Health Testing
and Breeding Standards
I have been asked more times than I can count whether my dogs are health tested. The answer is yes — and I will prove it. Every breeding dog at Apexx Akitas carries full OFA certifications that are publicly verifiable. Not claimed. Not documented on a piece of paper I hand you. Verifiable by anyone, at any time, by searching the OFA public database at ofa.org using the registered name of the dog.
That is where this conversation starts. Not with what I tell you. With what the record shows.
A dog can appear healthy and still carry conditions that will shorten its life or compromise the life of whoever owns it. Health testing exists because appearance is not evidence.
The American Akita is a large, powerful working breed. Hip dysplasia, elbow disease, thyroid dysfunction, inherited eye disorders — these conditions exist in the breed and they are preventable through responsible selection. The only way to select responsibly is to test. Every breeding dog. Every time. No exceptions based on pedigree, show record, or how good the dog looks standing in a field.
What We Test For
and Why It Matters
There are five clearances required for every breeding dog at Apexx Akitas. Not recommended. Required. A dog without all five does not enter our breeding program regardless of what else it brings to the table.
All five results are publicly verifiable at ofa.org. Ask any breeder you consider for the registered names of their breeding dogs and look them up yourself. If the results are not there, they do not exist. A certificate image on a website is not the same as a publicly verifiable OFA record.
OFA Hip Radiograph. This is what responsible breeding documentation looks like. Not a claim on a website. A radiograph submitted to and evaluated by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, with results publicly searchable at ofa.org.
What the Records
Actually Look Like
Every family that inquires about an Apexx Akitas puppy is encouraged to verify our health testing directly before they ever speak with me. The certificate numbers are not confidential. They are public record. Here is what verified OFA documentation looks like for our breeding stock.
Champion Ash — OFA Health Report. Publicly verifiable at ofa.org.
Champion Ash — OFA Elbow Certificate. Both parents certified before any breeding decision is made.
Apexx Blazing Bengal — OFA Elbow Evaluation. Excellent result. Steinbach Veterinary Hospital, March 2026.
Temperament Is Not an Afterthought.
It Is a Selection Criterion.
Health testing covers the physical side of responsible breeding. Temperament is the other half — and it is just as heritable, just as important, and just as often ignored by breeders who are more interested in moving puppies than standing behind them.
The American Akita is a dominant, powerful, deeply loyal dog. Those qualities, bred correctly, produce the companion the breed is known for. Bred carelessly, they produce a dog that is difficult and potentially dangerous. The difference is not training. It is selection.
Every breeding dog at Apexx Akitas is evaluated for temperament across multiple years and multiple situations before it contributes to this program. We track how our dogs behave in the home, around strangers, around children, under pressure. We track what their offspring produce. A dog with an unstable or unknown behavioral history does not breed here. Not for any other quality it might have.
Temperament is not trained into existence. It is bred responsibly and reinforced correctly. The ceiling is set before the puppy is born.
Structure, Movement,
and Why It Matters Long-Term
The AKC American Akita breed standard is not a cosmetic document. It describes a dog that is physically capable of doing what the breed was developed to do — and physically capable dogs are dogs that move well, age well, and live comfortably across a ten-year lifespan.
Every breeding dog at Apexx Akitas is evaluated for structural correctness in person, not reviewed on paper. Correct angulation, balanced movement, proper bone and substance — these are not show ring preferences. They are functional requirements that directly affect joint longevity, physical comfort, and quality of life for the dog and the family that owns it.
Conformation competition provides something that no breeder's own evaluation can replicate: objective, expert, third-party assessment of structure and breed type measured directly against the standard. Apexx-bred and owned dogs have competed and placed in AKC conformation events. Those results confirm our structural standards hold up under independent evaluation.
What This Program Will Not Do
How to Verify Any Breeder's
Health Testing Claims
Go to ofa.org and search the registered name of the sire and dam. A responsible breeder gives you those names without hesitation. If the results are not in the public database, they do not exist — regardless of what any website, certificate image, or conversation claims.
A complete panel for American Akitas includes hips, elbows, thyroid, eyes, and cardiac. If a breeder mentions only hips, they are not performing complete testing. If they become defensive when you ask for verification, that tells you everything you need to know.
We welcome every question. We encourage every family to verify before they ever contact us. The records are there. They speak for themselves.
Apply for an Apexx Akitas Puppy
Every application is reviewed personally by Ron Durant. We place dogs with families who are genuinely prepared for this breed — and we support every one of those families for the life of the dog.
Apply for a Puppy