Screening Clinics

All Irish Wolfhounds 2 years of age or older. 

Heart disease in Irish Wolfhounds is often treatable if detected early. Getting your IW's heart screened is important for everyone, not just breeders! All adult Irish Wolfhounds should be screened annually.

Yes, as long as it's a purebred Irish Wolfhound. We need to know when the dog was born (guesses OK), what he's called and who owns him. That's it! If you don't have a registered name or number that's OK; just put "N/A" on the sign up form. 

Yes, your hound must be 2 years or older, since most heart disease in Irish Wolfhounds is not due to congenital defects, but rather develops as the hound ages.

An echocardiogram (or "echo") is painless and non-invasive, and allows the cardiologist to visualize and assess the overall health of the heart via ultrasonic imaging. Some of the things an echo can show are leakage of blood through the valves, the size of the heart, abnormal communications between the left and the right sides of the heart, and heart muscle contractility.

An EKG (or electrocardiogram) is a paper or digital recording of the electrical signals in the heart. It is used to determine heart rate, heart rhythm and other information regarding the heart's condition. An annual EKG is one of the requirements for dogs in OFA's CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) program.

There isn't one. Either abbreviation can be used to refer to an electrocardiogram, where leads are attached to the dog in several places to measure the electrical activity in the heart. EKG is probably the more frequently used term, but ECG is used more by cardiologists.

Check on the timing of your appointment, as it may change slightly during the show.  Come to the heart screening area about 10 minutes before your assigned time. If you haven't filled out an LCSII health and diet form online you can pick one up and complete it when you arrive. An EKG and auscultation takes about 10 minutes.  Allow 15-20 minutes for EKG, auscultation and echo.

Other than a small amount of pinching, there is no pain involved, and most dogs patiently tolerate the procedures. If you have an echocardiogram done, the coat is wiped clean with alcohol after testing and the dog should be dry and ready to show within a few minutes.

Absolutely. All testing is done in a standing position with the owner or a designated handler present to keep the dog as calm as possible.

We only request a blood sample if the dog is participating in one of our studies for the first time.  With your permission, the IWF collects small amounts of blood for research.  This blood is saved in the IWF DNA databank for future use.

No. The electrocardiograms (a.k.a., EKGs or ECGs) and echocardiograms provided at dog shows is meant as a screening examination for IWH type cardiomyopathy for either breeding stock or pet IWs and to support on-going studies of the IWF. If your IW has already been diagnosed with heart disease, or you suspect that it may be affected, you should establish a relationship with a local cardiologist to manage your dog's heart disease.

Sometimes, if there are time slots available.  However it greatly simplifies things if the online signup process is used. 

No, not unless you choose to register your dog's individual results publically with OFA. 

We do send data to the OFA/ACVIM Advanced Cardiac Database (ACA) for statistical purposes. As part of a clinic, the ACA form is completed and the basic information is submitted to the statistical database. That data is never published for individual dogs without owner consent. If you wish to publish your dog's results you will need to mark the completed ACA screening form accordingly, sign it, and send it in to OFA with a registration fee.

Note that only published results are acceptable for a CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) designation.