 8 and 14 years of age.

Bernese are unusual here. Most breeds need only one DM test, but OFA says Bernese Mountain Dogs should be tested for both the DM1 and DM2 variants. The BMDCA’s Berner-Garde guide calls these the SOD1A and SOD1B tests, so ask whether both were done.

OFA explains the results this way:

• Normal (N/N): Two normal copies of the gene. The dog is unlikely to develop DM and can’t pass on the mutation.
• Carrier (A/N): One normal copy and one mutated copy. Carriers are far less likely to develop DM, though a few have.
• At-Risk (A/A): Two mutated copies. The dog is at risk, but not every At-Risk dog shows signs.

The BMDCA’s health test page adds that a dog with one copy of each mutation is also treated as at risk. What these results mean for a particular puppy is a question for your vet.

The optional tests: vWD, thyroid and histio risk

The BMDCA asks for at least one of these three tests. Some breeders do all three, so it’s worth asking which ones were done.

Von Willebrand disease (vWD) Type I

This is a cheek-swab DNA test that can be done at any age. The BMDCA’s health test page gives three results:

• Clear: Both copies of the gene are normal.
• Carrier: One copy is defective.
• Affected: Both copies are defective.

A dog can be listed as clear by parentage if both parents tested clear and have AKC DNA numbers. That only applies to the first generation.

Thyroid

OFA’s thyroid registry checks for autoimmune thyroiditis. A normal result earns an OFA number at 12 months or older. Its result categories are Normal, Positive Autoimmune Thyroiditis, Positive Compensative Autoimmune Thyroiditis and Idiopathically Reduced Thyroid Function, and anything else is equivocal.

Thyroid status can change with age. OFA recommends retesting at ages 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8, and the BMDCA suggests a first test by two years.

Histiocytic sarcoma risk test

Histiocytic sarcoma is an aggressive cancer, and the BMDCA says it kills more than 16% of Bernese Mountain Dogs. The risk test from the lab Antagene looks at nine genetic markers and gives each dog an index:

• A: About four times less likely to develop the disease.
• B: Neither more nor less likely.
• C: About four times more likely.

This test is not a diagnosis. The BMDCA notes that A dogs can still get the disease and C dogs can live long lives without it.

The club’s health test page also says a C dog shouldn’t be dropped from breeding on this result alone. Our guide to cancer in Bernese Mountain Dogs covers the disease itself.

How to check results on OFA

Start by asking the breeder for each parent’s full registered name. Then search the OFA website for each dog.

A few things help you read what you find:

• Normal hip and elbow results for dogs over 24 months post publicly by default.
• Abnormal results appear only if the owner agreed to release them on the form.
• Normal results are always public, while owners can choose whether to publish abnormal ones for some tests.
• OFA suggests looking at relatives too, such as siblings, half-siblings, aunts and uncles.

Because puppies can’t be hip screened when young, OFA’s advice to prospective owners is to review both parents’ bloodlines, including the grandparents’ hips. Ask the breeder for proof, such as the OFA certificates.

How to check results in Berner-Garde

The Berner-Garde Foundation runs a health and pedigree database for the breed that’s free and open to everyone. The BMDCA’s health page says it holds over 220,000 dogs.

The BMDCA’s guide to the database suggests these checks:

1. Look up the parents. Enter as a guest, choose “Dogs” and search by registered or call name to see health screenings, parents and littermates.
2. Look for the gold star. A gold star over the “Certs/Tests” table means all the recommended testing was completed and recorded.
3. Look up the breeder. Use “People.” The guide calls a breeder with no dogs in the database the first red flag.
4. Check whole families. “Litters Bred” shows results for half-siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Data on only one puppy out of a litter of eight should prompt questions.

Histio risk results work a little differently. The BMDCA’s ordering page says Berner-Garde keeps the A, B or C index confidential but lists the dog as tested. So you may need to ask the breeder for the actual score.

The database is built from voluntary submissions, so a gap is a reason to ask, not proof of a problem.

Putting it together when you talk to breeders

A good breeder won’t mind any of this. The BMDCA’s buying tips say you should get copies of the parents’ health tests. They also warn against sellers who claim “excellent orthopedics” or “no health problems” without proof across the pedigree.

Before you commit, ask for these:

• Every result for both parents, not just a CHIC number
• Both DM results (SOD1A and SOD1B)
• Which optional tests were done, and the histio index if it was
• The dates of the latest eye and heart exams
• Results for close relatives, if the breeder has them

Then look each one up. If something doesn’t match, ask about it, and ask your vet to help you weigh any result that worries you.

For the bigger picture, start with our guide to finding a healthy Bernese puppy. You can also read how to vet a reputable Bernese breeder, our 25 questions to ask a breeder and an overview of common Bernese health problems. Make sure your puppy contract says what happens if a hereditary problem shows up later.