Health Testing

In order to produce only QUALITY Australian Shepherds that represent the breed WELL, all of my parent dogs undergo a health screening protocol. Only breeders who strive to continuously improve future generations, like Bear Creek Australian Shepherds, are very particular that their sires and dames will produce puppies that will only enhance the reputation of their breed, NOT flood the gene pool with undesirable traits and/or underlying genetic disorders. ALL breeds have certain diseases/defects that are inheritable. And unless you buy from a trusted breeder who health tests their dogs and will willingly share said tests, you have a high chance of buying an AKC registered dog for thousands of dollars, with numerous hereditary defects,  underlying genetic disorders, such as cataracts, cancers and/or spinal conditions that will manifest early or later on in their life.
Health/Genetic Testing

ALL my Australian Shepherds are genetically tested for the specific diseases and defects that can affect this breed.  I also test my parent dogs for other genes, like coat color & length, body size, & drive.

This helps to determine how breeding pairs match up virtually and what coat, color and traits the puppies may possibly inherit from each parent.