Health Clearances

Question
Hey there's a lot of conflicting information going around on what health clearances are necessary or not. I have a 2.5 yr field lab looking to breed in the spring and I just want to make sure I have all my bases covered on what she should have and what clearances I should be looking for in a stud dog. And also not break the bank, with unimportant tests. Please note this is a SH, field stock. I got the OFA, wondering about the importance of EIC, CNM, etc. Thanks for the Help (L)

Answer
Absoulte minimum clearanaces is Hip AND Elbow clearances, annual CERF exam, and Optigen (or similar) which does the blood test for PRA.  Many are doing heart clearances now.  Gold standard is Echocardiogram to receive an OFA Cardiac clearance.  Minimum should be at least an ascultation.  That at least on the girl, but if you are looking to pay big bucks for a stud, they should have the Echo done.  EIC and CNM are both problems that are affecting both field and show labs, but more so field.  They are not expensive to do and you can order the cheek swab kit for free and each test is $58 to get the result.  

http://www.vetdnacenter.com/canine-exercise-induced-collapse.html

There is still some contention whether the EIC and CNM tests are valid, however, I feel that if you are dealing with the field lines of labs, at LEAST one of the dogs should have it done and be a CLEAR.  If you don't have it on either dogs you could be passing the hereditary problem on.