The OFA,OVC, and me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

OK, so my dog went mild on one side. Lets say that I submit the radiographs to OVC and they pass them. Or lets say that I resubmit them to OFA and they go "fair". Should that dog REALLY be bred???? Isn't the hip status questionable enough that the dog in question should NOT be used??? Should a "fair" dog be used at all???? Is there too much "playing around" to get the result that is favorable?? And is that really good for a breed???

Answer 1

I do not breed "fair" hips myself. I know it is done, but I choose not to. I have allowed my "excellent" male to be used on a "fair" female that had parents that were "good" or better, AND all but one of her litter mates had been cleared good or better also. I am very aware that an excellent bred to an excellent can give a litter of crappy hips, but we do what we can. I know of several people who didn't like what OFA said and got an OVC clearance. I do not feel good about that. I would feel better if the next option was PennHip. If OFA dumps the hips but you want a second "opinion", PennHip is the way to go. I am not fond of "fishing" for favorable results!!!!
OFA sure has it's problems, but what is the point of submitting if we disregard what they say??????

Answer 2

That totally depends on the breed in question. If a breed is riddled with bad hips, you can't take every single dog with a mild out of the gene pool. To do so could ruin a breed if you only use a handful of available dogs to carry on. What if a couple of the select few turned out to have a terrible disease in old age, where would you go to breed it out if all the dogs have one of those in its pedigree.

It really does depend on the breed though, and I assume you are talking Newfs. Ask Torbay!


"Imagine how much fun it is to have a trait that doesn't show until 6 or 7 YO!!! AFTER you've used the animal & spread that trait EVERYWHERE!"

Isn't THAT the truth!!! And what *I* really hate is when the breeder will hide the fact that the dog carries such a thing and will continue to allow the dog to be used. Doesn't happen often, but it has happened.

Answer 3

If his hips are truly not sound, then you will not be doing your breed a favor by reproducing your boy.

My suggestions yesterday was to RE-xray him and see if it was possible that the first set was poorly done. Maybe seek out a specialist in x-rays. When the dog is re-xrayed, ask the specialist their opinion without resubmitting, unless the second vet says that in their opinion, the hips are sound.

How do you feel his hips are? Does he bunny hop, even slightly, when running? Does he favor one side? Does he move at all stiffly? If he seems to be, in your opinion, solid in the rear, then it might be to yours and his best interests to get that second opinion.

But if you have noticed that there really is some stiffness...finish his championship and neuter.

As for using a Fair dog...IMO, if the Fair dog has a solid background of sound hips and is bred to an Excellent, then it might be OK. If the Fair dog has iffy dogs in their past, then it shouldn't be bred.

I don't think there is a lot of playing around to get favorable results, at least I haven't heard of this in my breed (Malamutes). OFA is pretty unimpeachable, with their techs simply reading the results presented and giving ratings based on the picture they see in front of them. Unless someone flat out cheats and takes in a different dog than the one they are truly sending in the results on, the dog will be given an honest rating.

Good luck, and I really hope that in your case, the first vet simply messed up a bit and a second reading shows that your boy TRULY has sound hips. But, again, if not, stick with your original plan and neuter.

Answer 4

Don't forget Penn-Hip,btw.

WHY would anybody bother w/a dog that was only "fair"?? It would have to be SPECTACULAR in EVERY other way & the ONLY dog of that pedigree to be worth the risk. Even then???

There can't be such a marvelous speciman in an entire generation.It's not as if the breed will disappear w/out the addition of ONE dog.

Bummer,ain't it? But at least you KNOW what you're dealing with. Imagine how much fun it is to have a trait that doesn't show until 6 or 7 YO!!! AFTER you've used the animal & spread that trait EVERYWHERE!

Answer 5

This all depends on the hip production of that dog. I have seen a Shepherd with OFA excellent hips that produced horrid hips! You need to focus on improving the breed, and if you feel his hip status won't do that, then don't use him for breeding.

Answer 6

If you're still having these concerns, then I say don't breed the dog.

Answer 7

I would not breed the dog. No to all the questions you posed.