BREEDING OFA FAIR RATED - Page 1

   I have noticed many litter ads with either Sire,or Dam rated OFA FAIR.I have been told over the years not to breed a OFA FAIR,Bitch,or male.I have had other notable breeders say they have done it for years with no pups with Hip problems from these litters.Please,would welcome responses,because,I see alot of very good sires with OFA FAIR Rating ,on some recently posted new,or planned litters on this site.

This is opinion so take it for what it is worth,OFA fair is still in the range of normal just of the lower range OFA fair is not a displastic rating. If the female were of good quality (working dog) with proper drives and workabality I would first take a good look at the family history sibblings, parents, grand parents,ect... look to see how the other ratings were in the family tree if there werent any more lower hip ratings then what you have then I,d look again at the quality of the bitch and decide if they are what you feel worthy to breed then i,d breed to a better rating    

OFA Fair is passing. I would look at the ratings of the the dog's littermates. An OFA Fair rated dog to me is far more appealing for breeding say if his littermates were at least good, versus an OFA Excellent dog with littermates who had many who failed OFA.....

Again, OFA Fair is a passing hip grade. And of of course there are many other aspects of the dog that need equal consideration.

I would like to see the progeny hip ratings of those dogs whos parent were marked OFA Fair.

Sorry but I don't view OFA Fair as breeding material, maybe for work but not breeding. That's just my opinion and infact that our breeds common problem is HD/ED.  We should be breeding to the BEST hips/elbows.

I can't find breeding to Fair ranked dogs to be ethical. I find no "improving the breed" with this kind of breeding practice.

Agree with Bob and Kandi and would add that many times another xray gets a dog a better rating with OFA. They make plenty of mistakes and may even rate a dog mildy dysplastic one month and OFA good the next. I know - it happened to me with 2 different dogs and some freinds have had the same experience. If it's possible, I myself would prefer to see the xray before using any dog regardless of the OFA rating.

It's not as simple as "don't breed fairs".  That will not produce normal hips, and that kind of thinking is yet another reason why so many people have no business breeding GSDs (and I include myself in this category).  In fact here is an excerpt from the OFA website: 

What can breeders do?

Hip dysplasia appears to be perpetuated by breeder imposed breeding practices, but when breeders and their breed clubs recognize HD as a problem and establish reduction of HD as a priority, improvement of the hip status can be accomplished without jeopardizing other desirable traits. Prospective buyers should check pedigrees and/or verify health issues with the breeder. If suitable documentation is not available, assume the worst until proven otherwise.

Do not ignore the dog with a fair hip evaluation. The dog is still within normal limits. For example; a dog with fair hips but with a strong hip background and over 75% of its brothers and sisters being normal is a good breeding prospect. A dog with excellent hips, but with a weak family background and less than 75% of its brothers and sisters being normal is a poor breeding prospect.

OFA's Recommended Breeding Principals

• Breed normals to normals
• Breed normals with normal ancestry
• Breed normals from litters (brothers/sisters) with a low incidence of HD
• Select a sire that produces a low incidence of HD
• Replace dogs with dogs that are better than the breed average

OFA FAIR IS A PASSING RATING. I bred a fine working show line female who was OFA fair and SV Fast Normal. Every single pup she had had good hips and elbows with two different sires.  I would do it again when looking only at the hip/elbow issues.

If one looks at enough hip ratings one sees that indeed, over and over and over, one gets dysplastic dogs from parents with better ratings and one achieves good ratings from Fair or even poorer ratings from certain matings. There are many factors that should be considered in breeding, including hips and elbows, but I agree 100% with all previous posters, except for Brittany.

If one looks at x-rays over and over and over, it is no different than with other issues related to structure. Sometimes the smallest detail may result in a fair rating vs a good rating etc. One should consider the over all dog, and ALWAYS that will mean taking into consideration small details that one wishes to improve or eliminate. 

I'm looking at a male for my female right now that is OFA fair.  She is a-normal with a low ZW number.  If you look at his pedigree the closest dog up that is even fast normal (the rest are a-normal or OFA Good) is Lewis Malesta. 

I went to watch him work and play this past week and I like him even more in person.  He's a nice steady dog with an aloof but rock solid temperment.  I think he can bring something to my bitch so I wouldn't rule him out because of the fair hips.

I have bought two different pups, from two different and very good breeders.  Both parents were Sch.3 and a-normal.  Both pups ended up with mild/moderate HD.  

  Thanks for all of the diverse opinions on this subject.I posted the comment because, I too,own a mildly dyspalstic male from two Sch 3/A-Normal parents,however he just turned two,and I am going to attempt  Penn rating with him soon.His prelims taken at one year,are open for debate.Left side looks fair,to good to me,with Rt side open for 2nd opinion.If he failes Penn Hip,I will Neuter him,and keep him as a good buddy/companion as he already is.............

How can you  have  any faith in an organization like OFA if they are making mistakes like these where dogs are being rated one way one day and another way next day .i find this interesting you would have to be an idiot to trust OFA then.have a nice one.