Is OFA the tell all? - Page 1

My girl Sam has had 3 x-rays done, by 3 very experienced vets.
I have a note from one vet. he's been practicing 35 years!

He said her hips are well within range, granted,
I did have her hip's x-rayed, for the first time after she had jumped out of
my moving pick-up truck.    I mentioned that story in a previous post...

All 3 vets told me they looked GOOD.........

OFA said she had mild hip dysplasia in her left hip,

I am planning on doing Penn-hip on her next in the future, to me
I've never owned a more rugged tough, sturdy looking bitch. 
I have choose to believe the 3 other vets over the OFA vets..

Am I wrong not to except the answer OFA gives to me?.

IMO you are not wrong to question OFA's opinion. I've told this story before on here, I had 2 littermates rejected as mildy dysplastic. They were xrayed by 2 different vets in 2 different states on almost the same day. Both were 28 months I think. Anyway, both owners got the bad news the same day, vets said no way, dogs were done again and both received good ratings.  From mild HD to good hips is an upgrade of 3 places....mild, borderline, fair, good. Maybe if they would have been done again, they'd have been rated excellent .

Every GSD breeder needs to educate him/herself on what a normal hip xray looks like so they are able to recognize what is normal, what is not, and how a well positioned hip xray should look.  Otherwise they are at the mercy of vets and OFA readers who are human and make errors. If this were my dog and I were keen on getting an OFA number,  I'd  send another xray to OFA making sure it was positioned and exposed correctly. In fact I'd do that with any dog of mine that was rejected as mildly dysplastic as that is only indicative of shallow sockets and no degenerative joint disease. I'd also make sure this dog was heavily tranqulized before it was xrayed again. Good luck.

OFA can make mistakes.  You have options, PennHip, second submittal to OFA, or go with what the other vets have told you.   Good luck.

unless there are obvious changes, penn hip will give you a number/range of how your dog fits in with other dogs of her age and breed. it's expensive and they are under anesthesia for alot longer than a normal film.  if she were mine i'd send the films to OVC (www.ovc.uoguelph.ca) Ontario Vet College in Canada. it's pass or fail for hips and elbows.

good luck

Make sure your dog is not close to  heat cycle and take some new xrays and make sure they are square 90 degree angles and without anethesia if possible and resubmit them. I  have seen the same dog go mild and good!

I have checked around to see who does Penn-Hip, so I'll probably go with that,
I do not have the x-rays of Sam, cause they sent them into OFA.
But, that doesn't matter to me, I myself saw them and consulted with the vet after he took the x-rays,
and I went over them with him (He's the vet that has been practicing for ONLY 35 YEARS.....

Also, I know about second opinions, I sent them in to OFA 3 times,.could OFA,by chance, just be going with
the first decision?    Could, heaven forbid,  OFA be political................Oh Oh, No more OFA's after this post.............

His word was ALL I needed, at the time, but for my own piece of mind, I'd like to see something in writing.

Are  you saying the OFA rated the same dog's hips as unilateral mild 3 different times? Did you send the same xray all 3 times?

Heres the thing.  If you are going to breed her, you need to get some verification one way or the other on her hips.  If it were my dog, I would take her to someone or a university well versed in hip positioning (check with other GSD breeders in your area, see who they use).  I would repeat the xrays & send them in to OFA again, or do PENNHIP.  OFA is not politically motivated, however; they can make mistakes, the vets reading the radiographs are only human!

If she does have mild dysplasia in one hip, she can still lead a very normal, pain fee, happy life, but she shouldn't be bred.