Our wonderful shepherd was just evaluated for OFA (he's 2yr) and was found with grad II in his right front leg.

He has a fantastic disposition and loves to learn and is the best attitude in a dog we have seen.

We are devastated...

We were hoping to breed him. Is it still possible, or should we just count our losses.

His breeder said 'That's to bad' and won't do anything else. We paid top dollar for him.

Is there any ray of hope or should we have him 'shnitsed' or put down...

This is hard to ask. He comes from Sieger bloodlines... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Right FRONT leg, so it's an elbow problem? If you paid top dollar for a breeding prospect, did you not have a written contract from the breeder covering elbow dysplasia (tho you should have had this checked when he was around 6 mos. old, not 2 yrs old)? In my opinion, breeding is absolutely out of the picture. Your next phone call should be a good orthopedic surgeon (not your general practitioner vet) to assess if there is anything that can/should be done to slow the progress of the arthritic changes. Depending on what the actual defect is, often there is piece of unfused bone and/or small cartilage pieces floating in the joint which should be removed as they will ascerbate the arthritis. Absolutely NO reason to put him down!

have you raised this dog from a puppy? is it possible that the elbow has an injury? I personally don't give a hill of beans for OFA's evaluation of elbows. they are inconsistent and vague. Get a good orthopedic specialist and have the dog re-xrayed.

FYI, elbow xrays are not advised to be done at 6 months. The growth plates are not complete. My orthopedic vet said 8 months minimum but to wait longer unless you suspect a problem. I know your dog is 2 but for anyone who wants elbows rads done on a young pup, it's advised to wait til they are a little older than the recommended age for hip prelims.

If you don't have a written guarantee with the breeder then you are screwed unless they are willing to stand behind the dog. I certainly would not put the dog down though!!

I would tend to agree with Cindy on this. Get a second opinion. Also, if the dog is very energetic and likes to jump around a lot, that could affect his elbows and this may not be a genetic issue at all. In which case, he MAY be ok for breeding. Be sure first, though.

Unless this condition is severe and crippling, why would you even think about putting the dog down, especially when you seem to love him so much?!?! At this point, there is no reason to consider this. You may have to re-evaluate this option when he is older and the arthritis is much more severe, but he very well could live a normal life with only a few steps taken on your part to ensure his comfort.

Best of luck to you! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

While lesions are easier to detect (due to their severity) at a later age, the ossification process is complete by six months of age.

Small Animal Orthopedics and Fracture Repair by Piermattei and Flo says this about UAP - "...It is characterized by failure of the ossification center of the anconeus to fuse with the olecranon by 5 months of age. ....The anconeal process has a separate ossification center in some of the larger breeds. It is not ossified and therefore visible radiographically until 12 to 13 weeks of age. It does not unite to the proximal ulna until 16 to 20 weeks of age in the German shepherd...Therefore, the diagnosis of UAP should not be made until 5 months of age in the German shepherd, which is the breed most affected in the United States."

It further says this about OCD: "...Roughening of the medial epicondylar surface is an early sign. The lesion is radiographically visible by the age of 5 to 6 months." And this about FCP: "...etiopathaology of the FCP are similar to those found for OCD.."

They go on to describe how by 10 -11 months of age, the extent of damage can be much more severe, including joint effusion, crepitus, and general thickening resulting from osteophyte production (arthritis). So while the diagnosis may be easier and there will be less chance of a false negative by waiting, six months is still the best age to radiograph elbows. If there is a defect which can be surgically improved, the surgery needs to be done ASAP in order to prevent the arthritic changes which develop quite rapidly. By waiting, you run the risk of condemning the dog to pain which could have been avoided (been there, done that, got the t-shirt!).

To begin it is good that you did the elbow evaluation, however, the OFA program is based on orthopedic specialist evaluations. Good / bad atleast it is a start. A rating of 2 is high enough to easiley see changes. At Mich. State University is where the reasrch was done Dr. Mostosky was the principle investigator "lead the project" and set guidlines to follow. E-mail the radiographs of the elbows to him and see what he thinks.
Good Luck!
steve

Cow-dog, you need to change your displayed name to your real first and last name as per board rules.

Please do that ASAP.


Mystery Poster Cow-dog wrote: "Is there any ray of hope or should we have him 'shnitsed' or put down..."

I hope that was a joke, what the hell is wrong with people?


Don't breed the dog, don't put the dog down. Deal with it it is your responsibility. There are many options for addressing the problem.

Does the dog show signs of lameness? I would re xray the dog and have it sent to several orthopedic specialist and see what htey say. Purdue University evaluates for free. I knew of a dog that had OFA evaluate and said elbow problems in one elbow and resent new xrays a month later and OFA said it was in both elbows and went sent to three different TOP independant Ortho specialist not one could find anything wrong with any of the elbows. One ortho guy was the leading elbow expert in the U.S......Don't put the dog down. Get another opinion and maybe send another xray in to OFA in six months to a year. If he is showing signs of lameness then he obviously has some problems but get some more opinions and go from there..Good luck

He was xrayed at Michigan State University. I was told that the older guy that reviewed the films is 'the god' among OFA work and has done the research into things like that...

I suspect that the breeder knew what was up and stiffed us with the dog. I know that my terminology might sound cruel, but that's how I feel right now. I thought it strange that the litter that we were deposited for all came out still born. As a concilation, they offered us up this dog.

Total cost for him was around $5,000! I feel used.

I would never put him down unless it would be in his best interests... Breeding is out though. Are there any issues with getting a dog neutered at such a late age?

I guess a word to the wise (maybe not needed for the folks here): although there are no ironclad guarantees, deal with a reputable breeder and get things in writing. Mother nature and genetics are the final determining factor. If we woulkd have known that we could have gotten him xrayed at such an early age, maybe we could have avoided this...

I don't want to polute the gene pool with a genetic flaw. We will be significantly more careful in the future and not use his breeder or recommend them.

We had such high hopes for him. Life goes on I guess.

Thanks for the replies...

BTW, the hips were rated excellent, making it a little more tragic...

Thanks...