Opinions if I should have these x-rays retaken! - Page 3

There is no reason to avoid training a dog with hips like this. IMO, the single biggest reason dogs *have* symptoms of minor hip issues is owners letting them get out of shape by babying them because of their hip status. I have had dogs with horrendous hips stay sound into old age because they were worked hard and kept in prime muscular condition. OTOH, the fat pets are put down for bad hips at 9 ish after a life on the couch with a few jaunts around the block. Use it or lose it.

The genetic picture of joints can be seen well enough at 12months. Joints that are bad are bad early on. Allowing a dog to get loose and lax and lazy and fat can certainly damage joints later on, especially if worked, just like what would happen if a big fat lady started running marathons on the weekends with zero conditioning in between. Waiting until 2 leaves you to wonder about the ratio of genetics to environment once heavy training has begun, or extended pano occurs, etc. I think OFA is a really poor rating system in this regard since it doesn't test laxity, it doesn't measure Norberg angle, it doesn't have ANY set criteria whatsoever...PennHip has the advantage in this, as does the SV imo. OFA prelims imo tell the least of all.

I recently passed on a litter because the dam was claimed to be OFA good but in fact she was only prelim'd at well under a year. Uh, no thanks. Nice try, though.

I'm curious, where is this bitch in her heat cycle? Is she anywhere near it- just coming out or just going in? This can indeed make a difference, I have seen a dog in heat have poor positioning rads done, go from NZ IN Germany to OFA excellent not in heat and well positioned.

Good luck!

"I recently passed on a litter because the dam was claimed to be OFA good but in fact she was only prelim'd at well under a year. Uh, no thanks. Nice try, though."

Yeah, that generates all three strikes in a single ball of wax for me--the films were done when the bitch was well under 12 months, they bred the bitch on the basis of such prelims, and the biggest one of all: they LIED about the situation.  For someone with personal knowledge of the dogs behind the dam, the first two points might be able to be overlooked if everything else about the breeding lit their fire...but even for someone in that position, I'd have to think anyone with any sense would see the huge red flag that playing fast and loose with the truth sends up the flagpole.

I think hips are functional for work or sport. For breeding, I would not make decision solely on just individual dog, even if OFA excellent.

" I'm curious, where is this bitch in her heat cycle? Is she anywhere near it- just coming out or just going in? "

I am not sure since her last heat cycle was in July 2014 (she was born in June 2013), I am still trying to find out what her "regular heat cycle period" is in between heat cycles.