Need advice on "surprise" genetic issues with our dog - Page 1

We acquired a 16 month old male from a breeder who had acquired him as potential breeding stud.  When his cow hocks didn't clear up she put him up for sale.  We were told he had no problems other than the cow hocks ("merely cosmetic") and a scar on his eye.  While his sister is on the OFA registry designated with "mild" HD, neither he nor his parents or other littermates are.  The breeder advertises "OFA certified" for no HD.  He also has bone spurs on his spiine typical of a 10 year old large breed dog rather than a 3 YO (now) medium breed.  He is slightly lame with stifle issues.

We didn't get an actual OFA certificate with him and weren't aware it even existed until recently.

What do you suggest we do regarding notifying the two breeders involved?

Aside from taking care of our dog's medical problems (at great expense I might add), what other action do you suggest?  Both his half-brother and his parents are currently being used as breed stock.  What if the breeders continue to use them?  I hate to see others go through the heartbreak we are experiencing.  From my research so far, these parents are showing a 2 out of 4 progeny HD problem, one mild and another severe.

Thanks for your help.

With the information that you've provided, it is not sufficient to prove that it's a purely genetic caused problem.  Nutrition, environment and injuries also cause a significant number of orthopedic and joint problems. 

There is nothing wrong with simply sending an email to the person who bred your dog or owns the sire/dam to inform them of a potential issue.  But I highly caution against making accusations.
Can you post pic(s) of the x-ray on here?  many of us are very good at reading x-rays.  Has a certified radiologist viewed the x-rays?  Many vets actually have very poor skills for reading x-rays. 

Which breeder is it that advertises OFA certification?  The breeder whom you bought the dog from, or the breeder who actually bred the dog?  If it's the breeder who you bought the dog from then I don't see what the complaint is about. 
Do you know if the parents of your dog are hip certified somewhere else other than OFA?  There are many hip certification organizations in the world, most common in the USA is OFA, PennHip and a-stamp.   a-stamp is the most common hip certification for the German Shepherd breed worldwide, you won't find that info on OFA. 

I'm confused...

You say..
"We didn't get an actual OFA certificate with him and weren't aware it even existed until recently."

Are you saying you can find his name and hip rating when you log into the ofa database?

Answers:
<<Which breeder is it that advertises OFA certification? >> Both the owner of the parents and the breeder we bought the dog from.

<<Do you know if the parents of your dog are hip certified somewhere else other than OFA?>> I have written to the one we bought him from and she mentioned OFA but seems to mention a coding of what you call a-stamp... believe me I'm new to all these registries.

<<Are you saying you can find his name and hip rating when you log into the ofa database?>> our dog isn't in OFA; neither are his parents (although the breeder says they are)... only his sister ("mild").

Our complaint is that we were told he was from good lines and likely HD clear and that the one obvious fault, the cow hocks, was no issue.  But my main concern at this point is that others don't have to endure what we are faced with at this point with the possibility of PTS at some point.

Here are the xrays... Thanks so much for your input helping us sort this out.

Let me preface this with I'm no expert, but his right side looks like he's been hit by a car. The positioning is way off, but it almost looks like that side is deformed? I blew up the picture and it almost looks like the leg bone on that side is shorter then the other? I'm curious to see what the more experienced comment. I'd like to know if I'm way off base, but they definitely don't look normal.

Melissa

The bone looking shorter can occur when that leg isn't extended as far back as the other one. This can happen when the dog is guarding that joint or even has atrophied or very tight muscles b/c of pain around that area--so the vet techs can't extend the leg fully without hurting or causing harm.

To the original poster, it's very possible that his parents were xrayed clear of problems yet he still developed issues. Were you told your dog was xrayed clear before you bought him?

yes, it looks like that in the image... I actually measured it... however I believe they couldn't straighten it as much; so being at an angle, it appears shorter.  In any case it is apparent watching him that it isn't actually shorter.  We are taking him to an ortho specialist vet next week... unfortunately we are in the boondocks of No. California and have to drive him to Medford Oregon for this appt (approx 5 hours away) and probably stay up there a few days.  I'm worried about him having to go in a car/truck that far.  He hates being caged.

It also appears that his left stifle image is blurred as if he moved (although he was sedated for the xrays).  I don't know if the ortho vet will take more xrays.

He certainly has not been hit by a car since we've had him.  He injured his stifle after jumping into the back of a friend's truck and falling back... I suspect something hurt that caused him to falter.  That's the only accident he's had that I know of. He's a very athletic, strong dog and never shows any sign of being in pain except when the vet tries to palpate his stifle.

Thanks for looking.
Saroj

Here are some happier pics... you can see what a lovely dog he is...

@BlackthornGSD... that's what my son recalls, but the breeder just wrote me and says Blitz was never xrayed.  She says his parents were but hasn't told me where their info is.  I found no OFA records.  I've written her back asking where they received their certifications... haven't heard back.

One of his litter mates has an OFA record and is classified as "mild" HD.  I plan to have our vet submit the image to OFA or another registry if you all recommend a different one.  I don't feel good about spoiling their breeding business should it come to that, but I don't want future buyers to suffer (nor the resulting pups).

If the breeder did not x-ray the dog, there is absolutely no way they would know if the dog has hip troubles or not.  It is something you can not guess.