Belgian Malinois: health-screening sources

Key facts

Club screening list

OFA hips, OFA elbows and specialist eyes [source]

Family-history topics

Epilepsy, cancer, thyroid, cardiac history and temperament [source]

Jurisdiction

American Belgian Malinois Club guidance [source]

Three specified evaluations in the ABMC statement

The American Belgian Malinois Club’s health statement identifies OFA hip evaluation, OFA elbow evaluation and an eye examination by a board-certified ophthalmologist, with eye results registered through CERF or OFA. These are concrete assessments of joint and eye findings. Their inclusion should be reported as the American parent club’s guidance, rather than silently applied to every Belgian Shepherd variety and national registry. A hip certificate is not an elbow certificate, and a general veterinary visit does not identify which specialist eye screening was performed.

The club also asks about unscreened family history

Beyond its test list, ABMC suggests discussing epilepsy, cancer including hemangiosarcoma, thyroid and cardiac history, and temperament with a prospective breeder. These topics are not additional normal results automatically supplied by the three core certificates. The distinction is especially relevant when an advertisement describes a litter as fully health cleared. That phrase may describe a completed screening list while leaving important family-history questions unanswered. Record what is known, what examination was performed and what remains undocumented, without interpreting the mere absence of a report as a diagnosis.

Working achievement does not substitute for the records

A dog’s sport result or service history describes a different part of its life from the published joint and eye evaluations. OFA notes that clinical lameness and radiographic findings can differ, so an impressive performance cannot serve as a reading of an unseen hip report. Conversely, interpreting a report for future work belongs with the veterinarian and relevant programme. Preserve the dog’s identity, result, age at examination and issuing body. This makes the source guidance useful to buyers and handlers while avoiding a claim that completing ABMC screening guarantees operational suitability, temperament or freedom from every illness the club asks families to discuss.

Common questions

Sources & further reading

References for this guide. Rules and services can change; check the responsible organisation for current details.

• Belgian Malinois parent-club health statement (opens in a new tab)
• OFA: Companion Animal Eye Registry scope (opens in a new tab)
• OFA: hip dysplasia screening (opens in a new tab)

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