A month ago I brought a GSD 2.5 year old for hip xrays. The vet's opinion was mild displasia. Since there was a hip guarantee from the breeder, we opted to mail xrays for OFA evaluation. After 3 weeks, I phoned OFA and spoke with Dr Keller...not all 3 opinions were in, so I asked what his opinion was...mild displasia. Imagine my surprise when I opened the mail to discover this dog got OFA GOOD!!!!! This is clearly a displastic dog. The right hip looks as though it belongs to one dog, and the left a totally different dog!!! The right hip is double the thickness, of the left, at the neck of the femur. Even I, a complete novice, can see the displasia!

I am appalled to realize OFA has no real value if they rate a displastic dog as not fair or borderline, but GOOD?! In my breeding program I do have some OFA Fair dogs, who in comparison are excellent. How does one determine from an AKC pedigree if a lines is good for hip production or not?

To me this is the best example of why one should look to the German stock to ensure a good breeding program for best chances of normal hip production!

Sue-Ann

You are not the only one who feels this way.
Join the club. OFA is about un reliable
as they come. I use one the best ortho
vets in this country for x-rays and I take
his word on my dogs hips over OFA. Too bad
OFA is what people take their word on. I wish we had another acceptable registry in
this country. I send mine into A stamp (the
same x-ray) to compare results with OFA. So far Germany has been the most accurate with the
opinion of my ortho vet.

OFA is not a perfect program. There are too many vets reading x-rays. In Germany the SV only uses a very few people for this job. They are more consistant.

The fact is that genectic are only a small part of good hips. Bernard Flinks just told us the SV feels that only 20 to 25% of dogs with bad hips are this way because of genetics. That means 75% is nutrition and over exercise. I belive this to be true and am currently considering how to deal with this in my hipo guanartee.

It has always concerned me that the dogs I breed have 5 generations of good hips, yet we still get bad hips. The more I studied All-natural diets the more I realized that genetics plays a smaller roll in this issue than people (vets & people who write books on the subject) will let you believe.

What is the process for sending the X-rays to germany? I was not aware that we could do that. If someone could fill me in I would be most greatful.

I had my Troll son xrayed a few months ago. My vet said he was definitely OFA good,maybe even excellent. They came back as OFA Fair. The week before,he xrayed a Lab and the dog was horribly displastic. My vet did not even want to send in the film,but the owner insisted. Came back OFA Good. My vet was furious. I also know of folks who have re-submitted the same set of xrays and received a better rating the second time.
As far as the a stamp,you can register your dog with USA club and submit xrays through them.

Same thing happened to me. Had one of my
dogs x-rayed, vet said OFA Good no problem and it comes back OFA Fair. I sent in the
same exact x-ray to Germany came back A stamp normal.My vet couldn't believe it didn't go OFA Good. OFA does frustrate me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I am not sure about the diet thing - I have fed both of my pups a raw diet (BARF). Have been feeding raw for 10 years. In the past have had mastiffs, dobes, GSD and bull mastiffs all fed on raw. My GSD 2 pups now both have HD came from German working lines. I was very careful about their exercise and keeping them low impact. Their parents had good hips. I was sure a good diet would help but it seems not. Yes they are nutritionally complete so says their bloodwork.
Cindy

I am totally sure that poor diet and over exercise cause bad hips. So when dogs are fed a natual diet and are not over exercised then it can only be genetics. One needs to look deeper in the pedigree to determine what went wrong. I have talked to some pretty knowledgable people in thelast year or so about the results of the new SV hip rating program. They feel that genetics only accounts for about 20 to 25% of the bad hips.

I have always felt that genetics played a lot less of a role than others (OFA and local vets) said about a puppy developing bad hips.

If you would like to learn a little more about this - read the book I sell titled Grow Your Puppy With Bones by By Ian Billinghurst http://leerburg.com/943.htm

Hip Dysplasia is a subject that everyone in working dogs has an opinion on - kind of like "ass holes" - everyone has one. There has been a lot written on the subject and the bottom line is that no one knows for sure. Who knows whats right and wrong.

Here is what I know for sure:

1- FACT ONE: I have bred over 260 litters of GSD's - every one of the parents with x-rayed hips from parents with 5 generations of good hips - and I still produce dogs with bad hips.

2- FACT TWO: Too much exercise on pups and young adults results in hip dysplasia

3- FACT THREE: An all-natural diet produces healthier dogs.

4- FACT THREE - the SV has information on over 400,000 dogs on their computers. Who cares if they say that genetics responsible for 20 % or 50% of dogs with bad hips. They have more facts than anyone, any organization or any Vet School than I am aware of on genetics, bloodlines and hip dysplasia. They are not pulling information out of their proverbial ass.

5- FACT FOUR - Assuming a pups parents, grand parents and great grandparents have good hips - I am convinced that enviornment and diet play a bigger role than genetics in a pup developing bad hips.