If i want to breed my GSD does she have to have a hip cert.? Her parents are both hip certified.

short answer, no. but your not going to get too much money for them nor attract the right buyers to make good homes for them.

I thinks it's a plus that the sire and dam are OFA but YOUR DOG still has to get certified for you to breed if you care about the breed itself.Breed for health and temperament,working abilities,comformation.Have you ever Xrayed your dog? How old is she?
If you haven't,well you never know you might have some great hips to brag about

http://s141.photobucket.com/albums/r77/cadogancna/

your dogs' parents having passing hip ratings doesn't mean your dog has good hips - she could have terrible hips, in which case she shouldn't be bred.

molly

Yes, I think it's important to have your dog's hips certified, as well as the dog you choose to mate to her. It doesn't matter legally, but personally I would never buy a dog without out that information.

It's also important to remember, IMO, that one of the big health problems plauguing German Shepherds (or most medium to large breed dogs for that matter) is bad hips and your goal should be to improve the breed. Hip dysplasia can be painful for the dog and also limit a dog from working that clearly wants to (which is seriously sad) and also causes the owners to have a ton of expenses and heartbreak.

The certification will not make certain that your dog's pups will be HD free, but it does help the odds. Don't forget that it's not just hips, elbows should be x-rayed as well.

Finally, and please forgive me if I'm being presuming too much here, but it seems that if you're asking that question then you haven't done a lot of research on breeding dogs. I don't mean that as an insult, because clearly you're here looking for information and that's a good start!

But, I long ago decided not to breed dogs because of the serious knowledge and expense and time required. Not to mention the ethical responsibility. You will have to deal with possibly figuring out what to do with a very sick pup, or you may be left with a handful of pups if nobody wants to buy them. What do you do then? And when done right, breeding dogs is NOT supposed to be a huge source of profit IMO because of the expensive involved in doing it correctly (certifications, vet care, nutrition, to name a few!) Not to mention you'll have to know how to study pedigrees and understand animal husbandry. You make think you put two dogs together because they have gorgeous markings, but in reality, you've bred two weak-nerved dogs with a family history of aggression. And it's not just about the dog's parents...the implication of the dogs in the pedigree goes back generations (that's why the pedigree exists!!)

My suggestion would be that you get a reputable breeder of your dog's breed as a mentor and assist him or her in every stages of many litters. Then make your decision. That's what I did and my decision was NO WAY!

The very best of luck to you!

Ditto to what Molly said about her hips, but beyond that, I wouldn't breed or buy a dog without going SEVERAL generations back and checking hip certs. Make sure it's a good certification, too; some people say their dog was OFA'd...then you see that they're dysplastic. Little trick I've seen pulled by BYBs. You just assume that if they volunteer that they had the dog xrayed, they turned out ok.

Keep in mind too, like Dennis said, that you're not going to attract the homes you'd really like for these pups w/out covering these bases. Amber's ethical point is dead-on too. Make sure your dog is EXCEPTIONAL before considering breeding it; we have PLENTY of pets in this world. Only breed it if you truly believe the breed will be bettered by breeding this animal. You are responsible for every life you bring into the world...and every life they bring in turn...an so on. Give it serious thought! Good luck!

What Molly said. Both of Pepper's parents xray'd fine and at 2 she showed moderate to severe HD. Pedigree wise it should never of happened but in real life not only did it happen she is very symptomatic.

Thanks everyone for your input. I don't take things personally so the comments don't bother me I just look at it as a learning experience. What are the major symptom's HD?

If you do a search on Hip Dysplasia you'll find so much stuff on this site to keep you reading until you drop dead! I think there may even be a forum devoted to it.