Hip & Elbow Dysplasia
| Hip and Elbow Dysplasia are serious genetic defects in all large breeds and even many small breeds. Hip and Elbow Dysplasia can cause crippling and suffering in the life of a dog. It can also be without symptoms. Just because a dog moves normally does not mean it is free from dysplasia. If a dog is dysplastic and bred even if it has no outward symptoms, it will carry this polygenetic trait for generations to come. The only proof that a dog is not dysplastic is for an adult to have hip and elbow certification This is evidenced by the OFA, PENN HIP and other official certifying organizations in other countries such as the West German "A" Stamp that is affixed to the pedigree. Without hip and elbow certification breeding should not be a consideration no matter how great the beauty, pedigree, etc. There is NEVER a reason to breed without certification. The fact of not having x-ray eyes requires us to not only x-ray potential studs and dams, but obtain recognized certification. If a dog is not certified he or she should not be bred. Many countries such as West Germany, Slovakia, and The Czech Republic allow certifications at a minimum of 12 months. The OFA which is our recognized authority in the US requires the dog be certified no younger than 24 months. Hip & Elbow certification has been the standard of ethical breeders for decades. Unfortunately too many breeders for purposes of the almighty dollar ignore something so simple and basic as hip and elbow certification. If breeders had an ounce of ethics over these years we would not be starring suffering in the face now. Breeders who ignore such principles cause needless suffering in our companions and friends and their human families |
| Fraudulent Con Artists There are many con artists who lie about hip & elbow certification. Always check. You can easily check online with the OFA www.offa.org Foreign Dogs' certifications are affixed to their official Pedigrees. |
| Polygenetic Trait A dog may have a beautiful gait and be dysplastic. If bred the polygenetic disease will be imparted to many future generations. |
| Proof of Certification The only evidence a dog is not dysplastic is if the dog has PROVEN hip and elbow certification: OFA, "A" stamp, or other recognized foreign certification. |
| (1) NEVER purchase a puppy out of parentage without hip and elbow certification. ELBOW CERTIFICATION IS EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT AS HIP CERTIFICATION. The pain and suffering from genetic abnormal elbows can be horrendous. (2) Check out that certification to ascertain that it is genuine. You can check out the OFA at http://www.offa.org The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals You must check the orginal pedigree for hip and elbow certification from other countries. Yes people do lie about hip and elbow certification. Amazing! (3) Also another warning: One common unethical breeder comment is, “Oh, they had preliminary x-rays at such and such an age.” Then why is the dog not hip and elbow certified now? If the dog is old enough for his/her OFA or A stamp then he/she is old enough for certification. Just count that dog as dysplastic. There are another 100 reasons the unethical breeder will give you as a reason the parents are not OFA or A Stamp certified normal.* Don't listen. Run in the other direction as fast as you can to an ethical breeder. There are plenty of ethical breeders. You do not have to be mislead and hurt by the unethical breeder or broker. (4) Do NOT not purchase an older puppy or young adult without elbow & hip preliminary x-rays with microchip and/or tattoo number on x-rays. The x-rays should be read by a radiologist. Do NOT! Do NOT take the puppy or young dog into your home prior to preliminary x-rays. You can fall in love with a pup with normal hips and elbows as easily as one that will bring you heartache for the rest of your life. Don't fall into that trap. (5) Do not purchase an adult dog without hip & elbow certification OFA or "A" Stamp (There are hip & elbow certifications for other countries also*). If you purchase a puppy out of uncertified parentage then you are contributing to suffering as much as the unethical breeder. When the purchaser starts demanding simple ethics of hip and elbow certification from breeders and brokers (those who buy low and sell high) they will stop breeding and selling puppies and dogs that will live in pain and cause their families untold grief. Do your homework carefully and do not compromise hips, elbows, health, or temperament. Our hope is that you will find the perfect pup for YOU and your family. |
FIVE SAFEGUARDS TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY
SAFE FROM THE PAIN OF PURCHASING A
PUPPY WHO HAS THE VERY REAL POTENTIAL
OF BEING A SUFFERING CRIPPLE. DON'T LEAVE
HOME WITHOUT THEM:
SAFE FROM THE PAIN OF PURCHASING A
PUPPY WHO HAS THE VERY REAL POTENTIAL
OF BEING A SUFFERING CRIPPLE. DON'T LEAVE
HOME WITHOUT THEM:
| Billie Jo's Severely Dysplastic Hips |
Billie Jo was a beautiful German Shepherd
with the most loving temperament. Billie Jo
was given to us because she fought with her
sister. Joe and Billie became very bonded.
Joe began tracking this regal princess. Billie
showed problems in getting in and out of
the truck and began to limp. We took
beautiful Bille to Dr. Quick in Sugar Land.
Dr. Quick had difficulty giving us the worst
news. Tears began steaming as he
explained the severity of her crippling
dysplasia. Dr. Quick put Billie Jo to sleep.
with the most loving temperament. Billie Jo
was given to us because she fought with her
sister. Joe and Billie became very bonded.
Joe began tracking this regal princess. Billie
showed problems in getting in and out of
the truck and began to limp. We took
beautiful Bille to Dr. Quick in Sugar Land.
Dr. Quick had difficulty giving us the worst
news. Tears began steaming as he
explained the severity of her crippling
dysplasia. Dr. Quick put Billie Jo to sleep.
What purpose did the breeder
bring this living breathing soul into
this world ignoring ethical
breeding? A breeder who breeds
outside the standards for hip &
elbow certification should hold a
criminal responsibility for the
suffering he/she has caused.
bring this living breathing soul into
this world ignoring ethical
breeding? A breeder who breeds
outside the standards for hip &
elbow certification should hold a
criminal responsibility for the
suffering he/she has caused.
| OFA Orthopedic Foundation for Animals Orthopedic Foundation for Animals www.offa.org |
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In answer to some of your questions about a referral for OFA Hips and Elbows X-rays.
Several of you have requested that I send you the recommended radiologist's contact
information. You do NOT want to go to anyone that is not an expert with the OFA.
Positioning is so very important. One of the best in the world is Dr. Charles Quick. He is a
very, very excellent radiologist specialist. He was on the OFA Board. He is a distance to
drive, but it is well, well worth it:
In the Houston Area:
Dr. Charlie B. Quick, D.V.M., M.S., Diplomat ACVR
1515 Lake Point Parkway
Sugar Land, TX 77478
281-491-7800
We also recommend Dr. Quick & Dr. Taylor for preliminary x-rays and Penn Hip before a dog
is old enough for A Stamp or OFA. You need to go to a radiologist that can give you an
ACCURATE reading. Briefly I will give you two examples. (1) I had a wonderful dog in
training. Our client requested that I take the dog for his OFA x-rays while he was still in
training. He decided upon a local vet instead of Dr. Quick. The local vet read his hips as
normal. When he received his readings from the OFA back the owner was devastated - the
dog was dysplastic. (2) An owner gave her dog away because her vet x-rayed the dog and
un knowledgeably told her that her dog was dysplastic. Her new owner took her to Dr. Keith
Taylor in Rockwall who is very knowledgeable. The x-rays were sent to the OFA. The female
is OFA certified Hips EXCELLENT! (Only about 2 % of GSDs whose x-rays are submitted to
the OFA come back excellent.) This dog now has been bred to the top working dog in the
country. Can you guess her pups are going to sell for? The original owner lost very valuable
dog because of wrong choice of vets! There have been many instances of unqualified vets
misreading normal dogs as dysplastic and dysplastic dogs as normal. This is especially
important when you are considering purchase. If you have a prelim you want to know that
you know that you know. Hope this helps some folks. www.offa.org
Several of you have requested that I send you the recommended radiologist's contact
information. You do NOT want to go to anyone that is not an expert with the OFA.
Positioning is so very important. One of the best in the world is Dr. Charles Quick. He is a
very, very excellent radiologist specialist. He was on the OFA Board. He is a distance to
drive, but it is well, well worth it:
In the Houston Area:
Dr. Charlie B. Quick, D.V.M., M.S., Diplomat ACVR
1515 Lake Point Parkway
Sugar Land, TX 77478
281-491-7800
We also recommend Dr. Quick & Dr. Taylor for preliminary x-rays and Penn Hip before a dog
is old enough for A Stamp or OFA. You need to go to a radiologist that can give you an
ACCURATE reading. Briefly I will give you two examples. (1) I had a wonderful dog in
training. Our client requested that I take the dog for his OFA x-rays while he was still in
training. He decided upon a local vet instead of Dr. Quick. The local vet read his hips as
normal. When he received his readings from the OFA back the owner was devastated - the
dog was dysplastic. (2) An owner gave her dog away because her vet x-rayed the dog and
un knowledgeably told her that her dog was dysplastic. Her new owner took her to Dr. Keith
Taylor in Rockwall who is very knowledgeable. The x-rays were sent to the OFA. The female
is OFA certified Hips EXCELLENT! (Only about 2 % of GSDs whose x-rays are submitted to
the OFA come back excellent.) This dog now has been bred to the top working dog in the
country. Can you guess her pups are going to sell for? The original owner lost very valuable
dog because of wrong choice of vets! There have been many instances of unqualified vets
misreading normal dogs as dysplastic and dysplastic dogs as normal. This is especially
important when you are considering purchase. If you have a prelim you want to know that
you know that you know. Hope this helps some folks. www.offa.org
In the Dallas Area:
Dr. Keith Taylor, D.V.M.
Rockwall County Veterinary Clinic
2897 State Hwy 66
Rockwall, TX 75087
972-722-9422
Dr. Keith Taylor, D.V.M.
Rockwall County Veterinary Clinic
2897 State Hwy 66
Rockwall, TX 75087
972-722-9422
| The hips directly below are rated mildly dysplastic. OFA rates hips as: Excellent Good Fair Borderline Mildly Dysplastic Moderately Dysplastic Severely Dysplastic "Fair" OFA hip certification is the minimum standard for breeding. |
HD-Zuchtwerte The HD-Zuchtwerte more commonly referred to as the ZW is a tool to determine the risk of a GSD to produce hip dysplasia. 100 is average hip production. The lower the number, the better the hip production. Two dogs mating should not have above 100 when their ZW are added together and divided. The "ZW" number is recalculated every three months. It is a complicated mathematic calculation which takes into account the hip results of ancestors, siblings, and most importantly, the offspring. That is the reason the number can change, in both directions. You can check that number by clicking on the upper right SV. You can go directly to the SV's website and enter the dog's name right there. Unfortunately, only dogs which were bred in Germany and registered with the SV are included in that database. Our U.S. bred dogs are not in there. We have also given you the Google tool for translation. |
| Please scroll down to continue your study. |
| Please scroll down to continue your study. |
Many years ago the German Shepherd Dog was in the top ten for dysplasia in
the OFA statistics. In 2009 the GSD is 38th! This would not have happened
without a group of ethical breeders doing "the right thing." What we need to
do is weed out the unethical breeders by educating the public. If the public
will not buy puppies without their parents having hip and elbow certification.
Guess what they will either have to do the "right thing" or quit breeding.
the OFA statistics. In 2009 the GSD is 38th! This would not have happened
without a group of ethical breeders doing "the right thing." What we need to
do is weed out the unethical breeders by educating the public. If the public
will not buy puppies without their parents having hip and elbow certification.
Guess what they will either have to do the "right thing" or quit breeding.