links to OFA pages - Page 1

http://www.offa.org/hipgrade.html - this is about how OFA grades xrays

http://www.offa.org/hipproc.html - this is about positioning

What troubles me is that the SV has a "fast normal" rating for elbows!! What the hell is that? A "little bit pregnant"?

Herein lie some of our other discrepancies:

I wish the OFA site had real Xrays to illustrate the different hip grades instead of their cartoonish renderings. 

Does anyone have real Xray pics of the different phenotypes?

I don't know if OFA's comparison with the SV is valid.  In the end, is it only someone's opinion?   We do not know what that professional opinion was based on...was it a few sample xrays?  Did they correspond with the SV?  It would be really informative to know what kind of data their comparisions were developed from.  I have not been able to find that information via the Internet.  I should call or write and see what they have to say.

Veronica

I personally don't think that you can compare OFA with the SV's a-stamp, because of the age difference. An a-stamp is done at 12 months of age and OFA at 24 months of age. A lot can happen to hips in 12 months.

I can name a personal example: I owned a dog named Ivy vom Haus Dexel (http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/287827.html) who made a little history in breaking SV rules of not to change a hip status. She came here as an 8 week old puppy and was raised in her co-owner's house. At exactly 12 months of age, we x-rayed her and had a copy made. The copy was sent to OFA and received the preliminary grade (in writing) of GOOD. The SV returned her pedigree with the stamp of a-noch zu gelassen. You can imagine that shock when we opened the mail. My friend in Germany (who happened to be her breeder and co-owner of Ivy's sire) suggested a written protest to the SV office, which we did. We also submitted the written OFA-evaluation to them. Out of respect to the OFA's abilities (I imagine), the SV did something they had not done before (according to different sources in Germany):  They offered to have the x-ray redone, but only if an SV approved vet would do that. Of course, these vets are only located in Germany, but Ivy was to go to Germany anyway for her titling. So, we had these x-rays done at about 18 months (if I remember correctly) and they changed her status to a-fast normal. I was not happy with that either, because I insisted that OFA evaluated them as good. Ivy's hips were again x-rayed when she returned from Germany. And oops, the SV might have not been too far off the mark. She received OFA-Fair.

And a remark about Ivy's sire: Wanko vom Lippischen Norden had received a-noch zugelassen from the SV, due to a tiny hairline stress fracture (accident). The SV could not give anything better, as this is their policy. Wanko was re-xrayed and this x-ray was sent to a Scandinavian country (don't remember if it was Sweden, Finland or Denmark). That country's GSD club required that from all dogs with a3-hips, before they were permitted to be used for breeding. This club stated that he would have received "normal" in their grading system. Just another example of how different grading systems can be!

Chris

Just a side note here... The SV will accept the OFA rating on a dog with SV papers.  They told me directly, all I had to do was send them the proof of the good rating and my dog would get "a" normal.

Just FYI.

Debby

ebinezer052899@yahoo.com castlebrookshepherds.net/enter.html

My question regarding to SV ranking is if the dog has Fair hips.. why on earth would SV give them A normal hips?

Debby,

Will the SV accept proof of OFA elbow certification? My boys had their OFA elbow xrays done at the ages of 2 and 3 years respectively. While I would love to have their elbow certification status reflected in the SV's database, I don't feel particularly motivated to spend more money for additional SV elbow ratings. At the time of their "a" stamp radiographs st 12 months, inclusion in the SV's elbow registry was not mandatory for the breed survey.

BTW, my dogs are AKC registered but have SV registration numbers though USCA. Their "a" stamp clearances by the SV is recorded on their 4-generation-certified pedigrees--as are their SVF numbers and their breed survey status.

I assume that the SV requires original OFA documentation. Is there a fee for this service?

Louise,

No, they won't accept OFA elbow certification. They told me that right off the bat. but it sure is cool that they will give OFA good's automaticly "a" normal!

Debby