What health tests should a British Bulldog breeder do?

At a minimum: ADAMTS3 testing for both parent dogs, plus DNA testing for other hereditary conditions documented in the breed — Hyperuricosuria (HUU), Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), Canine Multifocal Retinopathy 1 (CMR1), and Cystinuria across two genes (SLC3A1 and SLC7A9). Testing should be conducted through an accredited laboratory. When both parents are DNA clear for these recessive conditions, puppies are not expected to be clinically affected by those conditions under their known inheritance patterns.

What is ADAMTS3 and why does it matter in health testing?

ADAMTS3 is an important genetic marker associated with airway oedema risk in British Bulldogs. A 2019 study published in PLoS Genetics (Marchant et al.) identified an ADAMTS3 missense variant associated with upper airway syndrome and found the risk allele enriched in the British Bulldog and the French Bulldog. Unlike recessive conditions, ADAMTS3 operates on a copy-number basis: a dog can carry zero, one, or two copies of the risk allele. ADAMTS3 is one component of a whole-dog breeding approach and should always be interpreted alongside structure, function, health testing and overall breeding decisions.

Is BOAS testing enough for a British Bulldog breeding program?

No. Respiratory Function Grading evaluates a dog's breathing performance on a given day. The result is influenced by the environment, the assessor, and the conditions at the time of testing. It is a phenotypic measure — it reflects the dog in that moment. DNA testing identifies what the dog carries at the genotype level. Phenotype and genotype are distinct, and a serious program considers both alongside structure, function and whole-dog assessment.

Does Hollywood Bulldogs AUS test every puppy?

Yes — for ADAMTS3. Cord tissue is collected at birth and each puppy's ADAMTS3 status is determined once laboratory testing has been completed. For the other hereditary conditions tested (HUU, DM, CMR1, Cystinuria), all breeding adults are DNA clear, meaning puppies from these pairings are not expected to be clinically affected by those conditions under their known inheritance patterns. The ADAMTS3 result is the one that varies by individual and is documented separately for each puppy.

Who collects DNA samples at Hollywood Bulldogs AUS?

Caesareans are performed by an independent reproductive veterinarian engaged on a fee-for-service basis. Cord tissue is collected at delivery for DNA testing. Samples are then processed through Dog Breeding Science. The breeding program itself is run by Hollywood Bulldogs AUS.

What does a buyer receive from Hollywood Bulldogs AUS?

MDBA registration — on pet or mains papers depending on the arrangement. The health testing behind each puppy lives in the program and its documentation. The tested parents, the documented birth results, and the program's history are the record.

Does DNA registration mean a dog is health tested?

No. Registration with a breed or registry body confirms membership — it does not confirm what DNA testing was conducted, which laboratory was used, or whether testing covered the hereditary conditions most relevant to the breed. Testing and registration are separate. Both matter. They do not confirm each other.

What is Cystinuria and why are British Bulldogs tested for two genes?

Cystinuria occurs when the kidneys cannot properly reabsorb cystine, causing crystal and stone formation in the urinary tract — one of the most common hereditary conditions in the breed. British Bulldogs require testing across two separate genes: SLC3A1 (autosomal recessive — two copies required for a dog to be affected) and SLC7A9 (incomplete recessive — even one copy can cause clinical symptoms). Because the inheritance patterns differ, both must be tested separately. When both parents are DNA clear across both genes, puppies are not expected to be clinically affected through either pathway under their known inheritance patterns.

Health Testing

British Bulldog Health Testing Australia: Why DNA Is the Only Honest Measure

Health-tested British Bulldog with documented DNA results

Key Takeaways

DNA testing identifies what a dog carries at the genotype level; a vet's assessment of how a dog breathes on a given day describes the phenotype, not what is passed on
Phenotypic assessments like Respiratory Function Grading reflect the dog in that moment; the puppy inherits the genotype, while the grade describes the phenotype
ADAMTS3 is an important genetic marker associated with airway oedema risk in British Bulldogs — it is one component of a whole-dog breeding approach and should be interpreted alongside structure, function, health testing and overall breeding decisions
When both parents are DNA clear for recessive conditions (HUU, DM, CMR1, Cystinuria), puppies are not expected to be clinically affected by those conditions under their known inheritance patterns
Cystinuria requires two separate gene tests in British Bulldogs — SLC3A1 (recessive) and SLC7A9 (incomplete recessive, where one copy can cause symptoms) — clear parents across both genes addresses both pathways
ADAMTS3 is a copy-number condition — cord tissue is collected at birth and each puppy's status is determined once laboratory testing has been completed

The testing behind every puppy here was completed before you asked your first question.

Find out about availability at Hollywood Bulldogs AUS

What does "health tested" mean in a British Bulldog program?

"Health tested" means different things in different programs. At a minimum, it should mean documented DNA results for both parent dogs — covering the hereditary conditions most relevant to the breed. A vet's observation of a dog performing well on a given day is not a substitute. DNA testing tells you what a dog carries. It is not influenced by the weather, the room, or the assessor.

A dog can appear healthy on examination day. That tells you how the dog presented at that point in time.

It cannot tell you what the dog carries, or what it will pass to the next generation.

Two dogs with clear airways and strong movement can both carry genetic risk factors that their offspring inherit fully. The outward appearance — the phenotype — does not reveal the genotype.

DNA testing answers a different question: not how this dog performs today, but what it carries and what it can pass on.

These are central questions for the puppy that comes home with you, alongside structure, function and whole-dog assessment.

“A dog can look healthy. That is not the same as testing healthy.”

Why phenotypic assessment is not a substitute for DNA testing

Respiratory Function Grading and similar assessments evaluate observable characteristics on a given day. The result reflects the dog in that moment — that room, that temperature, that assessor. A different day or a different vet can produce a different result. Phenotype and genotype are distinct: the puppy inherits the genotype, while the grade describes the phenotype on the day of assessment.

Respiratory Function Grading is a standardised assessment of how a dog breathes on the day it is tested. The score reflects that dog in that moment.

It does not, on its own, describe what the dog's offspring will inherit at the DNA level.

Environment changes the result. Assessors differ. A dog assessed on a warm afternoon performs differently from the same dog on a cool morning. The grade is real for that moment. The genotype exists regardless of the moment — and the puppy inherits the genotype.

At Hollywood Bulldogs AUS, breeding decisions are built on DNA results alongside structure, function and whole-dog assessment. DNA does not change with room temperature, and it does not vary between assessors. A copy number is the same result on Tuesday as it is on Thursday.

Phenotypic assessment and DNA testing answer different questions. Both are considered together.

“Phenotype describes the dog today. Genotype describes what is passed on.”

What ADAMTS3 testing covers

ADAMTS3 is an important genetic marker associated with airway oedema risk in British Bulldogs. The test identifies how many copies of the tested risk allele a dog carries: zero, one, or two. ADAMTS3 is one component of a whole-dog breeding approach and should always be interpreted alongside structure, function, health testing and overall breeding decisions. Testing before pairing means copy numbers are known — and pairing decisions can be made to reduce the frequency of the risk allele across generations.

ADAMTS3 is an important genetic marker associated with airway oedema risk in British Bulldogs, identified by Marchant et al. (2019, PLoS Genetics), where the risk allele was found enriched in the breed.

A dog that carries two copies has a different airway oedema risk profile under this marker than a dog that carries one. A dog that carries zero carries none of the tested ADAMTS3 risk allele. Those differences are inherited by the next generation — in predictable ratios, depending on the copy numbers of both parents.

Testing before pairing means that distribution is calculated before it becomes a puppy.

At Hollywood Bulldogs AUS, every breeding adult is ADAMTS3-tested before it is used in a pairing, alongside assessment of structure, function and whole-dog suitability. Results are documented and inform multi-generational decisions.

Australia's first documented 1-copy female
Australia's second documented 1-copy male
Australia's first documented 0-copy British Bulldog males
Hollywood Bulldogs AUS holds Australia's largest collection of ADAMTS3-tested 0-copy and 1-copy British Bulldogs

What other DNA tests does a serious British Bulldog program include?

Beyond ADAMTS3, breeding adults at Hollywood Bulldogs AUS are DNA tested for Hyperuricosuria (HUU), Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), Canine Multifocal Retinopathy 1 (CMR1), and Cystinuria — the last requiring separate testing across two genes, because each operates under a different inheritance pattern. All breeding adults are clear across every one of these markers.

Hyperuricosuria causes elevated uric acid, producing urate crystals and stones — a condition that causes significant pain and often requires surgery. Degenerative Myelopathy is a progressive neurological disease affecting spinal cord function. Congenital Macrothrombocytopenia is a platelet disorder.

Cystinuria — the inability to properly reabsorb cystine in the kidneys — causes crystal and stone formation in the urinary tract. It is among the most common hereditary conditions in the breed. British Bulldogs are tested across two genes: SLC3A1, which follows standard autosomal recessive inheritance, and SLC7A9, which shows incomplete recessive inheritance — even a single copy can produce clinical symptoms.

This is why both genes require separate testing. Standard clear-carrier logic does not cover SLC7A9. A dog must carry zero copies of both to be fully clear of cystinuria risk.

Every breeding adult at Hollywood Bulldogs AUS is clear across all of these conditions. When both parents are DNA clear for these recessive conditions, puppies are not expected to be clinically affected by those conditions under their known inheritance patterns.

ADAMTS3 operates differently — it is a copy-number condition, not a simple recessive. Cord tissue is collected at birth and each puppy's ADAMTS3 status is determined once laboratory testing has been completed.

Why puppies are ADAMTS3-tested from cord tissue collected at delivery

Because ADAMTS3 is a copy-number condition, not a recessive disease. Even when both parents are clear of HUU, DM, CMR1, and Cystinuria — meaning offspring are not expected to be clinically affected by those conditions — each puppy's ADAMTS3 copy number is individually determined at conception. Cord tissue is collected at birth and ADAMTS3 status is confirmed once laboratory testing has been completed.

Caesareans are performed by an independent reproductive veterinarian engaged on a fee-for-service basis. Cord tissue is collected at delivery for DNA testing.

Testing is conducted through Dog Breeding Science — an Australian veterinary genetics laboratory in Redfern, NSW. Samples never leave the country. Testing is conducted under Australian standards, with a stated accuracy target above the 98% ISAG Level 1 international benchmark.

A puppy's ADAMTS3 status is confirmed once laboratory testing has been completed.

The documentation is part of what informs the home-matching decision.

What does British Bulldog health testing mean for your dog's quality of life?

Puppies leave at eight weeks. What they carry was determined before they were born — by the pairing decisions made before the litter existed, and documented after laboratory testing has been completed.

That is not a marketing statement. It is a description of a sequence that either happened or it did not.

The dog you bring home will live with the genetics, structure and early breeding decisions behind it for years to come. ADAMTS3 status is one part of that picture; structure, function and whole-dog assessment are the others.

At Hollywood Bulldogs AUS, ADAMTS3 status is documented for each puppy alongside the clear DNA panel results of both parents. ADAMTS3 is interpreted alongside structure, function and whole-dog assessment — never as a standalone predictor.

Buyers receive MDBA registration — pet or mains papers, depending on the arrangement. The testing record lives in the program. It produced the puppy. It is already done.

“Health testing is one part of a whole-dog breeding approach — interpreted alongside structure, function and overall assessment.”

Sources and References

Marchant, T.W., et al. (2019). An ADAMTS3 missense variant is associated with Norwich Terrier upper airway syndrome. PLOS Genetics, 15(5): e1008102 — https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008102

Bannasch, D., et al. (2008). Mutations in the SLC2A9 gene cause hyperuricosuria and hyperuricemia in the dog. PLOS Genetics, 4(11): e1000246 — https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1000246

Guziewicz, K.E., et al. (2007). Bestrophin gene mutations cause canine multifocal retinopathy: a novel animal model for best disease. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 48(5):1959-1967 — https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.06-1374

Awano, T., et al. (2009). Genome-wide association analysis reveals a SOD1 mutation in canine degenerative myelopathy. PNAS, 106(8):2794-2799 — https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0812297106

Brons, A.K., et al. (2013). SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 mutations in autosomal recessive or dominant canine cystinuria: a new classification system. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 27(6):1400-1408 — https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.12176

Master Dog Breeders and Associates (MDBA), Breeding Brachys for Health program requirements — https://mdba.net.au

Sources are cited for the mechanisms described above. Where a mechanism has been characterised in another breed, that limitation is stated in the relevant section rather than generalised to British Bulldogs.

Frequently Asked Questions

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British Bulldog evaluated for ADAMTS3 status

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